Coolent Color

[BlackSnake]

I haven't had to work on a vehicle in many years, but I helped my son replace a radiator, thermostat and water pump in his 93 gmc 1500. Easiest radiator and pump I had ever done. Super simple. So as the story goes, we got to oReillys and ask for all parts and fluids. Long story short is that he gave us the green, which seemed fine to me, but now I'm hearing that we should have put the yellow in cause it's chevy. Any truth to this? And do we need to flush and switch?

[stephen4785]

Orange/yellow is extended life. I dont think any GM product used extended life coolant in 93. As long as you drained all the old coolant you'll be fine.

[Buick355]

You can run either, you just don't want to mix the two, so if green came out then you're good.

[BlackSnake]

Not only drained but I ran a hose through the inlet and ran out as much as I could. Mainly cause of the rust from the radiator.

[BlackSnake]

You can run either, you just don't want to mix the two, so if green came out then you're good.

Rusty water came out. Lol

[4king]

The dexcool stuff gm uses is a brownish color. It is known to be more corrosive than typical coolant however there is no real reason to run one over the other.

You will be fine with green. Dex cool is slightly more slimy and typically retains less oxygen in the system

[JC316]

Ok, in 1996 GM switched to an "Extended Life" antifreeze called Dexcool that was good for 5 years or 100,000 miles. Any mechanic worth his salt knows that Dexcool is the worst possible crap you can put into a cooling system since it has a nasty habit of eating through gaskets and pitting aluminum.

Any time I get a GM car with dexcool, I flush and fill with the good old fashioned green stuff. You are fine.

[BlackSnake]

Thank you guys. I feel better now.

["MrEd"]

Green stuff is fine.
I run Oreilys 50/50 mix
Tap water is no good for the radiator or motor.

[JimD]

Any time I get a GM car with dexcool, I flush and fill with the good old fashioned green stuff. You are fine.

Yep same here. Ive put dexcool in 1 vehicle that i can recall, only due to customers request.

[4eyedwillie]

*MOST* antifreeze sold now is universal and is green. I know the Walmart brand is and I'm 90% the Oriely brand is also. The jug will say if it's universal and if so no worries with mixing. Since you flushed the system your good either way.