Water in my radiator

[4rnrmaya]

Hello everyone, I got my self a 94 4runner a few months ago and I'm living in a hot region of Guatemala. I am stunned to see how cars are run here with just tap water in radiators. I lived in Canada, Ontario most of my life and a car could never survive there with just tap water in the radiator as our four seasons are extreme. I completely disagree with the notion of just tap water in the radiator so I am going to fill the radiator with coolant but is there anything else I should look for or add to make sure once the coolant is in all will be well?

You suggestions are gratefully welcome.

 

[eddiebx]

Hello everyone, I got my self a 94 4runner a few months ago and I'm living in a hot region of Guatemala. I am stunned to see how cars are run here with just tap water in radiators. I lived in Canada, Ontario most of my life and a car could never survive there with just tap water in the radiator as our four seasons are extreme. I completely disagree with the notion of just tap water in the radiator so I am going to fill the radiator with coolant but is there anything else I should look for or add to make sure once the coolant is in all will be well?

You suggestions are gratefully welcome.

You should try to flush out as much of the old tap water as possible. Tap water is a bad thing to put into the cooling system (too much minerals and other chemicals), what you want is distilled water + anti-freeze. Not really sure how you can get the system completely flushed out, but perhaps if you just drained and filled the coolant a few times repeatedly might help to get rid of all the plain tap water. Welcome to the forum!

 

[fourwd1]

Welcome to T4R !!
I'm going to move your post to the Maintanience section for you.

 

[Speedy Gomez]

:welcome: to T4R.ORG!

 

[4rnrmaya]

Yeah, I have the intention of draining the Rad, add coolant, drain about a gallon out and add coolant to ensure there's less water with coolant. Thank you Ediedbx for your input.