Ditto on this end.  I've run nothing but "Orange" Dex-Cool (Havoline brand)
since 1997 based on the recommendation of a Dealer Mechanic whom I've known
for a long time and trust.  He basically said the Dealer Blue Stuff is great
(not cheep, though), but the Orange Dex-Cool is every bit as good if not
better as noted by Jim Henry.  Nary a problem with it for 9 years now, with
regular changes and flushings of course.
--
Jim Thompson
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
**********************************
On 8/9/06, Jim Henry <jch@jchgis.com> wrote:
>
> I have been using orange (Dexcool) since 1998 or 50000 miles with very
> satisfactory results. I researched it as well as I could when I first
> needed
> to flush my westy's cooling system and  non-phosphates coolants became an
> issue. I came to the conclusion that it was appropriate, as long the
> system
> was thoroughly flushed of other coolant types. The technical document
> available indicated that it might even be more appropriate than the "blue
> stuff" because of the anticorrosive qualities of the organics found in it.
> There may have been some problems with this in the mid 90's when Dexcool
> first appeared. I remember many traditional mechanics being very
> suspicious
> of the "new fangled stuff" and many reports of "gumming things up". None
> of
> these have been observed in the half dozen cars, including my westy that
> have be orange since then. I think in the end I really went with the
> orange
> stuff because of the "price of the coolant", it used to be very
> competively
> priced at Kmart. I actually have a couple of cars using the yellow stuff
> now, it seems to be the evolving solution. No pun intended.
>
> Just my $0.02 worth.
>
> Jim Henry
> Durham, NC
> 84 westy
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]
> > On Behalf Of Curt Newsome
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 12:31 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: blue vs green vs orange coolant
> >
> > My '85 Westy came with a new engine and mostly new cooling
> > system.  The PO made a point of showing me the orange
> > phosphate free coolant (including 2 extra gallons under the
> > back seat).  A month or two later when I had the van in for
> > an AT overhaul, the mechanic doing the work freaked out over
> > the orange coolant, claiming it would "gum up" the cooling
> > system and insisting that I HAD to switch to blue (don't know
> > the brand, is there more than one?).  He felt so strongly
> > about it that after I protested that the orange coolant was
> > not only phosphate free but also brand new, he offered to
> > flush and replace at no labor cost
> > - just the price of the coolant.
> >
> > Don't know if he just wanted to sell coolant or if he really
> > knew what he was talking aobut.  It's a pretty reputable and
> > well known shop.
> >
> > I did end up taking him up on his offer, only because I was
> > unfamiliar with the orange as well......
> >
> > Curt
> > '85 Westy
> > Seattle