So as an engineer this issue has been bugging me. So today I set out to see what I could do to solve this. I started by flushing the system 3 times with PEAK flushing mix. On the last time I went and drove the crap out the Hummer in all gears, A/C on high and all 4x4 modes. Brought it back home and drained it. I then flushed the system with just distilled water 2 times and once again drove the **** out of it.

After the last flush I noticed a modest amount of corrosion in the bucket. Not too bad. I then used 1 and 1/2 bottles of water wetter, 1 and 1/2 gallons of Peak 50/50 mix and the rest distilled water. I took the H3 to the normal spots, climbing up hills, down hills, over some rocks and through the forest.... Amazing enough I did all this with the A/C on high and to my amazement the needle never broke the half way point on the gauge, where in the past I would be at 3/4 the whole time.

So for $30 I fixed what GM failed to do when they created this monster. I will run some tests on the coolant in a week and see where I stand. I will scan the engine as well and see how it is doing as well. I am not stating that this a complete fix until I run the H3 for awhile and see how the seals and the corrosion factor is. But all the signs right point to I have conquered the heat issue.

My conclusion is that DEX-COOL sucks and is not right for this engine.

Cheers
-Deryl

 

How does one use wetter water? and how big was the bottle of wetter water that you put in with the 1 1/2 gallons of peak?

 

To be more specific, the H3 coolant system holds 2.5 gallons or 10 qts.

I used:

1 1/2 (12oz) bottles of water wetter = 0.140625 gallons
1 1/2 (1 gal) bottles of PEAK 50/50 = 1.5 gallons

that leaves 0.859375 gallons of distilled water.

The PEAK is already diluted so I would calculate 1.609375 gallons is distilled water (that's 68%)

So I am running a close 32% (coolant/ water wetter) 68% (distilled water)

 

My plan is to change it once winter hits again. I don't mind flushing a radiator twice a year. I always lean to the "better safe than sorry attitude."

 

Like a true engineer..... numbers to precision, reality in the back seat.

I would not use that much water wetter in a street vehicle, it doesn't work the way you think it does. In strip/street motors it will cool hot spots in the cylinder heads, but up here in MI winters you trade a huge amount of freeze protection. I would caution you to reasearch it further, but I note you are planning on a change before winter.

BTW dexcool works fine. Never changed the radiator fluid and never added any magic bottles of stuff and at 38k miles, cannot get my guage passed the half way mark under any circumstances. Course we only have 20 or so trueley hot days all year. If you have a heat build problem it is usually because of something elase than radiator fluid. I don't know how many miles your vehicle has, how much towing you have done, tire size etc.... but I would be looking for the heat maker first, not radiator fluid. Water wetter can hide it for a while, but it doesn't fix it. Just some food for thought.

 

it goes up to mid point and stops,ALL11 MONTHS IVE HAD IT,july,aug hot and jan,feb cold. heat is great,quick even at -10.

if it went up in normal drive id be lookin,,wow,not tranny cooler,,surely.

ahh thermostat!!,,couldnt be

my probe has leaky head gasket ??

um just gessin

tom

 

it goes up to mid point and stops,ALL11 MONTHS IVE HAD IT,july,aug hot and jan,feb cold. heat is great,quick even at -10.

if it went up in normal drive id be lookin,,wow,not tranny cooler,,surely.

ahh thermostat!!,,couldnt be

my probe has leaky head gasket ??

um just gessin

tom

oh h307,3.7,,50k

 

06', H3, 3.5L, 39K....
No towing
285/75/16 Terra Grapplers on Stock wheels
K&N Air Filter

I had been pondering this for some time now. I had checked the usual suspects (thermostat, fan clutch, faulty water pump, hell I even went as far as checking the voltage across the temp switch) all checked normal. I benched tested the thermostat, opened like a champ at 185 degrees which is spec according to GM.

I not convinced on your analysis of water wetter . I use a 75/25 mix (water wetter/distilled water) in my track car (1984 BMW SPEC E30) due to the rules of no ethylene glycol and found no heating issues at all. 45 minute races in 90+ degree weather, track temps over 130. No heat issues, I will swear by water wetter due to my experiences with it. Some of the guys I race with just run water wetter due to the lubricating property it holds. But what I have learned over the years is that two things manufactured right next to each other can have completely different areas of issues.

Definitely during the winter the gauge never broke half way, agreed! I had been looking into this and reading a lot of post about how more and more people were experiencing the same issue. My common sense would not let me believe that GM built a vehicle which such a high running heat temp. I also saw on here someone posted that GM used two different thermostats, one that was shipped in H3s to the north and another spec on those shipped to the south. This is false. I called 3 different GM dealers and 1 of the few Hummer dealers left and there is only one part number for the thermostat in their parts directory for the inline 5.

I did not believe it to be a faulty head gasket due to no mixing in the oil or coolant and no white smoke. Checked the spark plugs and saw no noticeable deposits on the insulator tip that had glazed over so I don’t believe the engine is overheating due to a wide range of issues.

Like I said I will be flushing the radiator come winter time and once again for summer. I do own two 2006 H3s and have to say they both have the same issue. I was just throwing out there what I had performed and what my quick results were, my disclaimer is that it worked for me and that I want to run it for a while and see the condition of the motor and cooling system in a month or so.

I am all ears for some other solutions from anyone.

-Deryl

 

Yeah, yeah.... I was dyslectic when I wrote that 3 times.... Thanks for pointing out my flaw! lol

 

lmao!