anti-freeze question

Guys,
First of all I want to thank everyone for their feedback/inputs to my prior questions; you guys are great! I have one more, how can I tell if my car has anti-freeze 50/50? I am assumming it does but when I looked at the reservoir the liquid looks clear(transparent, no color), could it be pure water instead? is there an easy way to tell? my garage is not heated and I am a bit concern about the upcoming cold temperatures.
Thanks,
Francisco

 

Franc - you can pick up a simple/cheap hydrometer at the local auto parts store (maybe even Wal-Mart or Target. It measure specific gravity. Here is a link for what I'm talking about. http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/ezrsp102.html

 

Fran- you can also use a refractometer. Most of these will check specific gravity in propylene or ethylene glycol based cooling systems and also specific gravity of your battery. Here is a link to show what I'm eluding to. These can get pricey....Snap-On version is $200.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HTNODE

 

You can also just change the coolant to a 50%/50% mixture and then you KNOW what is in the system.

 

+1

Thats what I would do.

 

+2....and not only would you know it is 50/50, you would know that it is brand new coolant since you don't know how old the stuff is in there now.

 

+ 3 Absolutely! That is the sure fire way of knowing mixture and quality.

 

+4. Don't forget to add a bottle of Red Line "Watter Wetter" when you change your coolant for the subsequent driving season.

 

Good idea Scott!

 

You can buy test strips that give a color reading of "good-to" temperature AND coolant PH in one go. 20 bucks for a hundred tests..