today going to the store my coolant light cam on ... on the way back it didnt so its been a few hours and i just popped the hood its about 2-4 inchs below the max level when cold

if i just add water - im gana guess it will bring the 50/50 mix to say 45ish --- will that hurt anything in the long run - to run it with a bit more water i just bought the car and im poor so i dont have the money to buy any type of coolant and to get the money for the coolant i would have to drive about 50 miles (im in the boones from the rest of my family) and i really dont have money for a flush or a new engine :-)

 

It won't hurt anything. It's better if you use distilled water or at least filtered water in your cooling system though. Tap water isn't the best but if that's all you got, use it.

 

ok cool thank you

 

Yeah even the owners manual to these say that a 45%/55% is OK in warmer weather, but for Winter, might wanna invest in a Hydrometer (a tool that is made to show you the ratio) and drain and refill with Antifreeze coolant until the mix is back just to be on the safe side. When you add more water it cools a little better (up to a point) in warmer weather. When you add more coolant you get better freeze protection (up to a point). I think that max variance is + or - 10%, but that is going off memory. When filling fill and then start car to warm up and let Thermostat open to "burp" system, and might have to let cool and refill again. Be sure to let car cool after Thermostat is open though and that water gets very hot and pressure builds. It can also get all over the car if you use the 'ole rag trick and make a fine mess under the hood. hehe