Sanity Check - Coolant Usage

[Deleted User]

Just to make sure I am reading the manual correctly....



My 232 has a 17 quart cooling system. I am to use 6 quarts of Prestone and 11 quarts of water.



Is there anything in the modern Prestone that would change this balance?



She gets her plate tomorrow and then a spin around town. Since she came with a history of running hot, I just want to be prepared. I am sure the added Laurel Highlans and Allegheny Mountains will make the engine work harder than flat Indiana.

[Deleted User]

Since the freezing weather is over in Johnstown (hopefully), how about running just distilled water with the water wetter additive for the summer months?

The reason I suggest this is that water cools much better than coolant or antifreeze. My Hudson used to run hot quite often. I "knew" there wasn't a problem with the radiator because the previous owner said he had it worked on. After trying different solutions, I drained the coolant and replaced it with distilled water and the water wetter additive. The temp lowered 20 degrees!! Just don't forget to use a coolant mix when winter comes.

Be sure to use the Water Wetter additive or equivalent. In addition to having something in it to reduce the surface tension of the water, it has a rust inhibitor in it, and a bit of lubricant for the water pump.

[Deleted User]

Short term, until I have a "definitive" answer from this forum....



I have 7 quarts modern Prestone and 11 quarts water plus Water Wetter.



I will see what this does tomorrow.

hudsontech

Everything I've ever had, from 1938 Dodges to 1960's Ramblers to the '97 Caddy I've always used a 50/50 mix water and Prestone with no problems.



The only deviation was when we were racing here in the south - then we used about 95% antifreeze/5% water and a 17 or 20 pound (special) radiator cap. Ran some hot engines, but never overheated.



Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

HudsonTech

Memphis, TN

Unknown

I'm with Alex on this, 50/50 all year long helps to prevent calcium buildup. Anti freeze has a higher boiling point than water. The one thing not mentioned is I always use the low silicate anti-freeze. not harmfull to aluminum or copper. Bud

Unknown

I would suggest running all water for a few months, seeing what you get in terms of leaks, etc... then later in the summer, closer to the end of September, switch to a 50/50 mix. That way, if you would have a leak, or other problem, you would only be losing water, or worse case, dumping water wherever you may be having issue, if any. It's not gonna hurt it to run water for a few months, and before you flush and fill with a 50/50, you can run some of the cleaner thru as well.

[Deleted User]

37 Terraplane#2 wrote:

I'm with Alex on this, 50/50 all year long helps to prevent calcium buildup. Anti freeze has a higher boiling point than water. The one thing not mentioned is I always use the low silicate anti-freeze. not harmfull to aluminum or copper. Bud

Use distilled water with your coolant and you won't have to worry about calcium buildup.

Geoff

Well, I go along the line that the anti-freeze/anti-boil mixture is the best to use all year round. Sure, the temp may run marginally hotter, but the boiling point is also raised, so that negates that. The actual temperature doesn't matter so much, so long as the coolant doesn't boil. That's why all modern cars are sealed and pressurised - to raise the boiling point. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point. I use a 50/50 mix in the Hornet and Jet, and change it every two years. However, in the Essex the cooling system is so effective I only use a smallbottle of anti-corrosion, and change that yearly. Keeps the inside of the radiator squeaky clean, and it never boils nor uses water.

Geoff.

[Deleted User]

Thanks you every one. I will keep the nearly 50/50 mix I have now (no need to drain as it is already in).



I was just wanting to make sure that the 6 quarts of modern Prestone was equivelent to or better than the Ethylene Glycol of 1950.

[Deleted User]

I think you're running about a 35/65 mix but that shouldn't matter too much, you don't want to run straight coolant unless it is the already premixed variety. When I was a kid we always put a quart of egg keep in the radiator to seal the water pumps even if we didn't always use coolant. I need to put a coolant recovery system on the Hash but other than that the system is working pretty good. The temp had to get well over 100 before the car started looking hot and that was on a long uphill run with lots of stop lights.



Harry

[Deleted User]

Harry...Yes, I used the straight coolant (closer to 7.5 quarts) and distilled water.

nick s

Pacemaker500 wrote:

I was just wanting to make sure that the 6 quarts of modern Prestone was equivelent to or better than the Ethylene Glycol of 1950.

Prestone is nearly entirely Ethylene Glycol. There are also some inhibitors added. I would guess that the inhibitors have improved over the years, but the main component being ethylene glycol is still the same.