made a mistake.. how do i go about rectifying it before i do something bad?

[nynor]

actually, antifreeze does not have the heat absorbtion properties that water does. this is why it is recommended to run only enough coolant to keep your block from freezing.

[ae1969]

antifreeze/coolant same thing (ethylene glycol).......although there are a few other alternatives but to keep the discussion simple lets assume ethylene glycol...

The only thing is that it is not a good idea to run on straight water.....

1. Coolant/Anti-freeze acts as a lubricant for your water pump.
2. Prevents corrosion from dissimilar metals..
3. Raise boiling point and lowers freezing point. If you run straight water it will normally boil at ~212F...... but the cap keeps the system pressurized to raise the boiling point. If I were to run the turbo hard on straight water during the summer. She would overflow like nothing.
...and as I am sure some have noticed a little overflow from there coolant tanks on occasion.......

but I guess it could also be a bad cap / bad mix or blown head gasket

[kyle1]

If I live in Phoenix Arizona where it hardly ever gets cold, can I get away with running only water? Will that keep the engine cooler then having some anti-freeze in the mixture. Also, should I add something else to keep the engine from over-heating? (120+ F) is occasional during the summer.

[Granite 944]

Well.........maybe wanna see this.

[kyle1]

...damn great answer

[Moneyguy1]

kyle

Tucson here (a tad cooler than Phoenix).

AE is correct and thanx to Granite for the factual data.

I always recommend antifreeze and you could in addition try Water Wetter. The 944 cooling system is, to be kind, marginal at best. (so are those in VW waterpumpers). Anything that increases the boiling point and reduces the pressure in the system at operating temps is good.

Intertestingly, we just finished a 4,000 mile trip in a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix. Whether idling or at speed, the temp gauge never varied unlike the 944 that operates like a yoyo.

[hpaulb]

Kyle. Take this opportunity to drain the old crap out and refill with new 50/50. Remember your drain plug is broken. Remove your under carrage pan and take off the bottom hose after the engine has heated. Thermostat open. While there put the new fan assembly in you sead you got in one of your last posts.

[BananaClip]

Originally posted by Eldorado
well considering the weather wasn't *too* cold out there the last week or so (only about -5C)... I went out tonite praying to the porsche gods, and my prayers were answered.

I popped the lid on the resevoir and syphoned some of the liquid out into a measuring cup and it was still tinted slightly green.... nothing was frozen.... i added in some pure antifreeze, started 'er right up and she ran perfectly...

after about 15 mins i took a gander under the car (again while praying) and no leaks to be seen...

I'm sorry if i took some good porsche karma away from someone else on this board! lol

so THAT'S why i split a vac line

[Eldorado]

Originally posted by hpaulb
Kyle. Take this opportunity to drain the old crap out and refill with new 50/50. Remember your drain plug is broken. Remove your under carrage pan and take off the bottom hose after the engine has heated. Thermostat open. While there put the new fan assembly in you sead you got in one of your last posts.

Hey Paul, I would... Lord knows i have a load of time on my hands now, but i dont have any means to get under the car...

I might head over to my old highschool a couple blocks away - they have an auto bay and they might allow me to use their equipment - best part is it's in the school and heated. lol

or better yet, give it to them.. a new class starts up in january and they might actually want to do some work on it... lol (the rear drivers wheel being one job.. the coolant another.. the fans another....

[todwic]

I use Dex-Cool the GM product.good for all things aluminum

[todwic]

OMG, I was in Phoenix working behind a machine @113&deg . We'd drill two holes and go cool down in the cab in the a/c. Then hit it again. Later that same week went to Albaquerqe (spelling not even close, I know) and froze my berries off. Love the 75 mph speed limit, tho!

[AA_Ezra]

Clarks Garage say's he uses prestone extended life wich is phosphate free. Extended life i'm going to use the Extended life 5/150 because it's silicate and phosephate free and has better corrosion inhibitors i guess

It's a pretty cool answer to the whole what coolant to used question
http://prestone.com/carcare/faq.php