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April 6, 2009 6:53 p.m. danl318 None

The "low coolant" light was flashing on my daughter's car, a 2001 Saturn LW300, so I told her to pick up some ORANGE antifreeze at the local auto parts place. I told her "You have to get the ORANGE stuff" at least four times.

Naturally, we waited until after dark to top off the reservoir. My daughter held the flashlight and the funnel while I started to pour...

"Dad, stop, it's GREEN!"

I ended up with about half a cup of the wrong flavor antifreeze in the reservoir. A mechanic at the auto parts store said that, since we hadn't started the car, I should siphon out the coolant reservoir with a turkey baster, fill it up with the ORANGE Dexcool, and life would be good. I took his advice because I didn't have the $90 for a system flush.

Has anybody else done this? Was I foolish to take the cheap way out? The car has been running fine since then (about 3 weeks). I've learned that, when green and orange coolant mix, they congeal and ruin the cooling system. What are the warning signs that indicate trouble?
April 6, 2009 8:24 p.m. Luke Dork

What's the difference between orange and green coolant?
April 6, 2009 8:36 p.m. Tyler H Dork

I would be more worried about why it was low on coolant in the first place. It really shouldn't hurt anything, but I would save the turkey baster and just remove the resevoir and dump it.
April 6, 2009 9:54 p.m. driver109x Reader

I'm not sure but some coolant are compatible with either green or red so read what it says on the container.
April 6, 2009 10:54 p.m. ignorant SuperDork

Yeah there is green that is compatible with orange. I'd suggest changing the dexcool out to save yourself a waterpump.
April 6, 2009 11:18 p.m. shuttlepilot New Reader

Luke wrote:

What's the difference between orange and green coolant?

apparently life and death
April 6, 2009 11:20 p.m. Wally SuperDork

Luke wrote:

What's the difference between orange and green coolant?

The Orange is from the North.
April 7, 2009 12:12 a.m. Trans_Maro Reader

They're both made of people!

The green is more popular though.

Shawn
April 7, 2009 1:16 a.m. shuttlepilot New Reader

Luke wrote:

What's the difference between orange and green coolant?

Color really doesn't really differentiate coolant. It is the chemical makeup and additives. The manufacturers can color the coolant any color they want. Even the same type of coolant will be different colors from specific manufacturers. The differences in the coolant boil down to how the manufacturer views pump life and corrosiveness to certains metals vs hardness of the local water. I used to have a really nice article about the differences.

The basic rule though is don't mix unless you are sure they are of the same chemistry. If you do want to change coolant, you will need to drain and flush the system with pure water to rid it of the old coolant. You can use any coolant you want, they more or less do the same thing, but for god sakes don't mix them like the old days.

I have a bunch of chryslers and a VW that I've converted to run G05. Makes life a lot easier when stocking up on coolant.
April 7, 2009 3:20 a.m. Luke Dork

Thanks for the explanation. I only ever see plain old green coolant. And that blue BMW stuff.
April 7, 2009 3:39 a.m. Johnboyjjb New Reader

From wikipedia: DEX-COOL specifically has caused controversy. Litigation has linked it with intake manifold gasket failures in GM's 3.1L and 3.4L and with other failures in 3.8L & 4.3L engines. Class action lawsuits were registered in several states, and in Canada,[6] to address some of these claims. The first of these to reach a decision was in Missouri where a settlement was announced early in December, 2007.[7] Late in March 2008, GM agreed to compensate complainants in the remaining 49 states.[8]

There are rumors that mixing Dex-Cool with standard green (non-OAT) coolant causes a chemical reaction that produces sludge in the cooling system. According to the DEX-COOL manufacturer, however, "mixing a 'green' [non-OAT] coolant with DEX-COOL reduces the batch’s change interval to 2 years or 30,000 miles, but will otherwise cause no damage to the engine.

Back to me: Dex-cool mixed with green normally does cause sludge buildup. Also, Dex-cool is a horrible corrosion inhibitor if the metal ever gets exposed to air. If the part stays submerged in coolant it is fine but once it gets exposed to air it will cause faster corrosion than no protection at all.

Two things about your particular scenario - a 2001 Saturn is not likely to have dex-cool still in it and if it does - drain the whole system and switch to basic green or Prestone Gold.

Also of interest, I have been informed that honda red is just a high end blend that is almost identical to green.
April 7, 2009 6:24 a.m. Kramer Reader

In 1996, a girlfriend's dad did this to her new car. I called the Valvoline hotline (maker of NAPA antifreeze) and asked them what to do. They said as long as the entire contents were either green or orange, the vehicle would be fine. But if they were mixed, we should flush and refill.
April 7, 2009 6:45 a.m. John Brown SuperDork

DEXCOOL and MOST long life variants contain more than just "antifreeze" (either Ethylene Glycol or Propylene Glycol). They will contain components that will lubricate the cooling system and sometimes even self seal leaks. The reason that DEXCOOL "sludges" is its NORMAL reaction to high levels of combustion gasses and oxygen. The fluid, while not originally intended to be servicd before 100,000 miles, does require service. If you maintain the coolant every other year you should see no problems during the cars service life. Personally removing extended life coolant and replacing it with a treatment of sodium silicate (to protect against leaks), water pump lubricant and conventional green antifreeze is the best course.

ALMOST ALL multi use universal coolants are tinged green. They are safe to use with most coolants except G05 and G12.
April 7, 2009 8:43 a.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

I just don't know why they had to go and complicate it. From the beginning of time, if your car needed coolant, you went 50-50 with water and whatever antifreeze was on sale. Then all of a sudden they had to get fancy and start making that an engine killing scenario. shiny happy persons.
April 7, 2009 9:30 a.m. Wally SuperDork

Every so often People get on GM for not being innovative, so they have to overthink something simple like antifreeze. When you think about it, screwing up water is a pretty big accomplishment.
April 7, 2009 9:41 a.m. P71 Dork

I once converted a Ford to DexCool. It worked great.
April 7, 2009 10:41 a.m. belteshazzar Dork

I'd put money you're loosing coolant from the oil cooler under your intake manifold between the heads. That's a terrible motor. Bail if you can.
April 7, 2009 4:01 p.m. danl318 New Reader

too freakin' late to bail. My daughter is moving to Colorado in 3 months, planning haul her Earthly Possessions in this car and due to the current Hard Times, replacing the car is not an option.

Crud. I had the local Saturn dealer replace that oil cooler within the last year.
April 7, 2009 4:32 p.m. belteshazzar Dork

well if it's been done maybe you can cross that off. water pump would be my next guess.
April 7, 2009 4:42 p.m. John Brown SuperDork

1: How low was it?

2: DEXCOOL is like a snail, it leaves a trail everywhere it goes. Get out a UV light and the amber lenses and look for the glow.
April 7, 2009 4:55 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork

Dex Cool is the manufacturers' response, beginning in the mid '90's, to people complaining about having to constantly service their cars. Consumer focus groups passed on the recommendations to the manufacturers who then decided on longer service intervals and had parts, lubricants and coolants developed to meet those specs. The target intervals were: lifetime rear axle fill, 100K spark plugs, coolant and ATF and 7500 mile oil change intervals. We all know how well that worked out with Chrysler and Ford trannies and the industry wide engine sludging problems.

As mentioned earlier, check the label and see if it's the 'universal' stuff. The newer universal coolants should be fine if that's what got poured in regardless of what color it is. For instance, Prestone's universal is a neon yellow-green.

All the manufacturers are very specific about not mixing Dexcool and the older 3/30 coolants. They all say if old skool coolant is mixed withe Dex, drain, flush with water and refill with a 50/50 mix of the old skool and water.
April 7, 2009 5:18 p.m. danl318 New Reader

belteshazzar said:
well if it's been done maybe you can cross that off. water pump would be my next guess.

Ha! My opinion of this dealer's service department is exceedingly low. They also "fixed" a transmission fluid leak in the last 9 months; I was under the car this weekend to change the oil and there was a thin coat of transmission fluid all over.
April 7, 2009 5:22 p.m. danl318 New Reader

Johnboyjjb said:
Two things about your particular scenario - a 2001 Saturn is not likely to have dex-cool still in it and if it does - drain the whole system and switch to basic green or Prestone Gold.

Well, being a Follow the Directions kind of guy, I've kept Dex-Cool in this car all these years. Maybe it's time to take the plunge.
April 8, 2009 12:28 a.m. curtis73 Reader

Before you go singing praises of anything about the orange stuff, do a search for "dexcool lawsuit" or "dexcool failure."

Its satan's urine as far as I'm concerned. Three water pumps and two heater cores that I had to pay for because GM refused to cover it under warranty was enough to make me switch to green.

http://www.google.com/search?q=dexcool+lawsuit&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=...

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