Simple question: why would you dilute Dex-cool antifreeze? According to the back of my Prestone container:

- A 50/50 ratio prevents engine freeze-up down to -34 F and boilover up to 265 F.

- A 70/30 ratio prevents engine freeze-up down to -84 F and boilover up to 276 F.

Why, then, does the container say that 70/30 is the maximum allowed ratio? Is anything above that corrosive or something? Thanks for helping the newbie out.

Edit: while I'm at it, would you recommend using a radiator flushing agent on occasion?

 

The more water the better it will cool.

 

also pure ethylene glycol is flamable. not kidding.

 

Water is what you want as a coolant. It transfers heat better than just about any other substance. But it boils and freezes easily, and corrodes things. Coolant is added to modify the water.

I would not suggest a radiator flushing agent unless you notice some kind of crud buildup when draining your coolant. The whole system does not drain out, so it would be hard to get 100% of the flush agent out of the system when you are done.

 

and keep in mmind guys
when you are flushing make sure you use distiled water ,
most of GM's head gasket concerns were from using normal shop water
on the back of the dex cool bottle the is a warning about the kind of water to use ( or atleast there was )
hopefully this is a helpfull hint
D

 

there's a lot of concerns with dex-cool in general and gaskets. I think anyone using dex-cool should already be on alert to monitor for gasket leaks. Especially on non-closed coolant systems like in f-bodies and older dex-cool equipped cars.

 

The 70 part is water, not dexcool....I run mostly water (florida) and water wetter...never had a problem.

 

water wetter is the ****! so long as you dont have to worry about running against the boiling point or freezing you really wouldn't be able to beat a water + water wetter combo.

 

I agree, there's typically always some coolant left in the system however I do my best to flush it out....little bit of coolant prevents corrosion anyways, but so does the water wetter.

 

That's incorrect. 70/30 is 70% a/f and 30% water.

I know it's an old post but still shows up in Google search results. Incorrect info is no good.