Green, Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Blue- AAAAaaaaahhh!

[UncleS2]

Well, the radiator & its hoses are off the car, system flushed with garden hose. Based on factory specified cooling capacity of ~7 qts, & past drain/flushes where refill was ~6 qts, I suspect there's about 1 qt of tap water left in the block & heater hoses- & it's staying, ain't gonna worry about it.

All those types & colors: Antifreeze sure got complicated, didn't it?

It's the potential problems of mixing different types that worries me. I decided to just go back with conventional Peak green, distilled water, & a dose of RMI-25 in it. That way, even though green, it'll never become "snot of death"!

I'll probably drain this in a few weeks anyway when replacing the timing belt & water pump- at least that's the plan.

**I also have a gallon of WM SuperTech "works in everything" antifreeze. The system will be flushed well enough that there should be no mixing problems, *this* time. Any reason to use this now instead of the Peak conventional?

 

[The Critic]

Supertech Universal would be the better choice given that its an extended-life coolant and will give you a greater margin of error even if you changed it every 2 years, at least with regards to the corrosion inhibitors.

I use the Prestone Universal myself, I see no reason why I should use the conventional stuff when newer, better technology is avaliable.

 

[UncleS2]

Thanks for the input. After doing even more research, I've decided to go with traditional green Peak. Yes, service life is less, but it's what my 97 Neon was designed to run, the car has always had some version of it, and some advise that if I *must* switch, to use G-05 instead of DexCool &/or its clones, like the WM "one size fits all".

And besides- I can return the WM stuff!

 

[Ray H]

Next time use distilled water to do the repeated flushes. The cost is minimal when purchased at WalMart and you have the advantage that once done, that quart, or whatever*, remaining behind will be essentially distilled water. G-05 would certainly be a very acceptable alternative next time. DaimlerChrysler thinks highly enough of it that they use it as factory fill. (Just buy it at Pep Boys under the Zerex label instead of the orange version at stealerships, though.

)

*Unless you opened the block drain plug(s), I suspect the remaining water volume was closer to half the cooling system capacity.

 

[m2200b]

I use green on an older 1991. I end up changing it more anyway with repair maintenance as I drop coolant to replace its 17 year old parts - hoses, tstat, heater hoses, water pump. Its more cost effective if you are changing it more often and really is a better product than its 20 year ago snot of death version.

 

[UncleS2]

Ray, in a lot of cars I'd agree with you. But the owners manual & FSM both specify 7 qts for AC equipped Neons. Refilling has required about 5 qts poured into the thermostat housing, plus another quart or so into the overflow tank. My capacity may be down a little now becuse the new radiator has the tubing on bottom for an automatic transmission.

Still, it's a good point. Maybe I'll get my local service station to check with their hydrometer(should be much more accurate than my old cheap pocket antique!) and work out just what my percentage is.

And since I plan to change the timing belt, idler pulleys, & water pump in a few weeks, I'll have an opportunity to add a little more straight antifreeze if it should need it to come up to 50%.

 

[UncleS2]

I'd be happy to flush with distilled water, unfortunately I have no way to pressurize it. Sure is handy to put the garden hose into the thermostat opening & squeeze the handle.

I *could* do the drain & fill, drain & fill a few times. At least now, the radiator can drain without spilling a drop. I opened up the hole in the bodywork to match the actual location of the radiator's drain spout, gonna be a cinch to slip a piece of tubing on it & drain it all directly into a pan or even a jug now- no more running down the bodywork on either side.

But anyhoo, the Neon's all back together with new radiator, hoses, battery, & started the first time. Drove it for a 30 mile jaunt so far, well warmed up, no signs of leaks, even the JB Weld repair on the heater core spout refuses to leak- so far!

 

[jmacmaster]

I'd also use distilled water for the flushes. Its cheap. And Ford (as well as Daimler/Chrysler) also has for a number of years put G-05 in its vehicles at the factory.

 

[wiswind]

What I do to get a good mix of coolant / distilled water is, determine the total capacity of the complete cooling system.
Use the concentrated version of coolant, not the "pre-mix" 50/50 version.
Add concentrated version of coolant, in the amount of just a little over the total capacity of the complete system.
Top off with distilled water, if needed.
Fill overflow bottle with equal amounts of coolant concentrate and distilled water.

Monitor the cooling system over the next few days as any remaining air works out of the system.

 

[97TJ]

hi i always drill a 1/16 to 1/8 hole in thermostat. this aids in air bleeding out quicker, and it is not even noticible when you warm up, taught this by grand old jeeper.......

 

[UncleS2]

I've heard of that. Don't have to do it for my car though, OEM Neon thermostats come with a bleeder hole with a little gizmo in it.

 

[Ray H]

I always wondered what that little hole with a "jiggle" valve was for...

 

[Big Jim]

Prop open the thermostat with a cut off piece of aerosol can wand (like from a can of WD40). As soon as the thermostat opens, the small piece of plastic will just wash away where it will do no harm.