I don't think any of you would consider using this coolant, stock in GM's since about 1996 and advertised as an extended life 150000 miles or 5 year change interval. It is a new chemistry, based on organic acid stabilization instead of silicates.

But if you are I wanted to alert you to the alleged incompatibility (discussed widely on the internet) and my observed incompatibily in two of my 1997 Vortec 5.7 liter trucks.

I lost the intake manifold gasket on both at 40-70K miles and 5 years. The silicone bead swelled from the coolant and cracked the plastic carrier gasket. It then swelled more and snaked itself over onto itself and broke the bead. Hence the leak. The same silicone bead on the air/fuel passage was pristine. GM denies there is any incompatbility.

I also went down to the block this weekend and the composite head gasket was starting to delaminate at the coolant passages.

In fairness, the all metal surfaces were beautiful, it's just the elastomers were hosed.

I would seriously reconsider, if this coolant is in any of your vehicles. There is another alleged failure mode, where if air gets into the sytem, it starts to turn into red/brown jello. This mode I have seen in my friends 3.1 liter Malibu.

I have decided to go with a product called Fleet Charge, it is a low silicate, no phosphate, nitrite containing coolant intended for Class 8 trucks. I will add Supplementary Coolant Additive (SCA) Pencool 3000 if the additive package needs tweaking at 6 month intervals.

I can make more details available if anyone is interested. Sorry to talk of Detroit Iron.....but coolant is universal.

Regards,
BigMoose

 

typical GM 3.1L and 3.4L V6 engines found in the grand am's, trans sports and chev maliubus ALL have a really poor intake manifold design which causes them to leak. there is a service buleten on them extending the warentee perieod a little longer for that reason. even some of the 3.8L have this problems as well. i hardly see the 5.7L engines with this problem but it's possible.

weather the coolant has anything to do with it i dont know. it's just a stupid design and i see so many of them being replaced everyday. it makes me sick to my stomach that people accualy drive these cars and it makes me even more sick that GM lets this disaster go for so long without finding a proper solution.

another one of my many reasons i will never own a GM product......

 

To Teken....Yes, this is the same coolant sold by Havoline. I believe they were the original developer of it. If you have had good service to date, good. Keep an eye out for color changes, odor and white crystals forming on the radiator cap.

To non-VETEC....GM says it is not a coolant problem, I obviously will not generalize, but the coolant is clearly incompatible with the silicone in MY 1997 5.7 liter engine. In my 27 year engineering experience, we never had an elastomer swell to the extent that mine were, and deem it "compatible with the fluid sealed." Note there are many silicone elastomer compositions, and yours may be fine. Mine were not.

A few work safe urls since it appears some are interested:


http://www.imcool.com/articles/antif...l-macs2001.htm


http://www.imcool.com/articles/antif...ohnbrunner.htm


http://www.penray.com/bulletins/


http://www.syty.org/archives/syty/0106/msg01179.html


Here to me is the coffin nail, where Cummins Diesel specifically says Acid stabilized antifreeze (DexCool)is not compatible with silicone seals.

Quote: "First, based upon available data, Texaco ELC similar formulations supplied by Equilon should not be used in Cummins Engines. These organic acid coolants cause degradation of the silicone seals in our engines after 80,000 to 100,000 miles."


http://www.penray.com/bulletins/cummins_noat.htm

So good luck to you guys running it. Perhaps by trial and error we will find an application that works for it. I will continue to buy GM, but the coolant will be removed on day one and FleetCharge installed. The warranty be darned.


As you can see these are not bla bla bla.....internet site. All are on corporate boards or quote corporate boards. Good motoring to all.
Regards,
BigMoose

 

very intersting ole chap.

ar

 

Hi Art! Good to hear from you....... Its interesting the posts above are about a year old. I tested the Fleet Charge after a year with the test strips that recalibrate the additive package. All looked PERFECT at 1 year in the gas engines. No need to replenish the additive package. We'll see what it is like at 2 years.

 

I know it was old, but it was some good info to take it out of archives

 

i second that. My parents have a 00 Grand Prix with the 3.8 liter motor and i just happened to check it one day to add coolant and the radiator had that chunky red goop all inside it. I had to flush it at my work and get it all out. It seems that most GMs that come to my work with 50-60k on the engine all have this problem. Dexcool also has this really bad "fishy" smell to it when its about to do this. I recommend any one with the 96 or new GM with Dexcool and 50-60k on their engine check it now to make sure this isn't happening, because you don't want to have to get a new engine because of it. Our work replaces about 2-3 of the 3100 and 3400 intake manifold gaskets a week and we aren't a GM dealer just a Procare here in NC. I just think its funny because when you order the intake manifold gasket it comes in this huge plastic "suitcase" that has it already inside a new manifold, because they probably sell hundreds of these a day.

 

There's also been a lot of discussion about this on SaabNet. Check out the link...

http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/...83227

This also talks about how you can't always tell by the color any more.