I have been reading these cooling system flushing threads and my neck is starting to hurt from my head snapping up and seeing something else that is over my head.:-huh

I'm resurrecting this thread because I haven't seen anything posted about AMG-SM's experience with the backflushing (Gooch's Procedure) not getting a lot of the gunk out of his system and he (if I read it correctly) resorted to filling with water, running engine 4-6 minutes, and then draining out of small and large hoses removed from the bottom of the radiator.

Did AMG-SM do something wrong with Gooch's procedure? This is really the only thing that has me wondering what I should do here.

Some of the crystalized "heavy" granules might not flush out with simple circulating flow due to the specific gravity of the solids as compared to fluid flow velocity. Therefore, dumping through the bottom hoses can accomplish a more thorough purge. I can;t say how much more effective the bottom dumping is, but I can see the thought process behind it.

I've flushed 2 excursions in the past 6 months. First one I didn't use the flushing tee, and while there wasn't a noticeable difference between the first and 2nd flush, it did take me a number of flushes to get it accomplished as it kept on coming out murky.

I flushed the 2nd ex last week. This time I used the flushing tee, and wasn't sure that it was going to do any good, but it did make an amazing difference. I ran it through the tee until what was coming out looked fairly clear and filled it with water. I try to drive several miles to get everything good and warm between fills. After just a few fills it was coming out very clean, I was almost ready to quit early.

For me I did the work over the course of 2 days, which if you are going to run it until it gets warm between fills, is almost necessary since you could get burned by hot water. There was a time or two I didn't quite wait long enough...

I used prestone elc from amazon. If you do the subscribe and save thing it's $19.91 per gallon right now, just got to remember to cancel the subscription. I bought 26 gallons of water at walmart, and I have 4 left over.

Removing the thermostat for flushing will speed up the process.

I don't think the thermostat was installed when we flushed but yes you are correct that it will speed things up.

In retrospect, it would have probably sped things up to remove the radiator itself and flush it out or take it to a radiator shop for a proper cleaning. I think mine was particularly full of sediment. Might have even been the original coolant...

I hate to think what would have happened if I had added a coolant filter like people recommend. I would have clogged a few of them in no time flat.

We didn't do anything wrong or different from Gooch's procedure as far as I know. Stewart was right there hands on helping with this and he's done a few. Stewart did vaguely remember that his Ex also took more time and effort to flush. We speculate that it is b/c of the dual system that duck fan mentioned above.

Maybe I was just unlucky with mine. Your flushes might not be so bad. Either way, it helps to be prepared and know what you might be in for.

I mentioned here on FTE when I did mine that I had removed the radiator. I got a few "you don't have to do that it's too much trouble" replies. I will tell you that being able to turn it over and over, flushing from the top then the botttom with the garden hose it was still almost an hour before I went from getting greenish water and sediment out to clear running water. It also let me use the hose to clean debris from between the fins. The radiators on these trucks are not that hard to remove and this is a procedure your only gonna do once in maybe 300K miles if you even do it more than once in the lifetime of the truck. I would say it was worth the little extra work knowing I got it all out of the rad.

No, he didn't.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but in my opinion, it was as Pete (Duck Fan) posted above. Or you can just see where I quoted him below.

It wasn't nearly as bad as yours was. If I were to do a search for my old thread all those years ago, you'll see where I described what was happening, but it paled in comparison to your flush.

I completely agree with this.

I've done three F250's now and not a single one was as bad as my Ex or yours. Each truck was quick and had clean water coming out in nothing flat.

^^^This. For Excursions, this is important to note.

I need to check and see if I added this to the flush thread I put together like Pete suggested.

Stewart

Thanks everyone for your follow-up. Now that it is spring, Wally World should have the catch pans (small play pools) out for sale. Everything else is in place. My Saturday is set.

I've flushed dozens of 7.3 cooling systems. I started years ago following the Gooch method, but I've evolved to a better procedure.

First of all, 40-60 gallons of distilled water is expensive and kind of senseless. I do all the initial flushing with the hose. That said, I've run the hose for 30 mins and still had nasty stuff coming out of the radiator and block.

What I do is first drain the radiator and remove block drains and collect the old coolant. I then install a petcock valve in the drain above the starter. (This is the same 1/4" valve found on the bottom of most air compressor tanks). Then, I remove the t-stat and install a gutted t-stat back in the housing so it doesn't leak as much during the rest of the procedure.

Now, I close up all the drains and fill the system with tap water and take the truck around the block. Then, open the drains again (collecting the diluted coolant again).

At this point, I also pull the heater core return line off the top of the water pump and stick the hose in there. This works on Excursions and the trucks with coolant shut off valves - because the valve only closes in the MAX AC position. After pushing water (backwards) thru the heater core and out the open drains for awhile, I put the heater core hose back on.

Now, I stick the hose in the degas bottle and adjust the volume so it doesn't overflow out the top and crank up the truck. If it has a high-idle option - I use it at this point. After letting the truck run and idle with water pouring out of the drains until it is CLEAR, I close all the drains again and take another trip around the block.

At this point, I'm ready to drain everything again and fill with distilled water let it run again for a few. This is the final 'rinse' and removes the tap water from the system.

Finally, after draining the distilled water we are ready to apply thread sealant and reinstall the drains and put the new t-stat in. Fill with 50/50 CAT ELC and don't think about it for 350k miles.

I did a thorough flush like this in my dually and then installed a coolant filter. After 80k miles, the filter still flowed like the day I put it on. After I did an engine swap, I decided not to hook it back up.

The whole notion that our blocks are releasing casting sand after 100's of 1000's of miles is silly. That 'sand looking' stuff is fallout from SCA's and the rust we often see is from aged conventional coolant corroding the carbon steel it is in contact with.

Thorough flushing and using ELC mitigates the need for a filter in my experience.

How many gallons does the cooling system hold? F250 4x4. This is on my list to do this week.

Thanks Jason. I think I might incorporate a few of your procedures with all the rest.

Approximately 8 gallons, IIRC.

Yep. ;) .......

I used Gooch's procedure yesterday in addition to a new water pump, sensor and all new hoses on my 2002 F350.

Can I make one suggestion? Cover the starter connection with something before you stick a wrench above the starter to access the engine block coolant plug.

My long 3/8ths with 1/4 adaptor wrench made contact with the starter cable and ZZZZZZZZZAAAAAP! Scared the heck outta me. hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I also had a HELL of a time finding concentrated ELC. Even truck parts stores around me only carry 50/50. Ended up at Fleetpride store and their house-brand OTR (Over the Road) ELC concentrate. Their last 4 bottles!

I was surprised how much came out of those engine block drain plugs. Im also wondering whether 8 gallons is really gonna fit. 6.5 was best I could do on my first flush with distilled. One more flush coming up.