I'm flushing out the coolant and this is how I'm going about it. If you have a better way with better results let me know.

I drained the sytem via the radiator valve at the bottom right of radiator. I removed the thermostat and reconnected the thermostat cover. I filled the system with distilled water and ran for 40 minutes. It never reached normal operating temp. I then drained the system again and filled with distilled water again with preston radiator cleaner. I will run it this way for the next couple days then I will drain and fill with a 50/50 mix and re-install a new thermostat.

Does this sound right?

I'm at 130,000 miles and this is the first time I've flushed . On top of that I was not getting the heat I normally get out of heater.

Ideas?

 

Put the thermostat back in if you haven't.
Get it up to normal temp and rev it up to get max circulation.

When I flushed an old truck, I left the petcock open and ran a garden hose into the radiator. Turned the water on fairly high, started it and revved it pretty hard. Quite a bit of brownish color got washed out b4 it ran clear. Maybe not the best but it works.

 

I would not drive around with flush chemicals in my cooling system. Those chemicals may harm the water pump bearing. If you notice that coolant feels slippery, its because those are the lubricants that keep the water pump lubricated. If you drive around without lubrication, you may damage the water pump.

 

Going to flush my system soon. I noticed in the owner's manual that they list the following:


WSS-M99B37-B6

Has anyone added these after a flush? Also, did you use the Motorcraft Gold stuff or aftermarket? Also, did you use a cleaner?

TIA!

Steve

 

Do you have a leak ?? why add stop leak crap ... your coolant flush is not due yet either if your @ 45K miles

 

That is unnecessary.

DO NOT drive the truck "for a few days" with just distilled water, radiator cleaner, and no thermostat. First of all, that will do nothing but destroy your cooling system and I don't see how you wouldn't overheat the engine.

Drain the old coolant, put whatever cleaner you have in with distilled water, let it run for 15-20 minutes, replace with fresh coolant and a new thermostat if you choose. That's all it takes.

 

Follow the directions on the flush bottle....I'm pretty sure it don't say to drive it around for a few days then drain...like stated above 15-20 mins or operating temp 190 degrees.

 

Every Ford on the road comes with stop leak from the factory. Especially cars that have aluminum radiators with plastic side tanks. Its just another little preventative thing they do. I always get my truck flushed professionally in the shop, not only do they add the cleaner and run it, but I know the block and radiator are completely flushed. Then after the flush a stop leak and seal/hose conditioner are added.

 

On engine setups in which you can not use a flush kit (the tee with a cap), I have always drain the radiator filled with water (from a hose), run engine and repeat until water comes out clear, usually 3 cycles. on a 12 quart system I would then put in a bottle of pure anti freeze and then top off with 60/40 mix and check float ***** for full tem[ protection. I also add a bottle of bars aluminum stop leak and water wetter for add protection. The idea of the stop leak is to fill any minor cracks or potentail leaks before it starts. It was an old Shade Tree mechanic trick. I stay away from tablet or any of the dark oil stop leaks as they look like oil in your coolant system.

 

I agree. A proper coolant flush doesn't take any longer than 45 minutes. Do it properly and you won't damage anything. Do it wrong and you can put yourself into debt.

Personally I would always recommend going with original manufacturer coolant. There are so many different types of coolant out there it is easy to go wrong, but if you go with factory Ford coolant you simply can't go wrong.

Got that right! It isn't an incredibly difficult task, just do it right and you'll be good for another 100,000km.