mikeheid Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Hi everyone! Please don't laugh at me but how the heck do i check the coolant level? The resevoir or whatever you call it is very dark in color and i can't see where the coolant is at.When i open the cap i don't see coolant like you can on other cars.Is it supposed to be at a certain level in these cars.The guy i bought it from said he recently had the coolant serviced but it was at sears.Do you think sears would follow the manufacturer guidelines and use dexcool?What if there's green antifreeze in there do i hurry and change it?How can i tell if there is dexcool in there or not without draining it?Also if it was low the the car would tell me it was correct? Also another stupid question.Where the heck is my transmission dipstick? I can't seem to locate it anywhere.Thanks for the help! Mike 96 seville sts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Hi everyone! Please don't laugh at me but how the heck do i check the coolant level? The resevoir or whatever you call it is very dark in color and i can't see where the coolant is at.When i open the cap i don't see coolant like you can on other cars.Is it supposed to be at a certain level in these cars.The guy i bought it from said he recently had the coolant serviced but it was at sears.Do you think sears would follow the manufacturer guidelines and use dexcool?What if there's green antifreeze in there do i hurry and change it?How can i tell if there is dexcool in there or not without draining it?Also if it was low the the car would tell me it was correct? Also another stupid question.Where the heck is my transmission dipstick? I can't seem to locate it anywhere.Thanks for the help! Mike 96 seville sts You should see coolant in the tank. Just fill it to the top--any excess will be purged. Certainly Sears should and probably did follow manufacturers recommendations--if the coolant was actually changed that is. If it has not been change or the wrong type of antifreeze was used, I would flush and use the right type of antifreeze. Dexcool is orange in color and regular is green in color. If the antifreeze is low you should see a message flash telling you it's low. The trans dipstick is on the driver's side near the air box--I believe this is correct for your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Flushing the coolant will not change any contamination from the wrong coolant being used. Flushing coolant is not a reccommended procedure. You can top off with a coolant such as Prestone that is compatible with both the orange and green types. Coolant should be between 1 1/2" and 2" down from the cap in the surge tank. Use a flashlight to help see into the surge tank better. Transmission dipstick is a twist of cap, located below the air intake tube, on the front drivers side of the engine. Twist left (counter-clockwise) to remove. (Sometimes the cap can be hard to turn, note that in the attached image someone has partially broken this twist-off cap.) -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Use a turkey baster to suck some coolant out so you can tell what color it is. No telling what Sears used. Yes, the car will tell you when it is low on coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 If they used the green stuff should i go and have it flushed or just changed to dexcool?Or is it ok to use the green stuff.I just figured out how to add the coolant temp to my panel and it got up to 201 F.Is this about normal temp? Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SevilleSLS Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'm not sure about 96, but I know my 95 SLS when I had it used the green stuff. Does yours look brown, orange, or green? Does it say in the manual to use dex-cool under specifications or just the green stuff. I'm not sure when GM switched to dex-cool 201 is normal operating temp. GM's usually run around 195-205. -Dusty- - 02 Seville STS, white diamond - 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top - 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top - 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black - 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey - 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeheid Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 the owner manual says to use dexcool.I guess i will just have to look to see what color it is.The turkey baster is a good idea.If its green what should i do.Go get it flushed and get dexcool in it or what? Thanks mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SevilleSLS Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'd probably get it flushed if it is green. I've heard horror stories from people who don't use dexcool. The GM systems are specifically made to use dexcool. The green stuff is more corrosive and could cause premature damage or corrosion to your internal parts. Another way to see what color it is is just put a white Q-tip down in there and pull it back up to see what color it is. Or a white piece of paper would probably work too. It won't hurt to flush your system. It will actually clean it out a bit. GM says to do it at 150,000 miles, but you can do it earlier too. -Dusty- - 02 Seville STS, white diamond - 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top - 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top - 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black - 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey - 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 The owner's manual says that if conventional coolant is used, the system should be flushed at the earliest opportunity. I believe it does actually use the word "flush", although that's not something we typically recommend here. If the green stuff is in there, I would simply drain the radiator and re-fill with a 50/50 mix of Dexcool and water. Alternatively, you could take it back to Sears and make them fix it. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SevilleSLS Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Oh yeah, take it back to sears. I never thought of that. They messed up so they should fix the problem. -Dusty- - 02 Seville STS, white diamond - 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top - 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top - 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black - 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey - 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 The difference between Dex & green is the life span. Green must be changed at 2 years and Dex is good for 5. Green won't hurt the system. Draining it won't get it all out. If you have green and opt to remove it, I'd flush it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95SevilleSLS Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'd flush it too, but have sears do it since they were the onces that messed it up. If you just drain it and add dexcool, you'll end up with a nasty brown coolant. I put dexcool in my old ranger once, it didn't look very pretty. -Dusty- - 02 Seville STS, white diamond - 93 Sixty Special, Tan with vinyl top - 79 Coupe DeVille, Tan with Tan top - 06 GMC Sierra Z71, Black - 92 Silverado C1500, black and grey - 83 Chevy K10 Silverado, Black and Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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