Good to hear you stood your ground until you got what you needed.

 

Glad you got it fixd right. Keep in mind sometimes the information sources the shop pay a monthly fee for can varry from one another. Ie mitchell or alldata.

 

Man I love it when you can prove service managers wrong :lol: I took our family's Safari van for an oil change yesterday. We get coupons in the mail for a $30 oil, lube and filter from Active Green and Ross, and all it is is an oil change so no big deal on a "chain" garage. I walk in and say to the service manager "I have an appointment for an oil change for an 04 Safari, and here's this coupon." He told me I couldn't use it, and I asked why, and he said "Your van takes like 15-16L of oil and that coupon is only good for up to 5L." I straight up told him that it took right around 5L, and that we've used that coupon at oil changes for the last 10 years at the same shop. He then tried convincing me that he had a "2012 in the other day that took 16L." I just told him to have the oil change done for 3pm and walked out.

[/rant]

And apparently this "service manager" knows of a new model of the Safari introduced in 2012?!?! :lol:

 

Yeah it's good to be educated on our trucks. This is a great place to learn all the stuff that you may not think about, but should know.

 

Good case for use of the 50/50 pre-blended coolant products. I use Final Charge ELC for all of my stuff from heavy diesels on down to pickup gas engines and I only purchase it in 50/50 premix. Any trust I might have had in dealer and OEM shops dissipated from my thinking quite a long time ago. Even the Cummins OEM shop near me couldn't get coolant right on my 2006 Cummins ISX 15L in my last semi truck. Similarly, The GM dealers near me leave a lot to be desired when it comes to competence.

I also like the pre-blended coolant products because the water in them is de-mineralized and de-ionized which is best for coolant system use. I don't do the coolant service on all my vehicles all the time, but when I do go to a shop to have it done, I bring the coolant to the party. That way I know what is going in and that it is mixed to the proper levels.

 

Duramax cooling system capacity is actually 24.7 quarts, so he was closer than you think. But when doing a cooling system "flush" you are actually exchanging the coolant, typically with a machine that puts new coolant (already mixed 50/50) into the system as the old is leaving. Duramax trucks are particularly difficult to exchange due to the way the inlet and outlet work. The best method I have found to do a more complete job may seem silly, but it actually works better than any machine connected to the truck (the machines do a very ineffective job at actually exchanging the coolant on this engine). I replace the block heater, which gets over 85% of the coolant out of the system, then fill it with fresh premixed dexcool. It usually takes a little over 4 gallons of premix using this method. The only residual coolant is low-laying in hoses and the various little crevices in the block, but I can assure you it's by far and away the most effective mehtod.

So busting his chops over 1/2 gallon not being shoved into the system during the process is rather silly.

 

I'm not interested in going all 'OCD' about this but I have an expensive truck that I'm keeping up with the manufacture's specs on service.

My only point is to know more than the average Joe - as the people you trust often don't care about your investment like you do.

Not sure what you mean by (only) a 1/2 gal difference.
I knew it was a 24.7 Qts capacity (I said "almost 25" in the post)
BTW 25 is closer to 24.7 than 21 is - but had they given me 21 Qts of 50-50 I wouldn't have bust their chops. I rec'd a much more diluted blend...
They initially only put in 2gals (8 Qts) of pure DexCool - which would only yield 16 Qts of 50-50 mix (then filled the remainder of the system with just water)
I'm sure NASA can figure out what that (diluted) ratio was... All I knew is it was no where close to 50-50
The shop owner (a GMC Duramax owner himself) even sided with me saying they just don't get a lot of Duramax's in the shop so the shop guys don't know.

Heck, the truck will run on pure water but that's not how I want to maintain mine.

When you pay for something you should expect the job done right.

 

Thank you guys...
The forum is really a great place to learn about your truck.
I will bring my own supply of pre-blend DexCool mix with me next time (another 5 years from now) just to avoid the confusion.

 

Not a darn thing wrong about wanting things done right. No OCD issues at all. Coolant needs to be at the proper mix for both hot and cold temps. Any less than the necessary mix skews the effectiveness. Pump seals need a proper level of mix to ensure they are lubricated properly as well. It is a little more complicated than just anti-freezing and anti-boiling.

I did the same thing with the OEM shop on my 2006 Cummins ISX 15L. They did the coolant wrong. I had them flush it out and refill with the proper coolant. They had added SCA's (Supplementary Coolant Additive) to the coolant when it was a no nitrite Extended Life Coolant that did not use SCA's. Screwed the coolant up. Even in the commercial heavy diesel shops, you get so-called "techs" that never seem to keep up with the technology in their profession.

The owner is always wise to follow up and demand the correct thing. Follow the old slogan... Trust, but verify".

 

I'm not interested in going all 'OCD' about this but I have an expensive truck that I'm keeping up with the manufacture's specs on service.

My only point is to know more than the average Joe - as the people you trust often don't care about your investment like you do.

Not sure what you mean by (only) a 1/2 gal difference.
I knew it was a 24.7 Qts capacity (I said "almost 25" in the post)
BTW 25 is closer to 24.7 than 21 is - but had they given me 21 Qts of 50-50 I wouldn't have bust their chops. I rec'd a much more diluted blend...
They initially only put in 2gals (8 Qts) of pure DexCool - which would only yield 16 Qts of 50-50 mix (then filled the remainder of the system with just water)
I'm sure NASA can figure out what that (diluted) ratio was... All I knew is it was no where close to 50-50
The shop owner (a GMC Duramax owner himself) even sided with me saying they just don't get a lot of Duramax's in the shop so the shop guys don't know.

Heck, the truck will run on pure water but that's not how I want to maintain mine.

When you pay for something you should expect the job done right.

No offense, but you don't come off as knowing more than the "average joe". Nothing you said tells me they dilluted a blend of anything. When doing a flush, or even a drain and fill, using 2 gallons of full strength doesn't indicate they would need to fill "the remainder with water". It just means they exchanged that amount when doing the flush. It doesn't mean your system is dilluted. The only way to tell if the system was dilluted is to use a hydrometer or refractometer (my tool of choice). If they just did 2 gallons of full strength, then it sounds like they did a drain and fill. It's nothing to get upset or unwound about, as that is the recommended service procedure for dexcool systems in lieu of doing an "exchange" or "flush".

 

Love that saying!

 

I changed out the anti-freeze in my duramax. The garage told me NOT to use dexcool(orange stuff). It's hard on gaskets, use regular 50/50 anti freeze. Since I pull a race trailer he also suggest an additive that helps keep it cool.