Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouse
Oh my god. 
All this time I went with the most expensive brand name and thought I was actually being good to my car. And yes you are so right, I do find that slimey white stuff in my system also.
Tell me, is it all right to mix Prestone with Peak or the Honda antifreeze because when I drain and refill, not all of it will be flushed out? |
A little mixing is probably OK, but I wouldn't mix the two. Reason being that silicate and non-silicate coolants use different corrosion inhibiting mechanisms and the two aren't rerally compatible. One inhibiting mechanism might hinder the other, then you'll be left with marginal protection.
You need to not only drain the radiator, but open the engine block drains too (be environmentally aware.....catch the drainage in a bucket or pan. Don't let it go down the sewer).
Close the drains and refill with water only. Let the engine idle until the cooling fans cycle twice. Drain. Repeat this until the water comes out clean. Run the heater full HOT when you run the engine.
After the final drain, you can now run whatever coolant you want.
If you're worried that you can't get all the
clear water out of the system, take the total capacity of the cooling system, calculate how much coolant you'd need for a 50/50 mix, add that amount of coolant and top off with water.
BTW, for the final fill, I'd use distilled water.