I know there have been a few posts lately about flushing coolant, but none covered this that I found. I've read that it's not a good idea to pull the freeze plugs, so I'll have to pull the thermostat to drain the coolant from the block. Then use a hose to rinse the block out...no big deal I guess. But I've also read that tap water is bad since it corrodes and you're supposed to use Distilled water...cool...cheap stuff, but there's gonna be tap water in the block from the hose. Does that matter? There's not much I can do about it right? So i'll have a mixture of tap water/distilled water/anti-freeze...
Mixture of Tap Water/Distilled Water/Anti-Freeze?
- Thread starter TheUser
- Start date
Not at all, there will be too much an insufficient amount to cause any problems. Tap water in the system isn't that bad anyways.
I never pull the thermostat. I just shove a garden hose in the radiator neck and let the engine run warmed up for 10 mins. Usually everything is crystal clear by then.
Michael Yount
Mustang Master
It takes a bit more time and costs a bit more. But I've found the best way is simply drain as much as you can, refill with pure distilled, drive til the t'stat opens, drain again, refill again with pure distilled, etc. Keep the drill up until it's running pretty clear. Then drain, add about a gallon of antifreeze and about 1/2 gallon of distilled. Drive - then check the specific gravity of the mixture so you can see to what temp you're protected. In Springfield I'd probably want to be good to 10 or 20 below zero. Adjust to that temp by adding either more antifreeze or distilled until you're there. You can buy distilled real cheaply in 3 gal. containers at WalMart.
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