Hello to the group
This past Spring I removed the thermostat and used an acid based flush to clean out all the nasty stuff from my cooling system. The water was pretty rusty and dirty and it took awhile before it ran clear. I ran the truck a few days like this, flushed it again with water only, replaced the thermostat, and then refiled it with tap water. Its been running all summer like this at about 165 degrees F and I confirmed that I'm also getting heat so I'm satisfied that there are no blockages or an other impediments to the flow.
I'm in New Hampshire so now it's time to winterize the truck. I would like to protect down to -20 degrees F, so it looks like I would need 14 quarts of full strength antifreeze to do this, or about 30 quarts of 50/50. Does that sound about right?
If I drain whatever I can from the block and the radiator is it likely that I would be able to get 14 quarts of straight antifreeze in before it overflows out of the radiator?
This guy told me about his freeze plugs rotting out so the other thing I would like to do is replenish the water with distilled water which I've gotten and filtered out of my dehumidifier the last few weeks. So my question on that issue is, is it OK to force remaining water out of the cooling system using compressed air? Could I perhaps inject 15lbs of air into the radiator petcock for instance and have the water get pushed out through the block drain? Then I could be assured that there would be plenty of room for the required coolant. I don't want to get overly anal on this but as long as I have the distilled I may as well make use of it. Thanks for any advice, Lenny
This past Spring I removed the thermostat and used an acid based flush to clean out all the nasty stuff from my cooling system. The water was pretty rusty and dirty and it took awhile before it ran clear. I ran the truck a few days like this, flushed it again with water only, replaced the thermostat, and then refiled it with tap water. Its been running all summer like this at about 165 degrees F and I confirmed that I'm also getting heat so I'm satisfied that there are no blockages or an other impediments to the flow.
I'm in New Hampshire so now it's time to winterize the truck. I would like to protect down to -20 degrees F, so it looks like I would need 14 quarts of full strength antifreeze to do this, or about 30 quarts of 50/50. Does that sound about right?
If I drain whatever I can from the block and the radiator is it likely that I would be able to get 14 quarts of straight antifreeze in before it overflows out of the radiator?
This guy told me about his freeze plugs rotting out so the other thing I would like to do is replenish the water with distilled water which I've gotten and filtered out of my dehumidifier the last few weeks. So my question on that issue is, is it OK to force remaining water out of the cooling system using compressed air? Could I perhaps inject 15lbs of air into the radiator petcock for instance and have the water get pushed out through the block drain? Then I could be assured that there would be plenty of room for the required coolant. I don't want to get overly anal on this but as long as I have the distilled I may as well make use of it. Thanks for any advice, Lenny
