coolant/antifreeze

[packinkimber45]

hey guys, still doing some things to get my car up to par. maintenance work. never changed coolant/antifreeze before. what do you guys use? found one at wallyworld that was prestone that was ready to use 50/50 mixture, no water needed to be added. is this okay to use? I opened up radiator cap and nothing! off course previous owner sais never leaked and always kept up on it just like the t case. I call bs! anyways beside just a little moist under the cap, the small amount of liquid that was left is corroded as can be. reservoir was also empty. any proceedure I need to do such as flush? how is this done? any special additives or flushing agents I should get? thanks guys.

 

[Defiant]

If it was rusty, I'd use Prestone's flush kit on it.
Until it snows, you don't need more than 30% antifreeze. It works out fine to use 1 gallon of 50% pre-mix and fill the rest with distilled, bottled water from the grocery store. Although they kind of gouge you for the pre-mix stuff.
If you have any cooling issues, consider replacing the radiator. Depending on how much things were rusting, you may have clogged tubes.

 

[packinkimber45]

should I get one of those flush kits with fittings? how do you exactly flush your radiator? I know it sounds stupid, but like I said never done one. thanks again.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

I usually just drain the fluid (unhook a lower hose is easy). Then run water through with a garden hose. Reconnecting everything and filling it up, then draining again is necessary to get gunk out.

I believe with the flush fluid you drain the old coolant then refill with the flush and run it for a while, drain it out and refill with the proper coolant ratio. I've never used the stuff before though.

I would recomend something like 60% water 40% coolant when you refill. Like Defiant said, you need at least 30% coolant. The more water, the better it will cool. The more coolant, the lower the freezing and higher the boiling temps will be. You need to pick your ratio based on your needs.