Won't flushing the system destroy some of the gaskets that are still functional, causing me more leaks and headaches which I can't afford?

Maybe the others will tell me I'm wrong, but all I ever did was drain the old, fill with hose water and run (cap off) long enough for the thermostat to open up and circulate. Drain and repeat a couple of time until the water is clear. Drain and add the recommended amount of straight coolant (1/2 of the total cooling system capacity) and then top up with distilled water (available at grocery or drug store). The heat should be on too. This shouldn't cause any new leaks.

One thing I can say is this... If green antifreeze and Dex-Cool were ever in the cooling system at the same time, there will be some sludging. I've seen clean cooling systems turned into a sludgy, muddy mess due to the wrong color antifreeze being added...

Upon draining coolant it usually runs down over external chassis parts which are coated with dirt and road grime. Dump the antifreeze into a clean drain pan and you'll see how much dirt particulates end up on the bottom of the pan.

Plus, most high mileage cars develop a certain amount of crude inside their sealed systems. You want strain contaminants before you reintroduce the old coolant back in the system.

Both are saying best thing is to go with the new. Capacity is 10 quarts total = 5 quarts antifreeze. Two gal of antifreeze=$20, a few gal of distilled water=$5 or so. The second gal of antifreeze left over can be mixed w/the distilled water for top-ups as needed. If you can swing it, it's a good idea. The reason for putting straight antifreeze in is because you can't tell how much plain water is left in the system after the last drain; putting 50/50 in might dilute it too much. This way, if you get the 5 quarts of antifreeze in, even if it fills up the system, you know you have the proper ratio. The new should be good for 5 years.
BTW have you ever had the heat on? Beautiful island

Just go ahead and put this in your signature now...


You have a Jaguar. You are already married.
- Jag#4

The car has never had both the Dex-Cool and the Ethylene Glycol at the same time. Today I asked the previous owner about it. He told me that when he first swapped the coolant, which he admitted was a little early, he flushed it and substituted with the green stuff. That's what I've always seen in the reservoir and I've never observed sludge. I did observe sludge on the plastic part next to the hose, which I thought was weird. However, I checked the hose today again and what I observed was that the stuff coming out of the hose was green, not sludge. The stuff on the plastic is a little more like sludge. So, I think it might just be that the sludge stuff is the antifreeze mixed with dirt. I took a sample of the sludge and dipped it in some acetone. The liquid phase dissolved nicely but the dirt precipitated and separated from the sludge, which reinforces my thinking that it's likely ethylene glycol with some dirt.

Ok, gotcha.

I guess I can swing two new gallons of antifreeze.

I recall turning the heater on in two occasions. Once as a test to see if it worked. And the other instance was an early December morning, 5 am to be precise, before training, that my windshield was fogged up and I couldn't see out through it. It had rained prior to that.