LT, 3.9l engine. Is this the right amount of coolant for my vehicle?
The owners manual calls for 12.2 quarts of coolant. When I flushed out the cooling system with distilled water, I was only able to put back 1 1/2 gallons of distilled water, The Chevy mechanic told me that the other 6.2 quarts is in the engine block. So, if I have 6.2 quarts of water in the engine block could I just add 1 gal of straight antifreeze & top it off with 1/2 gallon of 50/50? I know that 1 gal of antifreeze is not exactly a 50/50 with 6.2 quarts of water, but I figure this would be close enough. Thanks for any help & may GOD bless.
Cars & Trucks - Chevrolet - Impala - 2006 Chevrolet Impala
Answers & Comments
Hi Neil:
Your math looks fine, and the ratio will be close enough to the 50:50 that you shouldn't be worried about freezing.
David's advice is also spot on about the safety hazard of the coolant/anti-freeze. Critters get really ill if they drink it. If you do (inadvertently) spill any, make sure that you flush the area thoroughly with a garden hose.
Depending on where you are, there may be re-cycling depots where the waste product can be disposed of.
Cheers.
For the do-it-yourselfer:
To begin, some communities have pollution laws that would tell you you are in violation for this, unless you could catch every drop of coolant.
If you did so, I do not know of anywhere you could legally dispose of it! :-(
The coolant is poison to living things.
However.
If you left the engine thermostat in, flushing with a hose or whatever can take up to 20 minutes with the engine running and the radiator drain open.
Removing the thermostat and reinstalling the thermostat housing where it fits causes the flush to take closer to 5 minutes.
I'm sure you know all this flushing is to be done with the heater turned on, so you are flushing the heater as well.
When you are finished with flushing, yes, you will have about half the flush water inside the engine block.
You can add straight anti-freeze coolant to the radiator to blend them.
You will need to run the motor about 10 minutes to get any trapped air out of the system, all the while watching the coolant level in the radiator.
Remember to leave the heater on, because you get air-lock in the heater.
God bless your efforts.