I just replaced the heater core in my 97 Blazer (WHAT A PITA), question is can I use regular green antifreeze to top the coolant up or should I stick with the dextrol antifreeze which is already in the rad.

Also, what are peoples thoughts on the dextrol antifreeze. I have read that it is more corrosive and problematic then the regular green Prestone.

Should I flush the dextrol and go with the green antifreeze?

:confused:

You can not mix the anti freezes if it has the red use the red, if it has the green use the green. I haven't heard anything about one being better than the other, but if you would rather use the green then you deffinatly have to flush the system.

The dextrol in my '96 Blazer gunked up almost solid. I hear this is very common in this vintage Blazer. I first noticed a problem when I heard a gurgling noise from under the passenger side dash. The heater core failed not to long after the noise started. You're right about that being a PITA to replace. I had all the dextrol drained and flushed (flushed several times) and put the green antifreeze back in. No problems in 2 years.

Get rid of the orange shit. It does gunk up. If your heater core plugged which is common then that is the cause. Trust me. I work on all sorts of vehicles for a living and that stuff is no good. And this is coming from a GM fan.

Dexcool does not like to be exposed to air. If you have a leak it speeds up the "gunking" process. If everything is good then you are usually fine.
As mentioned, do not mix the two. It is the green or the orange. If you change from one to the other make sure you flush the system completely.

Dexcool (Not dextrol), is highly viscous and will gunk up with exposure to the atmosphere.

There's another thread here asking about running Reverse Osmosis water in the cooling system. That seems to be a bit of controversy but in regards toe DexCool, you still need to mix it with water. I have never had a problem with DexCool as long as we use distilled water. Conventional tap water has caused it to get thicker and clumps build up due to the minerals and impurities.

Others around here claim that RO and distilled water will pull minerals from the engine and radiator. That may be true especially with aluminum heads, intake, radiator and water pumps. I feel this is just erosion due to the electrolytic action in the system. This is why I run an Anode radiator cap just like GM originally equipped the Corvette in the sixties. My '67 vette came with it and I continue to use it in every vehicle without problems, even those with DexCool.

My suggestion is to clean out the system very well and refill it with distilled water and your choice of conventional Glycol (Green), or DexCool (Orange) antifreeze. It doesn't make a difference as long as you don't mix the two.

Oh BTW, I've seen some antifreeze now that advertises it mixes with either formula. I find it very hard to believe and would steer clear from this. Not sure if it was Prestone or another brand...