Engine coolant drain plugs
 

Ok, this question is more about draining procedures because the searches I've done turned up posts I read that indicate what I already learned, the engine drain plugs are impossible to get at, I swear I'd have to take off the exhaust manifold. So... How can I check the coolant/water ratio without draining all the coolant? Here is what I did. flushed the system until it ran clear and then filled and drained one last time, i got about 5 quarts out, I then filled with 100% antifreeze giving me a 50+ of coolant and 50- of water but certainly not more than 70/30, I also filled the overflow with pure antifreeze. Does this match what others are doing?

Re: Engine coolant drain plugs
 

Why not just pre-mix the anti-freeze and water at 50%, then pour it in?? That's what I did. That way you know you will be not more than a few % off of 50/50 for the whole fill.

DW

Auto parts store sell these gauge that you suck some mixture up into it. It will measure what your mixture is.

Re: Re: Engine coolant drain plugs
 

No, it won't be at 50/50 because your forgetting about the large amount of water left in the system after flushing it, its in there because its damn near impossible to get at the engine drain plugs. So if you take 50/50 mix to 100 % water you'll get less than 50/50

Oooh! Whats this dealy thingamabob all about?

You can by a tool that sucks the solution in (like a turkey baster) and will show you on a scale how your coolant is...tried to find it
at PepBoys.com, but, like most auto tools sites, it really sucks...

best,
Flo_Boy

I have no idea how it works...maybe it has something to do with density of the fluid mixture. Anyway it's a $10 tool that you buy at any auto part store.

You mean that thing with the balls that float in it, the number of balls that are floating indictating the mixture?

I believe it's called a hydrometer and it measures the specific gravity of a solution. Liquids denser than water will have a higher specific gravity, while liquids less dense will have a lower specific gravity.