Nothing wrong with straight water. I did it. Ran the car for 100-some miles. Nothing wrong with my cooling system after that, and sitting for ~7 months with just water sitting at the bottom of the block [I will admit there was some rusty coloured water at first, but it all came out after a few minutes with the hose]. I don't have any liquid in my cooling system as-of-yet, but at first I know I will be running just water. Can't really afford Anti-freeze, so if it leaks, I leak water, not precious [to me] anti-freeze.

Since the SSEi has a better Radiator [I assume], I would try to grab one from an SSEi. Since you will have the engine out, you may as well pull the radiator at that point, and compare it to that of one from a SSEi, perhaps they are the same? Probably not. But yeah, I vote replace the radiator.


-justin

I'm thinking you haven't seen the car in question...
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...237&highlight=

The following is a quote from a GM powertrain engineer re: Dex-Cool.

"The DexCool is not harmful to the system and will not wreck coolant systems. It is running in WAY too many cars perfectly fine (including a LOT of 4.3 V-6 engines) for it to be a disaster. I have personally seen a GREAT deal of testing on the DexCool product before and after it was released from production and it has always performed admirably. There have been engines from livery service run to 250K and 300K with DexCool and the cooling systems, water pumps, coolant jackets, etc....look like brand new. DexCool works fine.

When there are cooling system problems the findings continue to point to lack of cooling system maintenance and lack of keeping the system full as the root cause of the problems that have been experienced with DexCool. There have also been some failures due to installation of un diluted DexCool where the owner thinks that straight coolant is "better" then the required 50/50.

DexCool will not eat the impeller off a water pump.....!!!! Not sure how to do that other than running the system low or clogged and causing severe cavitation in the water pump....or maybe running straight DexCool causing a more acidic mixture and greater viscosity and more cavitation.

The reaction in the 4.3 V-6 engines is a bit different in that the engines have a cast iron block and heads. The DexCool does not provide corrosion protection for the cast iron when the system is low and the head surfact inside the coolant jacket dries out . It rusts, the rust then gets washed into the coolant and eventually it gets bad enough that the rust particulates start to plug the system and/or unseat the seal of the pressure cap causing the system to loose pressure and boil easier.

No coolant is perfect. The silicated coolants are somewhat abrasive and cause premature water pump seal wear in some situations. The silicated coolants also gel with time and lack of activity which leads to plugged heater cores and such. Silicated coolants also deplete with time as the silicates are sacrificed to plate the surfaces so they need to be replaced.

DexCool provides very long life...very long corrosion protection since there are no silicates to plate out and disappear. The DexCool needs to have the system full to completely protect any cast iron in the system and prevent rust from occurring. DexCool is also acidic (by design) so if it is not diluted and installed in a 50/50 mix it can also cause problems...including heater core and radiator damage if the coolant is not diluted correctly.

Over the long haul there are significantly less cooling system problems and engine failures due to lack of cooling system maintenance with DexCool than with the previously used conventional silicated coolants. You have to take into account ALL problems including water pump seals, head gasket failures due to corrosion, etc...."

Neither have I on a '96 Bonneville and a '97 Deville, both over 100K.

I see in a previous post quoting the GM'* engineer that the problems with the 4.3 liter engine is because dex cool does not provide protection for cast iron cyl block and heads. What do you think our boneville engines have? are they not cast iron block and heads also? Another thing he states that the coolant should never be allowed to go low. On both of the 4.3'* I am talking about the coolant levels in the overflow tank always showed full and were never allowed to drop below the cold line. Friends of mine that own an independent garage have also seen problems with dex-cool plugging up systems. Maybe it is okay in aluminum blocks and heads but I will see how my parents 03 Cavalier'* cooling system lasts.

Flatlander

JR..I was helping Mechanic Dan change motors for a quite a while and this one truck we did... guy changed radiator, hoses, tstat...and the list goes on...motor blew..we changed it..he wanted to save money and asked us to use the old water pump along w/other stuff.... we finish up and are adding the fluids...somethings leaking bad. Both look at each other with the "What didn't you hook up and check twice" look. Coolant was pouring out the weep hole...

Moral of the story..moron blew a motor cause he didn't keep the rad full. Also couldn't diag a leaking waterpump....