Coolant Flush and Change

[Donald]

While this is true, a '15 Ford probably started life with the Motorcraft orange OAT coolant and now many are switching to the Motorcraft VC-13-G Yellow P-OAT.. though it's supposed to be backwards compatible, but I'd rather get all the old orange out... it is now 8 yrs old if the factory fill.

I guess you need to qualify what kind of flush. Chemical or water. With a water flush you just need to get out (or best to) all the water from a garden hose. With a chemical flush you need to get out all traces of the flush chemical and any water from a garden hose.

I will be in the same boat as you in the not too distant future. My 2015 PSD had the Ford orange coolant replaced with new Ford Orange coolant. But the next radiator service will be to Ford Yellow. And the PSD had two separate cooling systems.

 

[cls1989]

The cooling systems with the pressurized overflow tank almost immediately remove the air when letting the engine idle. Usually a hose from the top of the cold side of the radiator and one from the heads opposite the coolant inflow.

So in my case the no spill funnel isn’t needed for purging air out of the system, it’s just there to contain the potential spill?

 

[BHopkins]

So in my case the no spill funnel isn’t needed for purging air out of the system, it’s just there to contain the potential spill?

Correct. The coolant spill free funnel is really designed for doing a fill and burp, when filling from the radiator. They are a very handy tool for that application. I just used mine after replacing a water pump on my brother in law's Jeep 4.0. But if your radiator doesn't have a cap, and you have to fill from the coolant overflow tank, then a regular funnel will do the job just fine.

 

[SHOZ]

So in my case the no spill funnel isn’t needed for purging air out of the system, it’s just there to contain the potential spill?

I had Taurus with that kind of cooling tank. Why would it splash out? Just let it idle and warm up and keep it topped off.

 

[LouC]

Due to the concerns with mixing coolants on my vehicles I put labels under the hoods as to what AF I used...
'98 Jeep was converted over from the old green stuff to the HOAT Chrysler used (Zerex)
'07 Jeep still run on the same HOAT as original (Zerex)
'17 Jeep they switched to OAT, so I don't use HOAT in it
'17 Subaru also uses OAT.
This is all needlessly confusing, I liked it better when we had simple old green coolant!
Also get a better instrument to measure the concentration of AF, the dropper style is not that accurate, the refractomer also measures PG as well as EG antifreezes. I mix up my own PG antifreeze to winterize the boat, cheaper and better than what you can buy, I use Sierra PG antifreeze for winter storage. Keeps the old cast iron engine from corroding internally.

 

[Donald]

I had Taurus with that kind of cooling tank. Why would it splash out? Just let it idle and warm up and keep it topped off.

In my boat engine (a GM 5.7L) the engine needs to be run at 1500 RPM to get rid of air pockets. Idle will not cut it.

 

[KrisZ]

I like to keep it simple. I first flush with distilled water until it’s pretty much clear. 4-5 radiator drains should do it for most vehicles.
Then I look up the total coolant capacity, drain half of that and fill with concrete that same amount. There is your 50/50 mix.

The person I the video is using a garden hose to flush for some reason. Which you want want mostly drained. I prefer to use distilled water right from the start. It costs very little extra, but the final mix is much easier to achieve.

 

[SHOZ]

In my boat engine (a GM 5.7L) the engine needs to be run at 1500 RPM to get rid of air pockets. Idle will not cut it.

Did the tank have constant flow from the heads and top of the pass side of the radiator. And a reverse flow t-stat on lower hose?

 

[Donald]

Did the tank have constant flow from the heads and top of the pass side of the radiator. And a reverse flow t-stat on lower hose?

Probably not. My point was there is a lot more coolant moving around and faster at 1500 RPM than idle and easier to get rid of air pockets.

 

[Doc8404]

Probably why my truck’s coolant was “weak” (too much water) when I had it serviced.

They used the premix stuff and didn’t account for the water left over in the block.

 

[SHOZ]

Probably not. My point was there is a lot more coolant moving around and faster at 1500 RPM than idle and easier to get rid of air pockets.

Much like my Accent. Very hard to completely burp. But the pressurized tanks and reverse flow cooling blending the lower radiator hose input with hot at the thermostat like the Taruas had are a different animal. I didn't realize my lowly Accent was like this until I had the engine out. No pressurized tank though. Still the old fashion top down flow radiator.

What I have found is if the system is sound leak wise the air elimination happens naturally. Top off the radiator for the next couple cycles. Then just the overflow. Why I like the clear overflow hose. It will show air if any is in the system.

 

[cls1989]

Update. I drained the old coolant and did the flush.

Problem is when I went to go do the refill I can’t get the coolant to go down in the tank. The system has an 11.1 quart capacity, and I’ve only added 4 quarts to the system, and the tank is at the max fill line. See photo. How do I get the coolant to move from the tank to the rest of the system so I can continue to top off?

 

[Doc8404]

Update. I drained the old coolant and did the flush.

Problem is when I went to go do the refill I can’t get the coolant to go down in the tank. The system has an 11.1 quart capacity, and I’ve only added 4 quarts to the system, and the tank is at the max fill line. See photo. How do I get the coolant to move from the tank to the rest of the system so I can continue to top off?

Let it idle with the cap off and the noise of the truck elevated

 

[cls1989]

Let it idle with the cap off and the noise of the truck elevated

Thanks this one fusion forum I found says Let the car idle with the heat on low. The tstat will open once temps come up. I guess when it says heat on low does that mine high heat with low fan speed?

 

[SHOZ]

In the old days the heater core flow was sometimes regulated with a valve. Most modern cars today have a constant flow through the heater core. So tuning on the heat only slows down the heating up.

Ford learned the hard way with early 90s 3.0L Vulcan motors about the heater core clogging up.

 

[cls1989]

In the old days the heater core flow was sometimes regulated with a valve. Most modern cars today have a constant flow through the heater core. So tuning on the heat only slows down the heating up.

Ford learned the hard way with early 90s 3.0L Vulcan motors about the heater core clogging up.

Interesting this is the step that I’m hung up on. Here is the link to that thread.

http://www.2gfusions.net/showthread.php?tid=11582

 

[SHOZ]

My Taurus had what you have and the nearly inaccessible drain. I always just use the lower radiator hose to drain the radiator.

When I do a flush and fill I will flush with low mineral water until that is all there is in the system. Then blow with air as much out as I can. Then fill with a gallon of 70% then top off with 50%.

The dropping of the level is what you should see as the air has been purged naturally. Just keep topping off with 50/50 though I would be testing what is in there now for strength so you can adjust to the needs of your climate.

 

[cls1989]

My Taurus had what you have and the nearly inaccessible drain. I always just use the lower radiator hose to drain the radiator.

When I do a flush and fill I will flush with low mineral water until that is all there is in the system. Then blow with air as much out as I can. Then fill with a gallon of 70% then top off with 50%.

The dropping of the level is what you should see as the air has been purged naturally. Just keep topping off with 50/50 though I would be testing what is in there now for strength so you can adjust to the needs of your climate.

Okay. Yea. I flushed with distilled water until it ran clear. I poured 4 quarts of pure concentrate with the intention of pouring 5.5 quarts since it’s a 11.1 quart capacity. I was going to top off with distilled water after pouring the full 5.5 quarts of pure concentrate but the problem is now the tank is full

 

[SHOZ]

Okay. Yea. I flushed with distilled water until it ran clear. I poured 4 quarts of pure concentrate with the intention of pouring 5.5 quarts since it’s a 11.1 quart capacity. I was going to top off with distilled water after pouring the full 5.5 quarts of pure concentrate but the problem is now the tank is full

So what is the concentration in there now? If it's full and too weak then you are going to have to drain some and add 100%.

If you added 4 quarts and it filled the system there obviously was a lot of water left in there.

My Accent is terrible to drain all the coolant out of after a flush. I found that taking the water pump to tstat hose off drained most of what was left.

 

[Doc8404]

Thanks this one fusion forum I found says Let the car idle with the heat on low. The tstat will open once temps come up. I guess when it says heat on low does that mine high heat with low fan speed?

Yes