Cooling system
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 28
Likes: 6
Cooling system What's the best set up for my cooling system? I live down south and rarely does it get freezing.
50/50 mix?
Distilled water + water wetter?
50/50 + water wetter?
distilled water + water wetter+ 15% coolant. ?
On the bottle of water wetter it shows water + wetter is better?
Also I read an article that says NOT to use distilled water in a engines cooling system.??? Because it bad.
https://www.hyperlube.com/blog/blog/why-you-should-never-use-distilled-water-in-your-cooling-system/
I bought distilled water already and this entire time I've always been told to use distilled water. So now I'm confused.. or maybe I'm over thinking it.
50/50 mix?
Distilled water + water wetter?
50/50 + water wetter?
distilled water + water wetter+ 15% coolant. ?
On the bottle of water wetter it shows water + wetter is better?
Also I read an article that says NOT to use distilled water in a engines cooling system.??? Because it bad.
https://www.hyperlube.com/blog/blog/why-you-should-never-use-distilled-water-in-your-cooling-system/
I bought distilled water already and this entire time I've always been told to use distilled water. So now I'm confused.. or maybe I'm over thinking it.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 28
Likes: 6
I was probably just over thinking things and got carried away.
Most definitely. Unless you have a heavily modified car, a normal 50/50 mix, as detailed in the owners manual is the way to go. These cars are tested from Death Valley to the Arctic Circle with the fluids detailed in the owners manual, so you are fine for whatever you'll get in between.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 28
Likes: 6
Been driving it a couple days now and my temps rarely gets to 210 seems to just stay around 170 while driving even at low speeds. Does go up while at idle to 210 then drops down once I get moving. I was thinking of doing the 160 t stat but maybe I don't need it.
I did spend alot of time flushing the system . My coolant color is bright green like it came out the container. I was thinking of flushing it yearly but maybe this is overkill?
I'm loving how significantly cooler the engine runs compared to before.
I did spend alot of time flushing the system . My coolant color is bright green like it came out the container. I was thinking of flushing it yearly but maybe this is overkill?
I'm loving how significantly cooler the engine runs compared to before.
TECH Junkie
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,922
Likes: 676
From: Western North Carolina
^^^ It sounds like you did a fine job flushing out all the old and having nice green fluid now.
I had my trusted mechanic flush out all the old Dexcool about 5 years ago (has to be thoroughly flushed out) and replaced with the 50-50 mix. I've been to Cape Cod (3,000 miles total) since and to the southwestern US (5,600 miles) a few months ago. Just one flush about one year ago knowing I was taking a long trip and it's as green as yours even after the trip. It never overheated w/ zero issues on the trip and no fluid loss. We hit some really hot temps in AZ too. I will probably flush it again next year in 2022 just as general maintenance. I do not add many miles between long trips so the 2 - 3 year 'flush' system works for me. If you are driving 15k+ miles per year, yeah, maybe flush it every year just to stay on top of it.
I had my trusted mechanic flush out all the old Dexcool about 5 years ago (has to be thoroughly flushed out) and replaced with the 50-50 mix. I've been to Cape Cod (3,000 miles total) since and to the southwestern US (5,600 miles) a few months ago. Just one flush about one year ago knowing I was taking a long trip and it's as green as yours even after the trip. It never overheated w/ zero issues on the trip and no fluid loss. We hit some really hot temps in AZ too. I will probably flush it again next year in 2022 just as general maintenance. I do not add many miles between long trips so the 2 - 3 year 'flush' system works for me. If you are driving 15k+ miles per year, yeah, maybe flush it every year just to stay on top of it.
There's nothing wrong with the red coolant. It's actually less maintenance. Many of us have been running it for 200K miles with no issues. Like everything else, it needs to be properly flushed and maintained. The green is no different - except that it needs more frequent changes and maintenance.
We have many posters on this site who neglect their red coolant to the point where they have a major issue and think that going green is a great victory. In reality; if they treat their green the same way they did their red - they will just encounter new types of problems in less time.
Half of the coolant in the V8 cars sits inside the engine. The Jiffy Lube flushes don't do the job properly (red or green) and leave a lot of old coolant behind. In order to properly change the fluid, the engine coolant galleries need to be opened and drained following GM's procedure. This takes some time, the alternator and starter usually need to be removed, and is a total mess - but the job gets done right. We have other threads here on that process. When done properly, the red coolant won't oxidize and the green won't dilute its anticorrosives.
We have many posters on this site who neglect their red coolant to the point where they have a major issue and think that going green is a great victory. In reality; if they treat their green the same way they did their red - they will just encounter new types of problems in less time.
Half of the coolant in the V8 cars sits inside the engine. The Jiffy Lube flushes don't do the job properly (red or green) and leave a lot of old coolant behind. In order to properly change the fluid, the engine coolant galleries need to be opened and drained following GM's procedure. This takes some time, the alternator and starter usually need to be removed, and is a total mess - but the job gets done right. We have other threads here on that process. When done properly, the red coolant won't oxidize and the green won't dilute its anticorrosives.
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TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 877
Likes: 55
From: Poway, Ca. where GOD and the sun always shines
I use a 60/40 mix of Dexcool and distilled water, plus a water wetter (which lubracates the water pump bearing). I live in a very hot dry climate, that also has very hard water (alkaline).
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