top off with "any color" coolant ok?

[95-4.6l]

Hello,

I got a Check Coolant Level message on the dash the last couple of days. Maybe 1 out of 3 times driving the car. Is it ok to top off with coolant that says use with any color coolant?

http://www.prestone.com/enlarged/index.php...ifreeze/Coolant

I think I remember having it flushed and filled with dexcool but i'm not sure - might be green.

Is it safe to top off with this other stuff?

Also, I thought coolant level wasn't supposed to drop ever. Is this a sign of leakage?

Thanks.

[Cadillac Jim]

If you ever put any green in it, you must change it every two years after that. I'm not sure what it takes to get the silicone out of the system once you've had green in it. The OAT anti-corrosion won't last the specified 5 years if silicone is in the system. Silicone is tougher on the water pump than OAT.

If the bottle says "compatible with any antifreeze" it may be OAT. If the bottle says it's good for 5 years or 150,000 miles, it's OAT. I would still be nervous if it's green, though. Silicone based anti-corrosion antifreeze is compatible with OAT, too, it's just that it destroys the 5-year life of OAT.

So, if your car has red antifreeze, use red antifreeze. If, in an emergency, you MUST use green, then change it every two years after that.

[KHE]

A 1995 car would have had green antifreeze from the factory. You need to find out what you have in there currently.

[95-4.6l]

A 1995 car would have had green antifreeze from the factory. You need to find out what you have in there currently.

Ah ok. The label under the hood says use dexcool i think - it's the concours - aluminum engine. But I remember once when the radiator was leaking a guy at the mobil station poured green in - which ran out the bottom.. Replaced radiator and asked for dexcool - the put in "orange" coolant but i suspect now after reading more that it might not have been actually dexcool.

Is it true that even flushing the system now will not allow a switch back to dexcool? I should just go with standard non-dexcool?

[BodybyFisher]

The 95 Deville Concours had a 4.6 NS. However, I don't think that Dexcool came out till 96, you had green

if you look at this page you will see that dexcool is specified for 96, given the age of your car, I would just use green and change it every 24 months once green is used, your system is plated and you need to use a 24 month changer interval EVEN if you used Dexcool.

http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/cad1990/cad96d.htm

[KHE]

Is it true that even flushing the system now will not allow a switch back to dexcool? I should just go with standard non-dexcool?

There is not a practical way to remove the silicates from the green coolant that have plated the internals of the cooling system.

[Ranger]

Also, I thought coolant level wasn't supposed to drop ever. Is this a sign of leakage?

That is true. It is a sealed system. If it is going down, you need to find out where it is going.