ericantonio

I know I need to do a flush very soon. But was wondering if I need to drain the entire coolant before replacing thermostat.

I don't want to flush it and clean it with the old thermostat in and put new coolant in only to have it drained to do the thermostat.

I figure I can change it one weekend and do the coolant change another weekend. (I don't have a garden hose in the apartment complex so I need to gather some buckets and gallon containers to do it that's why it'll take me a while to figure out a scheme to replace my coolant.)

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

You just have to drain enough to drop the coolant level below the thermostat housing.

papa tiger

^^^

ericantonio

Ahh gotcha. So I can drain it, replace it, top it off.

Then I really wanna get in there and clean it up the week later. My reservoir looks like there are lots of crap in there. Only about 50 bucks for a new one but I'll try cleaning it.

Any tips to get in that little hole in reservoir so I can clean it with a rag or something?

techrep

iTrader: (1)

To do a proper flush ...your T-stat should be removed during the flush and then re-installed after.

ericantonio

Ohhh I didn't know that!!

techrep

iTrader: (1)

It allows for proper circulating of flush material ... also need your heater selected to full hot to allow the heater core to flush during this.

ericantonio

And I'm not getting great heat on mine on cold days. I was thinking I need to clean the heater core. I'm thinking now I should do all this on one day. So I don't need to take it off twice!


So remove thermostat, replace hoses, clean it out, remove hose, put new thermostat in.

Sounds like a plan.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

Drain the system...remove the T-stat...replace the housing...pour in flush and fill with water... run motor up to operating temp with heat selected in cab... 20 min or so...drain system...fill with water...run again ...drain system...install new T-stat and fill with motorcraft gold and distilled water.

BLDTruth

You can also do a reverse flush on your heater core while the system is low/empty. Probably one of the best ways to clean it up.