Back with a question lol, coolant

[mufullname]

I have read different answers on different forums for this question. Is it bad to run coolant at 100 percent instead of 50/50? My cobra seems to have 100 percent in radiator and whipple cooler. Would it run cooler if I mix it with distilled water in both?

 

[olympic]

Unless you drained and filled it yourself, how do you know it's 100% antifreeze? But to answer the question, yes 100% antifreeze is bad. It probably wont harm anything short term but your cooling system and intercooler will not be as efficient as possible, leading to reduced performance and possible overheating. You want somewhere between 30-60% coolant depending on your local climate. In Miami I'm sure 30% would be sufficient.

 

[Goose17]

Good time to do a flush and fill. Get Motorcraft gold concentrate and mix it 50/50 with distilled water. I recently did this to my car. It’s an easy job.

I actually drained mine, filled it with straight distilled water, ran it, drained it again and then filled it with 50/50.

 

[mufullname]

You guys are right no way of really telling the mixture if even mixed at all. It looks like it has not been mixed so i am flushing it. Thanks.

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[mufullname]

Good time to do a flush and fill. Get Motorcraft gold concentrate and mix it 50/50 with distilled water. I recently did this to my car. It’s an easy job.

I actually drained mine, filled it with straight distilled water, ran it, drained it again and then filled it with 50/50.

I also like your idea of rumnong distilled water for flushing.

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[Goose17]

I also like your idea of rumnong distilled water for flushing.

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Thanks... I run the cars with straight distilled water making sure to select full hot with the heater while doing so. I bring the cars up to temp and then drain them a second time. I assume some straight distilled water gets trapped in a few places, so after I fill the systems with a 50/50 mix, I add straight concentrated coolant as the level drops down over the next couple days when air works its way out of the system.

On some of my higher mileage cars, I add an extra step of pouring in a bottle of coolant system cleaner a few days before draining the system.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

mmm, get a coolant tester and take a sample from the crossover, that'll tell ya if its mixed or not

 

[mufullname]

mmm, get a coolant tester and take a sample from the crossover, that'll tell ya if its mixed or not

I looked that up. I will get one. I did not even know they had such a tester.

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[03 DSG Snake]

Thanks... I run the cars with straight distilled water making sure to select full hot with the heater while doing so. I bring the cars up to temp and then drain them a second time. I assume some straight distilled water gets trapped in a few places, so after I fill the systems with a 50/50 mix, I add straight concentrated coolant as the level drops down over the next couple days when air works its way out of the system.

On some of my higher mileage cars, I add an extra step of pouring in a bottle of coolant system cleaner a few days before draining the system.

Which cleaner do you use?

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

I looked that up. I will get one. I did not even know they had such a tester.

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I see you're in FL too, I have very little coolant in my mixture, I think I made mine good into the single digits or so just in case and added some water wetter as well.

 

[Goose17]

Which cleaner do you use?

I used this one when we did coolant flush/fills on both of my sons’ Mustangs recently. I just added the bottle and let them drive around for a few days then drained, flushed and refilled.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone...-7hKzzZ0gTO0e8WLkgAPpSQUYjqGH9SAaAlk7EALw_wcB

 

[52merc]

Antifreeze does more than keep it from freezing. It contains anti-corrosion additives and water pump lubricant. If you are going to run more water than coolant, you might want to add some extra conditioner such as Royal Purple's Purple Ice. If you go with 50/50 or better then don't add anything else. Ethylene Glycol based anti-freeze is not as good at transferring heat as water, so you don't want to run 100% anti-freeze, it freezes at about the same temperature as a 35/65 glycol/water mixture, and you are wasting money. I run a 50/50 to 60/40 in my vehicles, but that is because it can get to -40 here on occasion.

If you have no idea what condition the system is in, then I suggest running some radiator flush and distilled water per manufacturer's instructions, then refilling with coolant. After a good flush, use the extended life antifreeze. Its often gold coloured but some brands look more green than gold. After this it should be good for years of service.

Below is a chart showing freezing point vs percentage of coolant.

 

[mufullname]

Update: Well I installed an SVE 3 core radiator and 170 t-stat yesterday. I have used the car all day today and everything is fine. Cobra temp will not go over 198 F. No leaks, no smoke, no nothing. I feel relieved. However, I also think I realized I am not into wrenching no more lol. My neighbor owns a car dealer and I think I am going to trader it in for something newer. I am to old and have little time to be tinkering with cars. So guys just in case I do trade it in thanks for all the help.