19psi

Every major coolant manufacturer has an all makes all models antifreeze. It's been on the market for over 10 years and has a proven track record.
That's all I use in all my cars and bikes which range from cast iron, aluminum, brass, copper and plastic.
I flush the system, put the new coolant in and if there are any trace amounts of old coolant it doesn't matter. I change it out every 3 to 4 years and never have any issues...even the mech seals in two of my bikes are fine with it.
I keep one coolant in the garage and if I need some in an emergency, it's available everywhere.

uraniummetallurgist

Yes, I make my own with strong base and then strong acid ion exchange resins...........

Landseer

Zerex G-05 is carried by napa.
Distilled water is cheap at walmart.

mark kibort

I think the need for distilled is to get rid of the trace minerals which are bad to have floating around. does DI water have minerals?

uraniummetallurgist

Distilled water involves converting water to a vapor by heating it and then condensing it as a liquid by cooling the water vapor. Kind of like making moon shine! Dissolved components in the water such as calcium, magnesium, chloride and sulfate do not enter into the water vapor upon heating. As a result, the distilled water is relatively pure.

Deionizing (DI) involves a different approach. The dissolved minerals in water exist as ions. Positive ones, cations, include calcium (Ca++), sodium (Na+), and magnesium (Mg++). Negative ones, anions, include chloride (Cl-),sulfate (SO4=) and bicarbonate (HCO3-). Typically a 2-step process is used in deionization. Firstly cations are removed using an ion exchange resin bead (strong acid resin) that puts/exchanges an equivalent amount of hydronium ion (H+) into the water for each cation exchanged. This process converts the water into an acidic solution where the only cation present is hydrogen ion (H+). The second step is to remove the anions using a different ion exchange resin bead (strong base resin) that exchanges hydoxyl (OH-) for all the anions present.

The released OH- anions couple with the previously generated H+ to make water,viz, H+ + OH- = H20.

The resultant water is very pure.

Hope this helps.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Joe

19psi

Deionized water is clean. The minerals are just removed by a different process using resins (similar to a water softener). Not sure why anyone would go out of their way to find non lab grade deionized water. And anyone spending $15 a gallon for lab grade needs to be beaten with a rubber radiator hose.

Distilled water is clean and also has the added benefit of no bacteria or viruses...not that it matters to a car. This has always been my choice as I can go to any local grocery store and buy it for 89¢ a gallon.

bureau13

Not that it's relevant to this discussion, but DI water apparently tastes bad. My water filter for aquarium uses two carbon filter stages, then a reverse osmosis membrane, followed by a DI stage...but they say if you want to use it for drinking water, don't use the DI stage. I've never tried it but I know the water is pretty damn pure by that point...

jeff spahn

I use RO/Di water from my Reef Tank system. It does taste bad. Clean though. Gives a nice consistent mix for the tank as well. Don't have to wonder what is coming out of the tap and killing your Xenia.

Imo000

Of this viz/water/H2O is so pure, why does it taste so bad? I was doing a coolant change on a summer day and took a swig to quench my thists. After the second gulp the taste buds hit the brain and I almost puked my guts out. It was extremely bitter.

uraniummetallurgist

Hard to say why as taste is a subjective thing. I think we develop a sense of what good tasting water tastes like by drinking water with minerals present. Even rain water has a small amount of bicarbonate from the CO2 in the atmosphere (pH~ 6 - 6.5). DI water doesn't have even this so it's bland by comparison.

Perhaps your container of DI (if it was a plastic jug) had imparted some of the BPA into the water.

All the best,


Joe

Imo000

I really don't know what the container was other than clear looking plastic but the taste was not just a slight one that you get between distilled, well or rain water. It was extremely bitter. If I didn't start chugging it thinking it was tasteless, I would have spent it out right away. The taste was similar to tonic water that's 5 times more bitter than you get at the store.

rnixon

When was the coolant last changed? When is your next timing belt / water pump replacement due? I'd try to find something compatible to top-up if it's soon, but I'd flush completely if it's ~2+ years since it was last done, unless you know that it's lifetime coolant.

I have Porsche lifetime coolant in mine, but I also drive for 6 hours to get to Greg for my major services (too busy to do it slowly myself), and don't need to change my timing belt for a few years.

RennPartsDirect

How many gallons of coolant do our cars hold?

rbrtmchl

My owner's manual ('91) says 4.23 U.S. gallons or 16 liters.

rmarzarell1

What is the mix ratio of coolant and distilled water?