Radiator Capacity?

[Russ Dickey]

Just off hand, does anyone know the radiator capacity for the Griffin radiator in the 289 FIA's? I need to change the coolant this weekend, and can't seem to find the specs anywhere.

[dmswann]

Don't know the capacity for sure, but last time I changed the antifreeze, Alan told me to drain system, add a gallon of antifreeze, fill up with water, bleed of any air and then top off with water.

Worked fine then.

Dennis Swann
FIA #9289

[Mike Geddes]

Russ.....
Follow the coolant manufactures directions for dilution to suit the
lowest temp. you would see in Kansas City.
Just mix it up in a milk jug to the correct ratio's and keep filling till full.
Run it a while...top it off.....finished.
I run a 50% water to glycol mix in Canada to suit Minus 35 Centigrade
when the car is in storage.
In summer I change to maybe 20% glycol mix.
Mike

[Russ Dickey]

Thanks fellas, but here's my dilemma:

My radiator filler cap is located in the top radiator hose, so I'm unable to see into the radiator to know when it's full. Do I continue to fill it up until I see liquid in the hose?

[bstandley1]

Russ,

I recently drained all the coolant out of my car and it measured approximately 13 quarts. I opened the petcocks in the block to get all the antifreeze out. I'd estimate that a quart or so came out of the block. When I refilled the cooling system, I put about 12 quarts in through the filler cap (same set up as you) and added the last quart into the plastic overfill container, started it up and it worked fine. Hope this helps.

Bob

[eliminator]

You need just enought anti-freeze to keep it from freezing up, water cools better than anti-freeze. I use Preston Yellow, 1-2 bottles of Redline Water Wetter, and distilled water. Wasn't a fan of distilled water until I pulled the intake off once without and once with. Big difference, the distilled water keeps things so much cleaner, no mineral deposits whatsoever.

Also there is a bleed petcock on the radiator, drivers side, top left. Open this while adding the coolant and it will bleed the air out of the system, when the coolant runs out close it.

[scott h]

you can also keep filling until you have coolant visible at the filler,if you have air anywhere in the system the level will go down just keep adding until coolant is again visible, you can burp the top hose with a little wiggling, of course the top petcock bleed is useful as well

[casaleenie]

Russ,

I know what you're talking about.. I went out and bought a Mityvac filler to try and get all the "nooks and crannies" filled but it didn't work like I wanted it to... You create a vacuum in the system and then see it if holds for 60 seconds and then use the vacuuum to suck up the pre-mixed fluid from a bucket ... The filler is located on the radiator hose and it's like pouring uphill... I'm in the process of playing with this now and it's a real pain... I'm thinking of extending the filler fitting vertically about six inches temporarily to make it the highest point on the system and letting it circulate while filling... Not sure it is going to work but I'm going to try it..
I'm not sure what the capacity is because I don't think it's ever been completely filled..

[casaleenie]

Rick,

Is that true? Water is a better coolant? I've used "water wetter" and all sorts of different combinations of water and coolant to try and keep this thing running cool...
I'll try the water fill and see what happens...

[souzape]

Water does work much better than glycol anti-freeze when cold weather protection is not an issue. There are two things to consider when you just run (distilled) water.....rust and water pump lubricant. Straight water provides no protection against either. Zerex has a now product the NASCAR guys use called ZEREX RACING SUPER COOLANT. It mixes with water at a 10% ratio and is advertised to provide anti-rust, anti-foam and water pump lubrication. I'm trying to get some thru NAPA right now because it gets really hot here (110-112 F ambient not unusual). If I get some I'll let you know how it works/cost etc. If anybody else wants to try it pls let us know what you think.

Phil Souza

[Brent]

Rick and Phil are right on. Water is the best coolant. We are told that Glycol-based coolants raise the boiling point, but even using a 50/50 water/glycol mixture, with a 15-psi pressure cap the boiling point is only 15 degrees more than plain water.
Unless your car is driven under freezing conditions, run pure distilled water plus a corrosion inhibitor and flush the system once a year. If freezing is a concern, use the minimum percentage of antifreeze required for your climate. A 33 percent glycol/water mix won’t freeze until 0-degrees F.
Redline water wetter works VERY well.

[JeepSnake]

So, boiling point of 50/50 with a 15 psi cap is ~265 deg F?

Just wanting to clarify, as I've never been sure of exactly where the mixture boiling point really was.

[Brent]

Pure water ************ 50/50 ************* 70/30

Freeze ********** 32 deg *********** -35 deg *********** -67 deg

Boil ********* 212 deg *********** 223 deg *********** 235 deg