Here's the tester I used in the video: amzn.to/2ZIIRAJ

An engine cooling system consists of cast iron, steel, aluminum, and in some cases, copper. When these metals are submerged in water, electrolysis occurs, basically making a weak battery. The electrolysis is what attacks the metal in the cooling system causing rust and corrosion to occur. The ability to prevent electrolysis and corrosion are some of the first properties lost by the coolant as it ages. Just because the coolant tests well enough to prevent freezing or boiling does not mean that it is still working as a corrosion inhibitor. Different antifreezes have different life spans. Always flush and replace the coolant according to the manufacturer stated coolant life, regardless of how it tests.

KEEP THE OLD BURBAN VIDEO'S COMING !!!! Love them and I have been fixing my '93 along with you.

Gotta tap it a few time against something. there are bubbles on your arrow. You can see them in the video which makes it way over.

Freeze/boiling protection isn't the only thing to worry about with old coolant. Part of the additive package is to prevent electrolysis where you can have electricity running through the cooling system and cause corrosion and break down of metal. Especially when you look at all the dissimilar metals the coolant touches, without those additives, you've made a battery. A good way to test it is to take a DVOM, put the pos lead on the pos batt cable, and the neg lead in the coolant. If you register any voltage reading, time to change the coolant out. And this is on top of lubrication properties that dwindle as well.

Heads up people be careful if you're useing the smaller bubble style with the small clear tubeing you may lose that clear tubeing in your radiator/coolant system . Mine fell off and was never able to recover the part. Just thought I'd share my experience. Be safe out there my fellow garage warriors ( SAFTY KEY AND COMMEN SENSE IS KEY )

I like to any time I buy a used car to flush the coolant, spill and fill trans fluid, change oil and diff/trans case fluid if they have them. Nothing like a fresh start so you know when it needs done again next.

Major points for showing the water and old coolant!

Just do a drop and refill of antifreeze every 2 years and change water pump, thermostat and hoses every 5 years or 100K is what I have done. And never have had a failed radiator, water pump or heater core in 34 years of driving. About 1.2 million miles during that time. Never an overheat issue. $50 in fluid and 1 hour every 2 years and $200 every 5 years and 3-4 hours labor in my home shop. Good maintenance is the key. Not taking away from your video but I have never bought one of those testers. Spend the money on new antifreeze. When I get a new car to me, I change all fluids...100% all fluids. Even the window fluid. Brakes, diffs, trans, transfer, steering, cooling, oil, A/C refrig and compressor oil. $300 early saves thousands later.

Nice job Jimmy.I always mix my own coolant.I test it in the jug and write the results and the date tested on the jug.....

I’m working on a 2 door 94 Yukon and a 94 2500 suburban your videos are perfect 👌🏾

Thanks, have never checked the Fluids with the tool you are using. Seen it a million time had never used it! With your excellent information sharing, I will get one and start checking my older car/ Suburban. Really enjoy your videos!!

Keep them coming Jimmy!

Awesome but simple video. Thank you. 🙏

Thank you!!! Very clearly explained!!! And lots of extra information!

Excellent video!👏🏼

It’s sad that the 50% pre mixed costs twice as much but you actually get less coolant.....considering distilled water costs 79¢ a gallon.

1 road this was a great video. It has helped me immensely. It explained a lot of things the other videos did not. Thank you so much very good job.

very detailed video thanks subscribed

I like your videos bro! Your doing an awesome job!

That was a great example of with the pure H2O in the tester does. I never even thought about what it would pop up to thanks again 1 Road!

Thanks for posting! A couple observations.....when performing a drain & flush (not a drain and fill), using the concentrate is not only cheaper, but in my eyes a must to acheive a balanced system. The key is knowing the full capacity of your cooling system before adding the new concentrate. So after the system is clear of the old coolant, do a final flush with distilled water (I prefer doing this twice). Then button up the cooling system and add 1/2 of whatever your system holds with the new concentrate. Example, system capacity is 14 qts, add 7 of the concentrate, then top off with distilled water. This gets you very close to the desired 50/50 mix. The other thing about over concentrating your coolant mix, is this can actually hinder the cooling system efficiency and for those of us that live in hotter environments like the southwest desert, that could become a big deal. Coolant is not as efficient at cooling as water. This is less of an issue in the cooler environments.

Great video Jimmy! We gotta tackle that ABS light soon!

Great video Jimmy. Ever experienced an air bubble or airlock after doing a water pump or radiator repair?

Awesome 👍Thanks Jimmy

Great video on the subject. After viewing 5x or so yours was the only one comparing distilled water and old/used coolant 😎👍

Hello. in the beginning I did not like your videos but now I like them and watch your videos 👍🏻

Excellent thank you for this

Awesome! Cheers buddy.

Great video

I like to have slightly more water than antifreeze in the system. like 55/45 .. water supposedly transfer heat better than antifreeze does.

I remember a long time ago reading that you don't want to over concentrate with antifreeze because at a certain point your engine will start to actually run hotter than using the recommended 50/50 mux.

Those testers are horendously inaccurate. They usually err on the safe side. To test the coolant accuratly you can purchase a refractory tester from amazon.

With Dexcool, Flush every two years. Dexcool is great but if air gets in the system, the famous Dexcool sludge will appear. I had to replace the radiator and overflow tank due to the sludge. Clogged up the heater core too but luckily I could salvage it. I still use Dexcool but flush every two years no matter what.Two gallons of Dexcool is WAY cheaper than a radiator and overflow tank.

Great Job Jimmy We use Calgon Soap with water in the cooling system it's the only home product that we found works in Tractor Trailer And Heavy Duty Diesel engines when OIL is in the coolant we mix 2 cups of soap crystal or more with hot water pour it in the rad and run the equipment with heater on The oil will destoy the hoses and seals if left contaminated in coolant system This flush with Calgon has been used for more then 40 years and taught in the Apprentice programs for mechanics Flush the system with fresh water. Multiple times or open any engine drain cocks if possible We also use a garden hose TEE cut into heater hose top line as it's the highest point in most equipment and run fresh water through the system Then find the manufactors specifications for system fluid amount and add straight coolant first with knowledge some water is trapped in the system and then a simple math calculation tonser at what desired coolant protection you want set Your videos are great

That engine bay, on a vehicle that old, is so clean it’s giving me anxiety 😥 😂

Thanks!

Thank you very much

NOTE: This hydrometer is only accurate with ethylene glycol coolant. For any newer organic coolant like HOAT you need to use a refractometer.

Thanks.

Refractometer are more accurate tool. So this is not the only measuring method.

I haven't used one of those testers for years.

Thank yu in the video aiam from saudia arabia

do a ph test on coolant

Saw your video because I need to buy a new tester. Just want to mention that Dex-Cool can be problematic if it's not regularly maintained. I do mine every 2 years. If you leave it in there too long it becomes acidic and starts eating your head gaskets. Also it is not a good idea to mix it at higher concentrations than 50/50 for the same reason. Unless you live in eskimo land and it's really damned cold, 50/50 is good to -34 F So you have a 1995? That's when DexCool started. I have a 2003 and long for the days of the green stuff. Also don't ever mix green & orange, or start using green in a DexCool vehicle. Your cooling system and engine will become something like sludgy brown _ hit.

I could never got my prestone antifreeze tester to work. The tester is sitting somewhere in my tool box. On my Caterpillar they make a product to renew the antifreeze coolant.

Yea in my 01 tahoe I never use dexcool I only use the green stuff

Sorry to be the barer of bad news Jimmy but you are wrong. It is not good for your coolant to be over concentrated and by you tester yours is way over. Anti-freeze is not as good of a coolant (heat transfer agent) as water and it has a higher viscosity. Anti-freeze is to keep your coolant from freezing and it has anti corrosive additives plus water pump lubricant. Being over concentrated will make your engine run warmer to the point of not being able to run cool enough at all in the summer in a traffic jam. If you live near LA you should be at 50/50 concentration and no more because it doesn't get that cold there. Even in Alaska or Maine you should never be over 70% AF/30% water. You need to drain all your fluid out, get it down to the temp range for 50/50 mix and put it back in. I saw you refill your radiator in a previous video were you poured in pure anti freeze and then water. Big mistake. Always mix anti-freeze and water to the correct ratio before pouring into the radiatoror topping off the overflow tank. You are far from the first person to make this mistake but it IS A MISTAKE. Also, there is another way to check your anti-freeze... by it's electrical resistance. There are KZfaq's on it. I prefer the little gadget you have, mines about 30 years old and it is my second one.

You do not want to be over concentrated. If you have too much coolant to water your coolant will freeze easier and boil easier than if it was properly mixed 50/50. You can also check coolant with VOM. It is not just about color, boiling point and freeze protection! Cheers!

Does it test for acidity? Dexcool as it gets old becomes acidic.

Just bought a container of stop 50/50 and my tester says it is good to -15*F My tester is exactly like yours what could be the problem?

But how do you know how much to add.

The Jiffy lube I used to work at I did a lot of coolant flushes. The coolant flush machine gets 100% of the old coolant out and adds brand new coolant. The coolant flush machine is connected by disconnecting the upper radiator hose when vehicle is cool enough to not have a stiff hot upper radiator hose. Then connected to the hose with a fitting and the radiator. Then there is small suction hose to suck the old coolant out of the reservoir. Then the machine has the proper anti freeze/coolant and water mix of the correct antifreeze and amount to fill the coolant system of the specific type of vehicle. Then the vehicle is started and allowed to run until the new coolant is pumped in and the old coolant is pumped out, which simultaneously! Then the reservoir and radiator are top off with coolant once machine is disconnected and the upper radiator hose is reconnected. This ensures a 100% antifreeze coolant replacement with new coolant. The starting cost when I worked at Jiffy Lube was $49.99 plus tax. Prices may vary depending on the oil change place and type and amount of coolant also.

Sorry if this has been asked already, but I doubt it has because I can't find the info anywhere. I'd like to test my coolant, but I'm finding it difficult to understand why everybody is checking the fluid not from the radiator itself, but from the reservoir. From my understanding from what I have read, the expansion reservoir does not actually circulate coolant through the system, it only acts as to 1.) not allow overflow from spilling onto the ground, 2.) does not allow air to enter the system, and 3.) maintains 100% fill in the system if there is a leak, or other issues, such as burn off, or whatever. If what I'm reading is correct, the only time the liquid in the overflow tank could actually be sucked into the system is possible during the expanding / contracting process, or if there is a leak / burn off of the liquid within the circulatory system. So, if people are checking the reservoir for proper concentration of the liquid within the system, isn't that completely incorrect? Please learn me here... I'm dumbfounded and probably wrong.

antifreeze doesn't cool as effectively as water will....

Arent you supposed to check Ph too?

I think it had been flushed before those trucks came with green antifreeze from the factory.

Not the only way. You could always taste it.

The antifreeze tester looks really inaccurate. Just testing the density of the liquid doesn't give much information. Heck, even the boiling points given by it are misleading as different impurities change the boiling point by different amounts.

im running almost 70 percent antifreeze in mine same engine only 89 my book says 56/44 mix i thought was odd. as far as temperature im at 200-205 unless ac is on idling then it gets to 210-212 which i hear is normal

You never tapped it to get the bubbles off the arrow!

How many miles on this truck

Never changed the coolant water pump failed multiple times umm there’s your reason to flush it.

What about blue stuff?

This is just testing the boiling and freezing point. Not the quality and condition of the coolant

Why do you use destined water?

Old fashioned method! Use a refraction type, it needs only one drop!

You should really take that Suburban to be dyno tested. What was the horse power rating when it was brand new?

Aluminum Radiators can cause Problems, compared to old Copper ones.

How would I use this to identify the coolant to water ratio?

Id suggest you stay away from dexkill... just saying . I flushed mine out and replace it with eithertheToyota stuff or the universal yellow stuff

The only way? This doesn't tell you glycol %, nitrites, or ph level

Maybe if they worked you could test it huh? Bought it on Amazon the coolant won't even go up to the fill line so I got a replacement that's also a dud smh... You're going to test your coolant get something else

Sooo you're telling me I'm not suppose to taste it to see if it's still good? Damnit, my step dad is such a dick!!

70/30 be fine

Not to be mean but I would not waste my money on them that antifreeze tester they're not right and I spent money on more expensive ones they're not worth your money,. When I was growing up my dad use one type of antifreeze tester and battery tester and I still use the same Style today and I never had no problems with any my vehicles and did not matter how cold or hot my temperature was just perfect

shaman,

Dear god that's not the proper why, to test your antifreeze. You need to use a Refractometer in order to check test properly .

M

I’d rather be under concentrated than over concentrated….