That 50/50 mix cost as much as the 100% anti-freeze. So in essence you get half as much for the same amount of money. When I sprung a leak at Wal-Mart one day, I bought a gallon of the 50/50 to put in my car to get home. I keep that bottle and put my mix in that bottle so I know which bottle is already diluted. As far as distilled water I feel this way: If tap water is good enough for me to drink it's good enough to put in my car.

 

Yes, the 50/50 Prestone was $10 and change........the 100% Prestone was $13 and change. But since I wasn't doing a complete cooling system flush, it certainly was easier and safer just replenishing the coolant with the 50/50 stuff without having to worry about how much antifreeze I was putting in and then trying to match it with equal parts water. Turned out I used about 5-6 quarts of the 50/50 after I kept toping off the reservoir about three times after driving the vehicle.

 

I plan on swapping my coolant out to the Toyota Red.

Same idea as the Volvo, just cheaper and red in color!...lol

 

I don't mix the 50/50 mix in the car. I mix and then put it in the car. Then I save what's left over and use it as necessary. So I have a container with 50/50 mix available to put in the cars. When I'm low I put that in. When that runs out, I mix some more 50/50 and use that to put in the car. That's not rocket science guys.

 

Smart approach.........I'll use one of my old Prestone containers to make the 50/50 mix for my other vehicle's coolant change. Thanks for the suggestion on saving $$$!

 

Before I got the bottle of 50/50 I would always mark with a magic marker on the bottle with the mix 50/50 cause it's hard to tell if it's mixed or not just based on looks.

 

I just use a coolant hydrometer to see if the coolant is weak or not.

If it is, add more straight antifreeze than water to "strengthen" your coolant. The exact ratio isn't too critical; the coolant hydrometer will tell you what "freeze protection" you have. Just make sure your "freeze protection" (i.e. coolant strength) is at least 10 degrees F lower than the coldest you think it will get in your area.

Of course this all assumes the coolant currently in there has been run for awhile and thoroughly mixed.