1G Need to drain cooling system soon, what to put in it in the meantime?

[XC92]

Recently the top radiator hose on my '92 Talon TSi came off due to a broken inlet pipe, and coolant spilled everywhere. There was enough pipe left to reattach the hose so I topped the remaining coolant off with tap water just to get back home.

I've since ordered a new aluminum radiator and hoses and will install them this week. In the meantime I flushed and cleaned the cooling system using Prestone Flush & Clean and a garden hose with a heater core t-tap.

Thing is, for unrelated reasons, in a few weeks I'm going to have to drain the cooling system again anyway, to remove, clean and overhaul the throttle body, turbo, intake and exhaust, so it seems like a waste to top off the cooling system with new coolant when I install the new radiator, only to have to drain it all a few weeks later.

So what should I put in the cooling system in the meantime? I probably won't be driving the car much during this time, at most a few short trips of a few miles each, if that. Is tap water ok? Distilled water? What about tap water with some Evaporust or other additive in it? Or should I leave it drained? I worry about rust during this time.

Alternately, I suppose that I could put in new coolant, and when it's time to drain it, do so carefully so no dirt gets mixed in, store it in clean containers, then reuse it when I'm done with everything. Would that work too?

What I should have done was keep the water with the Flush & Fill cleaner in the cooling system till it was time to drain it, but that ship has sailed.

 

[danl]

Save the coolant? I do this all the time. I would save transmission fluid on a 10 second auto car when doing converter changes. If the color is good and it doesn’t smell burnt, it is good to go. Same with 5 speed cars but I’ve never been 10’s on one of those, just mid 11’s. If it’s got life left, reuse it.

I typically keep coolant for 5 years unless the manufacturer of the fluid says no. The corrosion package is what gets consumed. I filter all my fluids. Cheese cloth for oil and coffee filters for coolant.

The only fluid that I never reuse is brake fluid. That should get changed every 2 years, but admittedly I go 4 sometimes.