Lesson of our off topic convo: PUDDLES MEAN SOMETHING! (To some it'* a quick fix...to others is big money)

fresh dexcool looks delicious, like some kind of crazy koolaid, obviously i would never actually drink it, but it looks good

Did you read the entire paragraph? He did not say that Dex-Cool does not provide protection for cast iron cyl block and heads. He said it won't provide protection in cast iron blocks and heads if it is not kept full. Full has nothing to do with the overflow tank. A bad cap could leave your tank full but you radiator low. Then you will have a problem. You CANNOT allow air in the system.

Sorry: I did not mean to get things worked up like this and that was never my intention. I just was stating my experiences with dex-cool. Regarding keeping the cooling system full, I always checked the overflow tank and it never was down in coolant. I didn't realize that there was a problem until the heater quit working. I park on a cement driveway all the time and never noticed a leak on the cement and never noticed a coolant leak during oil changes when I did them. I found out later that the intake manifold gasket was leaking very slowly into the engine but the level would always stay up in the overflow tank. I guess if you have dex-cool just be sure to keep an eye on the level in the radiator and not to trust the overlow tank coolant level. Now on another note, I have been running Evan'* NPG+ coolant in my Honda motorcycle for 4 years and this spring when checking the radiator and themostat etc. I found that everthing in that system looks still like brand new and the coolant has performed flawlessly during that time. I got some more this spring for my Bonneville and going to try it in there also. Now this might be another topic for debate

Flatlander