Previous Owner Used Dex-Cool

[festinotria]

I have a 2003 S3. I bought the bike one week ago and the previous owner ran dex-cool (pink stuff right?) in the bike. Do I need to purge and replace all dex-cool with 50/50 antifreeze? Is it ok to just drain all that I can and refill with 50/50 or do I need to make sure I get every drop out? Is it even needed that I replace the dex-cool? Thanks for the help.

BTW, I live in NC and the bike is garage kept so freezing is not a BIG issue.

[S_Mues]

Been running Dex cool for the last season seems to be working fine. The only thing I've read is people flushing for the first time have mentioned sludge or casting residue. From what I gather any coolant that is aluminum safe will work fine unless your doing track days in which case track specifies what is allowed. I would recommend changing coolant at least every 3 years and don't forget the DI water don't use tap water. Hope this helps sweet ride by the way but we all know GREEN is the fastest.

[oldndumb]

S_Mues, here is some reading you might benefit from.

http://sancarlosradiator.com/dex-cool.htm

http://www.dexcoolsettlement.com/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...m_dexcool.html

[Speed3]

Throw some Evans NPG+ in there and have no corrosion or overheating issues ever again. www.evanscooling.com

[festinotria]

Thank you all very much for all the great information. Very good articles posted by "oldndumb"

I found some thick goo residue around some of the hose openings and was wondering what the deal was. I think I now know the answer. I dont think the previous owner took very good care and the bike also sat for extended periods of time (only rode 200 miles in over 2 years). I wonder if lack of use will cause sludge build up to be more facile. I am going to purge the system and run straight 50/50 ethylene glycol/water. Though I dont think Dex-Cool is bad if it is taken care of; it probably has more lubricating properties. Thanks again everyone.

[scottmacan]

Dexcool is great for automotive aluminum blocks. Aluminium blocks are very porous and dexcool reacts with air to seal leaks. So if you have a pressurized expansion tank you wont have any problems but
our reservoirs are open to the air so it causes alot of brown sludge build-up.
Scott

[festinotria]

I always wondered why the dex-cooled engines have that sealed overflow. That makes perfect sense. Thanks Scott

[S_Mues]

I stand corrected I must have been misinformed on one of the many coolant posts here or misunderstood the information passed. So I should flush and put motorcycle specific coolant in? Which is the most recommended? It gets -20 here in the dead of winter so I think I need freeze protection also. Will just good old Prestone work ok? Or is there a article stating that it will ruin my motor also?

[JRCollings]

Here in Arizona, most everyone I know uses "Engine Ice" - and that is what our local dealer puts in all the new bikes - seems to work great.

http://www.engineice.com/

[festinotria]

Sweet bike S_Mues.

There are several threads about coolant on here but they all seem to say different things. If you ask me, any coolant should be fine provided you take care of it (i.e., replace it each year or every other) it's really not very expensive or time consuming. I am going to run Prestone brand 30/70 ethylene glycol/water by volume and change it every year (people in the colder parts may want to bump that up a bit). By changing every year, I dont have to worry about getting every drop each time. All this being said said, under the correct conditions ethylene glycol is capable of polymerizing or even itsel being oxidized. This polymerization will manifest as a sludge or thick goo with a very high viscosity (not very good for cooling).
So I think the moral is, take care of your bike and she'll take care of you.

BTW, everyone knows SILVER is way faster than green!