The new situation is with my girlfriend's '96 T-bird.
I replaced the radiator (battery acid ate a hole or softened a spot on the end cap?) and hoses. She got it used from her uncle and the cooling system has always been murky looking. I'm in the process of cleaning it up and will need to put antifreeze in it soon but which one?
It's a 4.6 (281) V8 and the dangged thing is such a crowed mess I can't get to the engine drain plugs. I can see one of them but getting it out and especially getting it started again isn't something I want to do.
So... I've been pulling the lower radiator hose off every morning before she goes to work and replacing it with "distilled" water which only drains a little over half of it. It's getting there. :)
Alvin in AZ
ps- On my '75 360 V8 I drilled out and re-tapped my drain holes from
1/4" pipe to 3/8" pipe and use a square-headed pipe plug now and an 8-point 1/2"-drive socket (7/16"). It works great especially since I stopped using "pipe dope" and switched to that "anti-seize" (metal-powder+silicone?) :) I re-did the holes while the engine was out getting rebuilt, along with a whole mess of other crazy stuff like that. :)pps- the cute factory battery cover was the culprit, it won't be doing that again! ;)