antifreeze question

[cherryfrog]

lol so yesterday when we were having issues my friends brother went and baught antifreeze and put it in my car. Later after looking at it i saw it was RV antifreeze for winterizing. what will this do to my car?

[jayson_waltz]

drain it all out, the whole system, and put in the stuff that is supposed to be in there. it may not freeze, but its not automotive antifreeze designed for cars so it sholdn't be in there. i don't know if it will actually hurt the car being in there a short time, but i know for sure its not gonna do any good. also, if you still have the red dex-cool antifreeze in your car from factory, you will need to fill with dex-cool. mixing other stuff with dex-cool= sludge in your cooling system. not good.

[[ion] C2]

Lol that's not good. How in the world could you buy RV antifreeze instead? Most auto places keep it far separate (usually in the back, in cases).

Definitely drain that IMMEDIATELY and flush it all out and put in any all makes/all models in.

[cherrington17]

they keep advertising the "mixes with anything" stuff. is that really ok to mix with dexcool? i'm super skeptical about that...

[widbyj]

It was the OLD formula of Dexcool that caused the problems. If you have flushed/filled within the last 3 years, as you should, the odds of having any of the old formulation are very slim...

That being said, the "mixes with anything" stuff works fine if CheapoMart brand coolant is what you are using... Do yourself a BIG favor and stick with one kind and keep an extra in the trunk. Personally I don't use the Dex but understand it to be fine for these cars.

[jayson_waltz]

i personally use prestone for everything. thats what i filled my car back up with when i put a new engine in, i don't like dex-cool.

[cherrington17]

so it seems i'm not the only skeptical one... :lol:

[DansGen1Alero]

im still running the original dex-cool, have no problems and I didnt change it every 3 years....its 150k mile coolant

[zzyzzx]

How old is too old for the Dex coolant to not be good to mix. I would never mix anything that says it mixes well with anything. unless it specifically said so (and even then I would be sceptical).

[alerored04]

I use the prestone as well but that RV anti freeze may be bad news. Get it out asap.

[Nate's Alero]

get it out naow..... drain and fill drain and fill!

[[ion] C2]

they keep advertising the "mixes with anything" stuff. is that really ok to mix with dexcool? i'm super skeptical about that...
Yes. I've had Dex-Cool, Prestone All Makes/All Models, and Water Wetter all in one mix at one time. Now that everything's pretty much all out, I run Prestone All Makes/All Models.

Mixes with anything is the whole point of the phrase, because Dex-Cool was typically the only one that couldn't mix with the other coolants.

[Redog]

I run the all makes stuff now. I had the Dex flushed out when I had my LIMG replaced, again. 5 times now. 3 times because I switched the mani, 2 times because of the gaskets

IDK anything about that RV stuff, but I would agree with everybody else and get it out quick

[Ttop191]

Lol, flush every three years? I guess I'm 6 years over due :P Still running original DEX and its an '00

[01silveralero]

my dexcool has been out of my car for as long as I remember. probably 3 years or so.

[Nate's Alero]

dexcool sucks.... i changed a while ago, and i'm still good

[Cliff8928]

I use the prestone as well but that RV anti freeze may be bad news. Get it out asap.

The RV antifreeze isn't all that bad.. It's polyethylene glycol based, the same as the "Sierra" brand antifreeze which is supposed to be animal safe. The only thing is that no other additives so a bottle of cooling system (water pump) lubricant might be a good idea.