I have a 2006 with 33K miles on it and wondering if the engine is in trouble. I got some Prestone antifreeze and went out to drain the old stuff out. Can't find the drain, crap, I can't see the radiator. There is a plastic cover that blocks the whole area and I can't get the plastic screws out( they just spin) I guess there screws?? Thanks for your help

 

Calm down... and tell us why you want to change the coolant in an almost brand new car with a few miles on it.

BTW, the "drain crap", if there is one, is at the bottom of one of the side tanks of the rad (look from under).

 

belagatyo;
I have 33 thousand miles on it and its almost two years old. They said to change antifreeze every two years. Looks like I am getting into the danger zone.

I did my duramax last week. Thanks

 

BTW I can't see anything past the plastic that covers everything from the bumper to the engine. I hate to sound stupid but I cant seem to get the plastic screw, or rivits out to let down the plastic cover.

 

While it won't hurt if you change the coolant more frequently than recommended, you really do not have to do it unless someone put green coolant in it in the past or you have "issues". Dexcool with the GM tablets is supposed to be good for up to five years or 100Kmi.

The plastic cover is held down by push-in fasteners that have a screw in the middle. Hold down the round head (by your fingers or pliers) and loosen the screew by a few turns until the fastener can be pulled out.

Again, the radiator drain valve (petcock) is on the bottom of the side tank unless it has been deleted by '06. The only other "opening" in the cooling system is the cap on the plastic surge tank or reservoir where you can add coolant.

 

It is becoming conventional wisdow to ignore the Dexcool claims and change coolant every two years. Coolant is much cheaper than a head gasket job. There are many posts on this forum concerning this topic. GM cars have experienced intake and head gasket failures throughoutthe entire line of cars since introducing Dexcool with the 100,000 mile claims because drivers read this and ignore the cooling system. These claims are under ideal conditions. I believe you are wise to change the coolant to avoid future difficulties.

 

Trust Katzmans on this one cuz ive had the same problems happen were my car blew intake gasket on my 2000 grand am due to the coolan not being changed by the previous owner and my own choice of trusting the dealership when i bought it. costing me about $600. but if it would have been a cady iknow it would be abouttwice as much.

 

You have summed it up well, and I admit, I haven't given much thought in my "recommendations" when I repeated the "factory line".

I think you've hit the nail on the head that the 5-yr/100Kmi claim gives owners a false sense of "security"l, and most people just forget about the cooling system until it's too late. Whether Dexcool itself is directly responsible for gasket failures is another matter, and without independent, scientific studies it is hard to conclude.