Distilled Water - for Changing Coolent ???.

Tap Water...

Depends somewhat on where you live but what the hell, for less than $2 you can put in distilled. I guess not as important with the old coolant but almost required with the Dexcool.

Distilled.

Tap Water is just fine.

Patrick

For hells sake, don't put Vegas tap water in your car. Not in the radiator, not the battery, I guess you can use it in your windshield cleaner, but nothing else.

Use distilled water in your radiator and battery no matter where you live.

If you live in the NW it is probably ok to drink.

More so than rusty tap water? More explanation, please?

If one were foolish enough to use ONLY distilled water, you're correct - it would get nasty after a while. BUT the original question concerned what kind of water to use during a coolant change.

Use ONLY distilled water. It's inexpensive, easily obtained, and doesn't contain any trace minerals which could encourage deposits in the radiator. Could you use tap water and get away with it? Certainly. But why? To use tap water is sort of like buying an the cheapest oil filter you can find - why risk it for a dollar or two?

Doug

Not true.

Yes, the expense of distilled water is minimal and using it reduces the minerals and other contaminants in your cooling system. I have used it religiously for years and rarely have any kind of cooling system problems with my vehicles.

John

My rule is to use distilled water whenever possible. Tap water out here is really hard, lots of minerals, so I dont feel like clogging the cooling system with it. Tap water in an extreme emergency.

Is bottled water distilled?

========= Harryface =========

I've used tap water in my cars for year and year and year ... always works for me.

First off, this engine is an Aluminum block engine.

GM recommends the engine be flushed with ordinary water, and when new anti-freeze is being installed, the water/anti-freeze be mixed to obtain a -35=B0F to -45=B0F protection level. Being that you have very hard water in Las Vagas, I'd use the distilled water or at least some 'treated' water. Do not forget the sealant tabs in the new coolant, lest you be buying a new engine before too long. Following the cooling system mainenance schedule for this engine is _very_ important.....flush/change every two years and add sealant tabs each time.

Most all problems with this series engine stem from owners not following the cooling system maintenance schedule and/or not using the GM sealant. The tabs are less than $5 and there are no other sealants that are recognized for this series engine(4.1L or 4.5L)

I'd also use distilled water in the wet-cell battery and even in the windshield washer system! 'Hard' water isn't a good thing, for most everything!

Dave S(Texas)

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Harry Face) wrote in news:7673-40132C36- snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3111.bay.webtv.net:

Not necessarily, many supermarkets carry bottled drinking water which has impurities, as well as distilled water which is supposed to be free of minerals.

Tap water where I am will eat all the car parts that it gets on/in. Count on a new heater core every 2-3 years. Radiators last somewhat longer. In homes here, hot water galvenized water pipes usually start leaking around 12-15 years - completely eaten through. Nasty stuff, tap water.

Local Pepsi bottling plant uses local city water for the Aquafina bottled water. In the Northeast, look for the "Bottled in" section, it might just say "Bottled in Latham, NY from Latham municipal water" or along those lines. People think they're getting better than tap water when they buy a bottle of water, that may not be so...

I just told what works for me.