i gotta change my coolant..so i have a few questions

[ll3lue]

well im gonna drain my radaitor tommrow when i wake up..it was recored like a year or 2 ago..and im sure the fluid needs to be drained..the car has been running hot also..not boiling out of the overflow tank hot..but hot..lol..like 200-215 degrees sometimes with the air on high..so im gonna drain out the radaitor and i wanted to know if i could just fill it back up with pure water because i heard antifreeze can be bad?..or what do you guys suggest?..i plan on upgrading to the dual fan setup in the future.. whats the best way that you guys recommend to really flush the system good also?

and what are some tests you can do to make sure the coolant system is working properly?..to break it down to either the rad, or the fan, or the water pump or what have you

 

[JP87GN]

You want a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and distilled water. But not everyone does the distilled water.

 

[ll3lue]

whats the capacity of the stock rad so i know how much antifreeze/water to mix?

 

[JP87GN]

I'm not sure on the capacity but most cars take less than two gallons. I just pour 1/2 gallon on Anti-freeze and then 1/2 gallon of water and then mix the rest together and top it off.

 

[84GNwith87eng]

I just did mine, I used a gallon of anti freeze mixed with a gallon of tap water

Just check the level in the radiator when you fill it, and make sure you don't put too much in, you'll have a lil left over most likely, depending on how much is too much for your overflow/running conditions.

My overflow is usually like a 1/4 filled, or else it'll bubble over

 

[Nick Micale]

Your car will run hotter with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze than pure water.

To answer your question, the system capacity is 4 gallons.

If you have run the same antifreeze for 2 years, there is a good chance your radiator has major deposits. You cannot run plain [or filtered] water as it will cause rust, corrosion, cavitation and electrolysis. You must run an additive with the water to prevent all this from happening.

 

[1FASTV6]

You must run an additive with the water to prevent all this from happening.

RMI 25 4 oz. and a little antifreeze.

 

[ll3lue]

RMI 25 4 oz. and a little antifreeze.

where do i get this RMI stuff?

 

[trading t/a]

I use only distilled water, anitfreeze tends to eat bearings if you blow a hg. Anyone know if the eavans waterless coolant is any better?

 

[Red Regal T]

I just use water myself. I haven't seen any rust. My water stays clear. I do just dump it from time to time..........at great expense. If you don't have to use anti-freeze, don't. If you blow a head gasket, anti-freeze is detrimental to your bearings.

 

[ll3lue]

I just use water myself. I haven't seen any rust. My water stays clear. I do just dump it from time to time..........at great expense. If you don't have to use anti-freeze, don't. If you blow a head gasket, anti-freeze is detrimental to your bearings.

do you use normal water or distilled wateR?

 

[87grandnat]

only use distilled, i also use rmi 25 ( that **** works!)

Joshua

 

[onefastgn]

Just use distilled water and go to autozone and get some water wetter they sell it for like 6 or 7 bucks and it workes great..One bottle will be more then enought.Ive been using it that way for years and when winter comes just remove some of the water and replace with anti-freeze so that it won't crack the block during the winter then just do the same the following spring. Its cheap and like I said it works well...Good luck

 

[87gninpa]

this may be a stupid question, but what qualifies water as distilled? just sitting for a while?

 

[ll3lue]

this may be a stupid question, but what qualifies water as distilled? just sitting for a while?

i believe distilled water is captured water vapor..so it has no minerals and such..for instance when you boil a pot of water and you have the lid on..the water vapor that is on top of the lid is distilled..so it just caught water vapors

 

[87gninpa]

so where do you get it??

 

[Silver 'T' Top]

Your local supermarket should have crap loads of the stuff !!

 

[Red Regal T]

Yeah distilled water. It's cheap. Costs about 60 cents a gallon at Walmart, but all food markets also carry it. Keep a few gallons on hand at home.

 

[TurboBuckeye]

To answer your question, the system capacity is 4 gallons.

True but he'll never get near that out and back in

where do i get this RMI stuff?

Auto Zone, Jegs, Advance Auto Parts...I think about everywhere

Costs about 60 cents a gallon at Walmart, but all food markets also carry it. Keep a few gallons on hand at home.

Walgreens will never lose...24 hours a day. I also keep a few gallons on hand for the cars and the humidor

 

[87gninpa]

is there a need to flush the system when switching from antifreeze to water, or will it be so little it wont make a difference