The previous owner of my '92 TBI Bird flushed the whole system and converted to DexCool. Well the radiator recently started leaking (it was the original, at almost 75k that's no surprise). I bought a new one, new hoses and clamps, new DexCool, and distilled water. I was gonna put the radiator in myself, but my father gave me this big speel about how I was gonna mess up my tranny lines, and he didn't want to hear it if I killed my engine and transmission, and basically talked me into going to the shop he goes to. I gave them all the stuff, and they put it in this morning. First I was pissed when I noticed the distilled water was still on the seat. When I got home, I realized they didn't use DexCool, and filled my system with the green stuff. What's more, they kept my DexCool, and I noticed on the receipt they charged me $10 for the green stuff! Are the traces of DexCool gonna turn to sludge in my brand new radiator? Will my engine, tranny, and waterpump be ok? I know these two coolants aren't interchangeable, so would I be best off to just flush the system again in a couple days to clean it out, and refill it with fresh green stuff? I'm reluctant to go back and forth again......but at the same time want to do whats best for the cooling system at this point all things considered.

 

First off, I would take the car back to that shop! Did you tell them what you wanted? Didn't you tell them what you wanted used in your car? Aren't you the customer paying for service? If you're not satisfied with the work done, they had better make it right! That's how people stay in business. If there's even the slightest doubt in your mind that it will damage your system, TAKE IT BACK AND MAKE THEM FIX IT!!! It's your money that you spent, and I'm sure you worked for it since money trees are pretty rare nowadays. I can't imagine someone being satisfied for paying 10,000 for an old Ford Fairmont, so why would you essentially do the same thing for your radiator service?