Dexcool and when to change it

[jnj]

Hello All,
Is there a recommended time for replace Dexcool? Yesterday, my 01 reached 236* on the DIC. It was only 93* outside and I was in stop n go traffic. I have 95k on the ododmeter and the fluid appears to be full. Since it is supposd to go over 100* for the next few days, I am a little worried about driving her in traffic. With the ac on, I will see 210* max on a normal day in traffic, with the norm being about 198* - 205*. The temps did go down to 221* once I started moving steady at 40mph for a few minutes, but never dropped below 219* the rest of the way home.
Happy Motoring~
Jnj :cool

 

[Tuna]

The manual says 5 years on Dexcool. That's what I use if not a little sooner.

 

[c04vette]

I used to have a 96 grandsport vette that did the same thing and being my first vette i freaked out so i took it to the dealer and said whats wrong it got up to 242 degrees driving in stop n go traffic..it also had around 100,000 mls on it..they said it was normal due to the car being so low to the ground and no air intake on the front of the car..just be sure to check under the front of the car where the air goes into the radiator to make sure theres nothing restricting the flow of air like a plastic wal mart bag or leaves ect...having 95000 miles on your car if it was mine Id go ahead ahead and put a new thermostate in it and new dexcool..Take it to a radiator shop have them do it and theyll clean and chk your radiator ect...then make sure your radiator fans come on when they should...other than that i wouldnt worry to much about it....

 

[7LitreC5]

Check to make sure that you don't have any junk in between the AC condensor and the radiator. It is very common for the C5 to vacuum junk up off of the road and stuff it in that space. This will degrade cooling performance quite a bit.

 

[mqqn]

Hi jnj -

Like 7LiterC5 says, check the front of the condensor and make sure it is clean.

I changed the fluid in my Z06 at 50k miles, the factory interval, as tuna points out, is 5 years or 100,000 miles.

I have a small how-to on draining an refilling a C5 radiator.....

http://www.iammoon.com/c5tech/coolant_drain.htm

best regards-

mqqn

 

[killain]

Dirt and debris in the radiator intake.

I recently installed a grill from mid america under the front of my 2003 and there was a little collection of dirt and leaves that got sucked up into the radiator intake. Also being five years old, my owners manual says to have the cooling system drained,flushed and refilled with fresh Dexcool and water mixture. oddly my car reads ten degrees hotter after having the coolant changed. But the dealership service says the car running at 220 degrees in traffic is perfectly normal.