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cooling system capacity

AtlantaSteve

Active Member
I'm changing my engine fluids today in hopes of lighting the engine up today. I am draining all the coolant right now, but I don't think it was full. I need to fill it up, and want to get the 80/20 water/coolant mix (adding water wetter, too) but am not sure how much the system holds so I can calculate 20% to know how much coolant to pour in.

I have a 66 with a stock-size 2 row alum radiator, heater is hooked up, 1980-something 5.0 motor.

How do you figure the 80/20 mix?

Thanks.

Steve!
 
First, be sure the engine has been drain completely.

As to the mix, mix it in a gallon jug outside the engine, then just pour in the mix until full. I never try to figure a mix buy adding to the engine.
 
Steve,

You may want to just run straight water if the car hasn't been run in a while. I hate getting anti-freeze in a new motor only to find it leaking/spitting all over the garage floor. Once you're certain there are no leaks.... remove the lower radiator hose from the motor to drain both the engine and radiator and then pre-mix and add you coolant to the motor after the hose is re-installed.
 
Thanks Guys.

Pete, thanks for the premixing. That was a pretty obvious answer, so I must have been pretty tired this morning. As soon as I read what you wrote it dawned on me that 1 gallon of water + 1 Quart of Antifreeze is an 80/20 mix. So, yeah I found a giant tub and premixed a few gallons up.

Dave, I wish I had read your response earlier, cause that's exactly what happened! I had one of those flushing kits on my heater hose and when I filled the system back up with water it started leaking like a sieve. Not sure why. The connections seemed tight, but it was sure leaking. So I pulled it apart, and took the hose off the port of the water pump and the mixed water started POURING out. I stuck my finger in it and then was like "Now what? I need my hands to fix this, but can't pull my finger out" I was able to work left handed and bypassed the heater core, and got it fixed...but I had lost water EVERYWHERE. It was a mess.

BUT I got the candles to light, so mission accomplished :) Thanks guys. I'll post a video of the firing soon!

Steve
 
I stuck my finger in it and then was like "Now what? I need my hands to fix this, but can't pull my finger out".....


You've been hereby promoted to "master mechanic". Don't sweat it, this kinda crap only happens to the best if us!
 
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