Changing the Gold coolant in my truck as I had trouble finding the more popular ELC's. When I did find them, they were a 50/50 mix. So back to my Premium Gold. Now I can't find large quantities of distilled water. A local shop sells "Dionized" water for $1/gallon. He claims that it's better than distilled. A quick internet search says that almost all of the minerals are removed in the deionizing process so is it safe to use instead of distilled?

 

Yes.

Ideally, deionized water is preferred, but since it's not easy to locate, most use the acceptable substitute, distilled water.

If you have a Walmart close by, you can get a gallon of distilled for just under a buck, and they carry mass quantities on the shelf. But if your local shop has deionized for that cheap, just go with them.

Stewart

 

OK, I used deionized water and Gooch's instructions for a backflush and refill even though I probably didn't need to as I was replacing the Gold with Gold. One thing Gooch didn't mention, is that you need to be careful with taking out the block plug on the passenger side: don't let the socket wrench driver touch the the starter solenoid contacts at the same time. The driver can get real hot real fast. I learned this very quickly.

I chose to cut the heater house at the top of the engine behind the a/c pump and left the "T" in. Easier that way. However the whole project including the backflush took me almost four hours. To remove the block plugs and keep from lying in the water I had to jack up the side of the truck, set the jack stand, get on my creeper, slide under, remove the plug, drain, replace plug, remove the jack stand, lower the truck, go to other side, do the same thing, and repeat the whole procedure including opening the petcock and removing the lower radiator hose, four times. Maybe getting old has something to do with it?

 

I've done this three different times on three different vehicles and I'm never anywhere close to the starter terminals. You should be well behind the wires when you're removing the passenger side block plug.

When I do the backflush, I put the vehicle (if its not lifted) on front ramps, allowing me to easily access the rig with a creeper.

I also use a Rubbermaid container...the low, large rectangular one with wheels made for storing clothes and stuff under a bed...to catch the water when I pull the block plugs.

Stewart

 

Oh Yeah, that would have been a lot easier! Maybe I'll invest in some ramps soon.

 

Wow, I just put on an old shirt and laid in the water...

Mark

 

Yet another idea. Nah, I'll stick with the creeper