quick antifreeze/water question on 98 explorer 5.0..

[King$nake]

Hello, I just drained all my water out of radiator and overflow box, and I poured 1 gallon of fresh 50/50 premix coolant into the radiator and overflow box (1/2 gallon in each) however it is not even close to being topped off. Should I just top off the rest with hose water? (that was in there before)

Or is it crucial that I go to the store (somehow) and purchase more premixed coolant?

thanks!

 

[Xplorer82]

Hello, I just drained all my water out of radiator and overflow box, and I poured 1 gallon of fresh 50/50 premix coolant into the radiator and overflow box (1/2 gallon in each) however it is not even close to being topped off. Should I just top off the rest with hose water? (that was in there before)

Or is it crucial that I go to the store (somehow) and purchase more premixed coolant?

thanks!

get another gallon of 50/50. it is already diluted. you dont want to add more water.

 

[safn1949]

get another gallon of 50/50. it is already diluted. you dont want to add more water.

What he said,do it right.

 

[OneLever]

In terms of quantity, I regularly get about 1.3 gallons of coolant when draining the radiator, and put about the same in to fill it back up.

However, buying premixed coolant is a waste of money. All they "premix" it with is distilled water which can be bought at any local grocery store. It currently costs $10.50 for a gallon of concentrated coolant and about $1.50 for a gallon of distilled water. When mixed in a container that yields two gallons of coolant at $6 per gallon. Premixed 50/50 coolant off the shelf costs about $8.50 per gallon if I remember correctly. If you mix two gallons instead of buying them premixed you just saved $5.

The reason you use distilled water instead of tap water is because the minerals and dirt particles have been removed. Boil a couple of gallons of tap water in the same pot without cleaning it and you'll see residue start to appear from these dissolved contaminants. The idea is that you don't want that residue clogging up your radiator.