DEXCOOL in Vipers.......Pros. and Cons?????

ELW98

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Good or bad idea to use this in vipers over the recommended fill? Any side effects?


Thanks in advance

Ernie
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Motor City Mad Man

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I have been using Dexcool for a year now because it is supposed to be better for aluminum block engines. What do you mean by over the recommended fill? Do you mean putting a ratio of higher than 50:50 in it or filling the cooling system with more than the stated capacity?
 
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ELW98

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Thanks Ron and Al!


Great info!!! Will be using it also!


Thanks, again

Ernie
a.k.a.(Daytona lite)
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Craig 201 MPH

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Man you're cool.

I suppose this is the first car you've owned. You never got back to me with your VCA number or anything else that I asked for.

I vote you #1 KNOB on these forums

Craig
 
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ELW98

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craig 201mph

FYI

My VCA # is 09265. 4 yr. member. Also owner of (3)Yes, (3) Saleen Mustangs (Supercharged BTW)! (1) with more power that most Vipers on this site! (No Flames please!).

So don't give any shi! about being my FIRST sports car! Sorry to hear about the TURBO 4 ******, must be a ***** to keep all that power on the ground LOL!

As far as being the #1 KNOB on the site.....You know what you can do with my KNOB....Be creative!

Save your penny's

Ernie
aka(Daytona lite) THANK GOD!!
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Tom F&L GoR

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What Ron said.


It does make me wonder if superior coolant corrosion protection is an asset in the life of Gen 1 gaskets. I have no data, but would be interesting to check out.
 

jimandela

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I have a 2001 with 5k on it.
when do you recommend the first change of radiator fluid?
Can i vipertech do the change correctly?

meaning i have ready the procedure on the board; distilled water, burping it, etc. but is that what the guys here on the board do or is that what DC trains the vipertechs to do???

with dexcool would you use waterwetter?
also how much is a dexcool change compared to regular antifreeze?

thanks
JIM
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Steve-Indy

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...but, has Team Viper (now PVO) EVER recommended switching to "Dexcool"? Seems to me that someone posted here on the board (maybe a year ago) that "Team Viper" indeed had NOT "signed off" on this coolant for use in Vipers. Hopefully, someone else has an UPDATED PVO opinion, especially in regards to Gen I's and early Gen II's.
 

Ron

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<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Any Viper Tech "could" change your Viper to DEXCOOL, but I doubt he would given Steve's correct point that PVO has never recommended or approved changing from conventional coolant (as far as I know at least). I don't see why they would do the research for GENII's at this point, however it will be interesting to see what the factory fill is on the SRT/10.

Assuming that they have equipment similar to GM's "coolant exchanger" your local Dodge dealer could handle it nicely. As far as when you should do it, you need to balance the potential warranty issue with extended water pump life and superior corrosion protection. I personally felt the risk regarding warranty was low and the benefit greater, so I changed.

I would not use water wetter. DEXCOOL has higher heat transfer capabilities by itself.

Of note is that many new 2001 and 2002 D/C vehicles have a new orange coolant formulation right from the factory. I do not know if it's a DEXCOOL variant or not, but clearly D/C has recognized the limitations of the green stuff. </FONT f>
 

jimandela

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Ron,
I am not sure what color i have orange or green??
my build date was nov 2000 took delivery feb 2001.
I will check it next time i am at the storage facility.
hopefully next week if i am done with the hood pad paint
project.

thanks
JIM
 

Ron

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<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I have researched the use of DEXCOOL myself and am a believer. In fact, I have been using it not only in my Viper but in all of my cars since they were new.

Advantages are:

Longer Water Pump Life - DEXCOOL has no silicates which wear the water pump seals. Conventional coolant does.

Better Heat Transfer - vs. conventional antifreeze.

Superior Aluminum Corrosion Protection - Especially in high heat areas.

Non Sacrificial - conventional antifreeze corrosion protection gets "used up" over time. DEXCOOL works in a different way and is non-depleting. GM originally touted DEXCOOL as a "lifetime" coolant but fearing improper usage (dilution over time by owners adding straight water or contamination by adding conventional antifreeze), now recommends changes every 5 years / 150,000 miles.

Cautions are:

You must completely flush the conventional antifreeze out of you system to attain the DEXCOOL benefits. While it is not damaging if the old antifreeze isn't completely removed, it will be a waste of time as the DEXCOOL benefits will not be there. I flushed my vehicles out 3 times, twice with tap water and lastly with distilled before a added the proper amount of 100% DEXCOOL followed by distilled water to attain the optimal 50:50 ratio.

You must maintain at least a 30% ratio of DEXCOOL:WATER to attain corrosion protection.

There are others (1 actually) on this board that know more about this than I do, but I think I hit the main points.
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Ron

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<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I would agree that a ****** install of DEXCOOL is best, but of interest is that in 25,000 miles of testing with a vehicle running a mix of 50% water, 25% conventional antifreeze and 25% DEXCOOL, (probably a worst case example of conventional antifreeze contamination) post teardown analysis showed that excellent corrosion protection was maintained.

In addition, in fleet testing of vehicles switched from conventional coolants to DEXCOOL via normal flushing methods, no problems have ever been encountered while improved performance was documented.

GM recommends changing to DEXCOOL coolant in their 1994 and 1995 vehicles (which were factory equipped with conventional coolant) to enhance water pump life, however they recommend 24 month 30,000 mile change intervals thereafter.</FONT f>
 

Bonkers

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All of my cars have Dexcool as well but there is one thing I have yet to see come up: clay tablets. If you switch to Dex make sure no one adds the tablets. The dealers say it helps to seal the system better but from my experience it only gums things up. I'm on my second flush on my impala because the heater keeps getting clogged. It does no real damage but the flushing does get expensive quick.
 

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