Can I use DEXCOOL in my 170ci

Hey everyone,

I recently had the 170ci motor out of my 1966 Bronco rebuilt and I am hoping to start it for the first time this weekend after I finish installing the cylinder head, carb, etc. In addition to having the short block rebuilt, I have also bought and installed a new radiator so I am starting from square one with regard to coolant.

I would like to know if I can run DEXCOOL in it and the reason why is because I work at a Cadillac dealership so it would be slightly more convenient to do so in the event I need to add more or flush the system down the road. It won't be the end of the world if I can't and if that's the case, is there one coolant that's recommended over another?

I'm fairly certain that most are the same but I do want to start off on the right track so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

yes with reservations. understand that you need to change all the gaskets in the cooling system to ones can handle the dexcool, and you need to thoroughly flush the cooling system to make sure that no traces of the old coolant remain in the system. personally i dont think it is worth the effort.

Hi, Dexcool got a bad reputation way back when. I think it reacted if air entered the cooling system. I always use the top of the line Prestone. Good luck

Hi norm O2,
This is good news another Bronco on here and a 66 is even better. Maybe it's really hot where you live but in northern NV I don't recall my 170 ever overheating. My small town did not have stop and go driving conditions either maybe your area does. Did yours have an overheat problem? If not regular antifreeze might be the easiest solution.
I hope it runs well let us know how it is going.

bmbm40":vv9pqd3v said:

Hi norm O2,
This is good news another Bronco on here and a 66 is even better. Maybe it's really hot where you live but in northern NV I don't recall my 170 ever overheating. My small town did not have stop and go driving conditions either maybe your area does. Did yours have an overheat problem? If not regular antifreeze might be the easiest solution.
I hope it runs well let us know how it is going.

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It never overheated in the past but it does get very hot here. In fact, it's currently 100*s outside with a heat index of 109*! That being said, I just had the original short block and cylinder head rebuilt so I'm not sure how it's going to do but I am not anticipating any issues.

Like I said, it's really not a big deal but since the motor has been completely rebuilt and it has a new radiator, I thought I would at least see what my coolant options are and what the best one is. I'll probably end up going with the Prestone or something similar and I will hopefully have it running for the first time tomorrow.

Good to see you on here fellow!

Rather than recommend a specific company (besides Motorcraft - the ford specific company) I'd offer that the 'general purpose' style is appropriate for that vehicle. Prestone has many different ones (Honda specific, 1970s v 2010+, etc) as does Dexcool (generally a product for che^*y altho in the mid '80s I think it was specified for ford) or Peak, any specific company. Also don't depend on the color alone to choose but look at what is recommended by the manafacaturer.

BTW: the 'heat index' U cite is for ppl (& animals) not machines, trees, etc (motor vehicles). It adds in wind chill in winter, humidity (esp in summer) & other factors that we can notice while those other things do give off their heat, or sweat to notice the additional factors beyond simple thermotomer numbers.

Let us know what you see/come up with.

About 10 years ago when I restored my 65 Satellite I put Orange Dexcool coolant in it. The entire system was fresh and the 10 year service interval sounded like a sweet deal to me. When I got the car running it ran consistently hot, I changed to a bigger fan, flow cooler pump and it still ran warm, all the time regardless. Switched back to green Prestone (Forget who told me to do so) car never ran hot again. Not sure of the reason why.

You probably know more than I do about this but at one time and maybe still Flowkooler made pumps for the 200 and 250. They are listed in my 20 year old Clifford catalog.

Dont use Dexcool it destroys gaskets. I have worked on so many GM engines compromised because of it. A good majority of them were Caddys.