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Antifreeze mix ratio


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actually as it has been stated, water is what gives the cooling properties. all the antifreeze does it give the water a lower freezing temp, or a higher boiling temp

 

i say anything between 25 and 50% green to water, for moderate climates.

 

i tend to not like dex cool, as i think it has more potential to get hot , and the orange will find leks throu small holes that green would not find its way thru.

 

and yes, you can mix orange and greena nd it still will work, but like it was stated, the orange life will be reduced by the amount of green mixed in with,

 

so you can use orange to top off green in emergency type situations.

 

i myself will stick to green.

 

orange seems a waste if you will change it before its extended life period

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Originally posted by Skip

That site has a wealth of info for us car nutz.

Did ya peek at the DIY tool section?

http://www.carcarecouncil.org/DIY_tools.shtml

Yup. I even copied it into my file for various useful car information.

Skip, I think you should start a separate thread called "useful reading" or smth. similar, and post all the wonderful stuff you find -- that would be the easiest way to keep up with you. Like "joke of the day", but both fun and useful.

(sorry to deviate the discussion again, folks.)

 

Back to the cooling issue, my cooling system has been neglected for a long time (not by me), and there's a ton of rust there. What's the best way to get rid of it? How high is the risk to make a swiss chease out of it?

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guys...in the summer, i'd thin the coolant WAY out probably 25% antifreeze, and 75% water. Then use some Redline Water Wetter. This stuff will add anti-corrosion properties that you need, and also make your car run cooler.

 

last summer, i was running 50/50, and dumped in a little bit of water wetter (1/8 of a bottle), and noticed a difference on the gauge (stock gauge)

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Originally posted by JonOfScio

I use premixed 50/50. I don't bother measuring crap.

 

2 jugs for the price of 1 woll swap you a lot of motors. i tend to run a lot of straight water because i never have enough antifreeze.

but some kind of 15/75 mix i will have in the summer time because.

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Originally posted by beauregaardhooligan

Ira, bite the bullet and buy a new radiator. You *and* your Sube will be much happier. Trying to clean a 20 year old radiator is a waste of time and money.

Actually, I was more wondering about the engine; radiator is relatively "cheap". I also have radiator from the parts car; don't know if it's in any better shape though.

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Miles, I was going to suggest that...............one jug of Prestone and a gallon of purified water for .78 more...........two gallons of pre-mixed 50/50 ready to go :D .

 

Ma-fia, bust out and get a new radiator and don't get another plastic/aluminum one; they are Junk. Get an all brass one..............I paid $120 for mine, 10 year warranty from 1-800 radiator.....have your core size ready when you call.......

Had mine 6 years, no problems yet and no plastic tanks to break or seals to leak.

 

Just my .02

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Hey, Ira!

You *definitely* want to flush the motor before putting a new radiator in, probably a few times.

I recommend the flushes you leave in for several hours of driving time *and* a flush/fill kit with the *T* connection in the heater hose. It allows for a positive flush and helps keep air out of the system.

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Ira, you can get it at the parts store. Prestone makes one, and I've seen others.

It is a T connection that you install on the heater hose. It allows you to connect a garden hose to the cooling system and run water through it. The prestone kit comes with a nozzle you put in the neck of the radiator, but I prefer opening the bottom radiator hose to let it run out. That way particulate matter flushes better than trying to force it to the top of the radiator. Don't bother with the drain plug, it's too small and slow to work well.

You need to remove the thermostat when flushing with a hose or the cold water will cause it to close and not allow a complete flush.

Also be sure to set your heater control on high when you run the flushing solution and when flushing.

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Aha, cool.

Actually, I have someone I can pester with really stupid questions here and there. The thing is that most of the time he's heard of everything, but the knowledge stays in "passive" meaning if I ask "shouldn't ... be done?" he would say oh yeah, and throw in another good idea, but to the question "what to do" sometimes I get unsatisfactory (for me) answers.

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