Found on the Pontiac Newsgroup....
This post is long but should clear up all the clutter in here about
Dexi-Cool. I own a lube shop and have to be knowledgeable about the products
that I offer. Most people think of "Lube Techs" as idiots with no education.
I'll tell you, that to stay on top of the products and manufactures specs,
it is an ongoing and steep learning curve. But anyway here is the article..


Category: Coolants
Bulletin No. 01.010
Date: 01/12/01
Replaces: 96.009

Introduction:
Equilon (owned by Texaco® and Shell®) markets a European coolant technology
(OAT) that consists of ethylene glycol inhibited with a combination of
sebacic acid and 2-ethylhexanoic acid supplemented with tolyltriazole. It
was originally called "Long Life", but a lawsuit brought by Warren Oil, who
markets a fully formulated coolant under the brand name "LongLife®) forced
the retraction of that term form the DEXCOOL, Texaco and Caterpillar®
packaging. The combination of a mono and dibasic carboxylic acids permitted
Texaco to obtain a patent on the specific combination. Other companies have
obtained similar patents, by varying the mixture somewhat and by using
similar, but not exactly the same, chemistry.

General Motors® has been using this coolant technology in their cars and
light trucks since the start-of-production of the 1996 model year vehicles
(except Saturn®, which began in 1997). GMC® medium trucks equipped with
Caterpillar engines, have been getting a nitrite-added form of DEXCOOL
(NOAT) to insure protection against wet sleeve liner cavitation-erosion.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can DEXCOOL organic acid antifreeze be mixed with ethylene glycol
antifreeze?
It is ethylene glycol based antifreeze! The concern with mixing comes from
the fact that there are very different chemical inhibitor packages in use.
Most leading technologies will work very well when used as intended,
typically at 50% in good quality water. If the coolants become mixed with
DEXCOOL, however, one study showed a possible aluminum corrosion problem in
certain situations. The other question is a concern for dilution of the
protection packages. At what mix is the there too little of either inhibitor
to protect the engine? As a precaution, both GM and Caterpillar instruct
that contaminated systems must be maintained as if they contained only
conventional coolant.

How long will it last?
Uncontaminated, the engine manufacturers instruct that it may be kept in
service for 5 years or 150,000 miles in cars. In trucks, Caterpillar and GM
currently recommend that the nitrated version of the coolant be run 300,000
miles or 2 years, re-inhibited with a nitrite-tolyltriazole "extender", and
run to a total of 600,000 miles.

Are there different brands that meet the spec?
Yes. Any brand displaying the DEXCOOL trademark meet the spec, others
advertising compatibility are from the same family of coolants.

How can a customer tell if he has DEXCOOL?
If the customer owns a GM car and has orange coolant, then its DEXCOOL! In
GM trucks the coolant is "orange- red", indicating that it contains nitrite.
Orange coolant in Daimler-Chrysler® vehicles is NOT DexiCool. (Daimler
Chrysler owners with orange color factory coolant should consult their
owners' handbooks).

Does it protect aluminum?
Yes, even though it contains no silicate, the primary aluminum protector in
conventional antifreezes, published data shows that it protects aluminum.

What are the advantages of DEXCOOL compared to the previous GM 6043
factory-fill?
Compared to old-fashioned phosphate antifreeze, it may be more stable and
improve water pump life. Evaluations of the two technologies to compare
their respective service lives has found them comparable. In fact, a Ford
Motor Company study concluded that organic acid coolants do not offer any
significant advantages for the consumer over current North American
coolants. In a modern car with a well maintained cooling system, current
North American and OEM factory fill coolant corrosion protection can be
extended far beyond previous expectations."1

What are the disadvantages?
Higher cost, possible incompatibility, limited availability.

Is it environmentally safe?
It is ethylene glycol based. It is toxic. While it does reduce coolant
waste, it is not environmentally safer than conventional EG coolant.

How can you test it?
Use a refractometer to test the freeze point. The inhibitor levels can not
be cost effectively tested. If in doubt, throw it out and start over.


Brandon
Xpress Lube East Colfax
Texaco Xpress Lube


JUST FYI INFO.....