Fluid quantities, newbie's questions

denpo

Carburated Nihilist
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
2,523
Location
Montreal, QC
I'm wondering how many coolant and motor oil I need for a full refill.
My cooling system is somewhat stock except alum aftermarket rad, and my oil pan is allegedly a 9 quart one.
 
9 qt pan is pretty good oversize...most are 5 with filter....maybe 6

cooling is typically 2.5-3 gallons....up there in Canada I would use 2 gallons of 100% glycol and fill the rest with water....should be good I would think, in Maryland I used one gallon and good for 15f in the typical car....only once did I ever get hit with a legit ZERO and howling winds up there

here in Florida, I tend to still use a gallon because it's been known to breeze through here at 17f.....

being as I have had so many cars of various descriptions over the decades, I write the oil with filter quantity on the fender liner, and size of the drain plug....

got tired of always having the rong size wrench.....:lol::sos::devil:
 
9 qt pan is pretty good oversize...most are 5 with filter....maybe 6
If I understand you right, if you got a X quart oil pan, it means it raises the overall oil capacity of the motor to X quart. right?

cooling is typically 2.5-3 gallons....up there in Canada I would use 2 gallons of 100% glycol and fill the rest with water....should be good I would think, in Maryland I used one gallon and good for 15f in the typical car....only once did I ever get hit with a legit ZERO and howling winds up there
Well the car will never see anything but warm temp, no way the lady goes out when it's freezing, she will stay in the heated garage.
Water? tap water of pure mineral water is preferred?
Thanks the input Ô my arch-nemesis. :evil::drink:
 
9 qt pan is pretty good oversize...most are 5 with filter....maybe 6
If I understand you right, if you got a X quart oil pan, it means it raises the overall oil capacity of the motor to X quart. right?

cooling is typically 2.5-3 gallons....up there in Canada I would use 2 gallons of 100% glycol and fill the rest with water....should be good I would think, in Maryland I used one gallon and good for 15f in the typical car....only once did I ever get hit with a legit ZERO and howling winds up there
Well the car will never see anything but warm temp, no way the lady goes out when it's freezing, she will stay in the heated garage.
Water? tap water of pure mineral water is preferred?
Thanks the input Ô my arch-nemesis. :evil::drink:

I"d hate to bet all that MONEY T&E on some garage setup...put the glycol in for your climate, and use a hydrometer one of them cheep ball float little web bulb things at your parts houses...

U said a 9 quart oil pan, the typical SBC with filter, I put in 6 quarts and leave well enough alone, so it's a pint or two over filled, so what? not like it's 2 quarts over.....I dunno what you got on your pan size there....racing or over capacity pan for what reason....your car...I assume the oil pickup rides near bottom of the pan as normal....

I can suffer an occational ill informed green weenie.....:club: just reserve the right to make it straight again.....

:gurney::drink:
 
I was under the impression that the optimum mix was 50-50 water to glycol? Any more than that was wasting money.

Or is that just desert lore. Obviously your conditions could well be colder than mine....:gurney:
 
The tradeoff is that antifreeze has a lower thermal conductivity than water. I used pure antifreeze once and the engine overheated right away.
 
9 qt pan is pretty good oversize...most are 5 with filter....maybe 6
If I understand you right, if you got a X quart oil pan, it means it raises the overall oil capacity of the motor to X quart. right?

cooling is typically 2.5-3 gallons....up there in Canada I would use 2 gallons of 100% glycol and fill the rest with water....should be good I would think, in Maryland I used one gallon and good for 15f in the typical car....only once did I ever get hit with a legit ZERO and howling winds up there
Well the car will never see anything but warm temp, no way the lady goes out when it's freezing, she will stay in the heated garage.
Water? tap water of pure mineral water is preferred?
Thanks the input Ô my arch-nemesis. :evil::drink:

I"d hate to bet all that MONEY T&E on some garage setup...
Are you referring to the heated garage? Well, it's part of the house and is connected to the water heater room, so stay warm all year long.
put the glycol in for your climate, and use a hydrometer one of them cheep ball float little web bulb things at your parts houses...

U said a 9 quart oil pan, the typical SBC with filter, I put in 6 quarts and leave well enough alone, so it's a pint or two over filled, so what? not like it's 2 quarts over.....I dunno what you got on your pan size there....racing or over capacity pan for what reason....your car
Engine was PO's. He had it rebuilt for week end Drag Racing.
Here's what it looks like (not actual picture, SD card read broke, too much hassle)
HPNX0816_small.jpg


...I assume the oil pickup rides near bottom of the pan as normal....
You've reach the outer boundaries of my knowledge here :confused:
I can suffer an occational ill informed green weenie.....:club: just reserve the right to make it straight again.....

:gurney::drink:
 
Distilled water would be a better choice- only because there are no minerals that will fall out of suspension and cause deposits. That said, how long would that have to stay in the radiator/cooling system to cause problems? I've never had coolant in anything for over 2 years. Seems like I always drain it for some reason and then refill it with new. Easy to refill with a hose and a jug of antifreeze.
 
Thanks everyone for the answers.
On last thing about the oil, can someone confirm than an "X quart oil pan" make the whole engine oil capacity X quart?

I got one of these on my car, allegedly 9 quart pan.
HPNX0816_small.jpg
 
Thanks everyone for the answers.
On last thing about the oil, can someone confirm than an "X quart oil pan" make the whole engine oil capacity X quart?

I got one of these on my car, allegedly 9 quart pan.
HPNX0816_small.jpg

If it's 9 in the pan, I would say ten overall crapassity....why? figger a pint maybe 2 pints for the filter, more if you have a remote oil cooler, then go for the oil that is in the upper engine, retained in valves, heads various spots including oil passages, lifters, pushrods, etc....

but I dunno how they rate the pans, I ASSume the pans are similar to stock in depth, SO, add untill the dipstick is happy after running for a few seconds....

:beer:

then write it on the car under the hood somewhere, along with the wrench size for the drain plug.....that way I remember....you remember....

:shocking::beer:
 
I know it's an old thread, but my question fits right in :
How much braking fluid should I need for a complete bleed of the system.
Stock calipers, stock MC, all empty.
I never did a bleed, I imagine you get some fluid wasted while waiting the bleeders to stop spitting air bubbles.
 
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Use a clean clear hose on the bleeder nipple and a clean container to catch the fluid.... pour it back into the reservoir before moving on to the next caliper....

A pressure bleeder is my preferred method but you need a little more fluid because you need some fluid in the pressurized tank. That stuff is cheap though ... unless you want to use DOT5 silicone fluid....
 
MYBAD79;95774[COLOR="Red" said:
]Use a clean clear hose on the bleeder nipple and a clean container to catch the fluid.... pour it back into the reservoir before moving on to the next caliper...[/COLOR].

A pressure bleeder is my preferred method but you need a little more fluid because you need some fluid in the pressurized tank. That stuff is cheap though ... unless you want to use DOT5 silicone fluid....

Yes, most obvious....I have never used a pressure bleeder....

one thing I did do years ago was drill a hole for each section of the top plate and install as normal with gasket in place....take my air jet and push air into each master cyl section with one of the calipers open....that is about the same as some aftermarket gimmicks....I can say I got it done much quicker...

but found other problems later on through the years....

:rolleyes:
 
MYBAD79;95774[COLOR="Red" said:
]Use a clean clear hose on the bleeder nipple and a clean container to catch the fluid.... pour it back into the reservoir before moving on to the next caliper...[/color].

A pressure bleeder is my preferred method but you need a little more fluid because you need some fluid in the pressurized tank. That stuff is cheap though ... unless you want to use DOT5 silicone fluid....

Yes, most obvious....I have never used a pressure bleeder....

one thing I did do years ago was drill a hole for each section of the top plate and install as normal with gasket in place....take my air jet and push air into each master cyl section with one of the calipers open....that is about the same as some aftermarket gimmicks....I can say I got it done much quicker...

but found other problems later on through the years....

:rolleyes:


I got the usual garden pressurized thingy, some tube and fittings.
I was planning to use some kind of metal plate, a sheet of gasket paper and a couple of wise, I mean, ghetto style.
my front clip is off, will be easier.

I've seen two bleeding order been advised on the forums:
- RR-LR-RF-LF from the common-sense 'further first' law.
- LR-RR-RF-LF, from the GM service manual.
I wonder who can be trusted...:huh:
 
MYBAD79;95774[COLOR="Red" said:
]Use a clean clear hose on the bleeder nipple and a clean container to catch the fluid.... pour it back into the reservoir before moving on to the next caliper...[/color].

A pressure bleeder is my preferred method but you need a little more fluid because you need some fluid in the pressurized tank. That stuff is cheap though ... unless you want to use DOT5 silicone fluid....

Yes, most obvious....I have never used a pressure bleeder....

one thing I did do years ago was drill a hole for each section of the top plate and install as normal with gasket in place....take my air jet and push air into each master cyl section with one of the calipers open....that is about the same as some aftermarket gimmicks....I can say I got it done much quicker...

but found other problems later on through the years....

:rolleyes:


I got the usual garden pressurized thingy, some tube and fittings.
I was planning to use some kind of metal plate, a sheet of gasket paper and a couple of wise, I mean, ghetto style.
my front clip is off, will be easier.

I've seen two bleeding order been advised on the forums:
- RR-LR-RF-LF from the common-sense 'further first' law.
- LR-RR-RF-LF, from the GM service manual.
I wonder who can be trusted...:huh:

Yeh, that's what they say for sequence alright, I just followed suit and not worry, still gotta do them all, so what the diff?? I just drilled holes in the stock cap and pressurized the top of the rubber gasket...blowing fluid through were it could go....

now the same can be done by fabbing up some contraption, no question, but I"m lazy.....when done, block the holes with RTV....

I"m not much on pretty, mainly because I"m not good at it....that's the wife's department....:clobbered:
 
The only one who can be trusted is you, going round & round in whatever direction fits your zen until you are satisfied. I always have at least two quarts on hand, the (new) stuff that comes out I put in a different bottle to settle for a long time before I put it back in. With a dry, empty system, go get 3 or 4 quarts--don't crack cans any unless you need to, but have them ready in case.
Don't mess with "speed bleeders" & vacuum sucking---this just introduces air at the bleeder threads, which is still air in the fluid. "In my experience". Maybe a speed bleeder with pressure feed would work, I dunno, I don't have a pressure bleeder. I got a midnite fabbed spring loaded shaft & tube with a handle which I pull back and jam between the seat & brake pedal while I go work the bleed screws. Takes a while, but whatcha gonna do at midnite with no cooperative helper?
If it's been empty, after you're done, let it set a while, a day or two at least. Smack what you can with a hammer--tap lines where you can, smack rotors, to consolidate air bubbles.
Then bleed it again. Until you feel good about it.
 
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