I am switching coolant in my LT1 and I need to go and get the system flushed because I was using some special coolant stuff, all of the coolant is out of the radiator but some is still in the block, would it be ok if I just filled the rest of the radiator with water and drove it 30 minutes away? it isnt going to freeze or anything its hot here. Anyone know what the stuff I was using is called? I forget the name but it was like 20 dollars a gallon or something.

Thanks in advance

 

Sure its ok, I run distilled water and almost no coolant, maybe 10%.

 

yup , but you can do it yourself too , just fill it with water, run the car for a few , drain the radiator etc... repeat until the water coming out of it is clean.

little messy and leaves you with gallons of dirty water , LOL , but it only takes maybe an hour tops and most of it is spent draining the fluid.

you can run 100% water but I wouldn't recommend it as the water might freeze when the temperatures drop (then again it is spring already so you will be good to go 'till october or so , lol).

 

The stuff you was using was just regular red/orange antifreeze you can buy at any parts store probably. When I did my engine swap I flushed the radiator and replaced the red stuff with green stuff. Some of the guys at the dealership told me that the red stuff seemed to eat up the seals.

 

Yes and no.

Yes, you can run pure Distilled Water if the block doesn't freeze.

No, you can't run regular tap water. Hose water has mineral deposits that build on the cylinder walls inside the water jacket. If you've ever build a block and popped out the freeze plugs, you'll see white crusty thick deposits or clear/brownish glassy type deposits. Either way, they build on the cylinder walls in the coolant jacket and restrict heat transfer from the cylinder to the coolant.

Get Distilled Water from the grocery store... or, in some regions in the east you can get "radiator water" which is the same stuff. Do not use hose water.

 

So I can just keep running hose water through the system until it comes out clean, and then put regular mixed coolant in once it is all flushed? I also have an RO unit which purifies water for my salt water fishtank could I use that?

Thanks for all the replys everyone

 

probably not because if its for salt water, cleaner that you would need would take the salt out along w/ the minerals... not sure on this thou
Only bad thing that could come outa running pure water would be that ure block would boil over at 210 instead of 250 w/ 50% mixture, although it has less of a chance of getting that high because water has better heat transfer properties.
Also most antifreeze has anti rust stuff and other stuff that helps prevent buildup on the block...

 

No, a purifier or water filter will not work. When you boil water and collect the steam, that steam is pure H2O aka Distilled Water. So, if you're into moonshine and you've got a "still" or Distiller on your property then you can distill your own water. But if you want buy some Distilled Water from the grocery store it's about $3 for a gallon or two. I must admit, a still sounds a bit more exciting plus moonshine could be a definate plus. Market it in a bottle called "Bowtie Whoopa$$" and with the money you make, you can really trick your car. Well that was a tangent.

Anyways, no a filter will not work.