Hello guys,
Finally got my fumoto valves today, I've been getting ready to flush and refill with Cat EC1 coolant, got 6 five gallons of distilled water, got the coolant, also got from ford dealer a radiator coolant flush CV1 (anybody heard of it? ) the guy at dealer counter said that's what they use, then I got a quart of CV9, recommended by many people to clean rust amd scale buildup. A lot of people recommend the Fleetguard prior to CV9. what do you think?
My truck's got 63k miles, i replaced my coolant begining of the year, but i've heard that the Ford Gold coolant could or might be responsible for gunk build up in the oil cooler due to extreme heat and chemical breakdown in the EGR cooler, then it becomes a chain reaction, oil cooler gets clogged, yet the coolant to the EGR comes from the oil cooler heat exchanger, less water=hotter egr,,, the chain of problems begin.
My biggest concern is flushing and clogging the oil cooler with loose gunk in the system, has anyone had this issue?
I downloaded the bulletin instructions how to flush step by step, it also explains to back wash the cooler but it has to be removed from the engine, is there a simple way of doing this without removal?
I also installed this weekend a coolant filter but have the valves closed, thought of putting it to service after the flush, but just got a reply from a member who adviced it be beneficial to let it start filter now febore flush to help remove anything floating around in the cooling system, makes perfect sence to me, i just went out to the truck, valves are open.
Sorry for the looong explanation but any advice or comments are welcome
Thanks
Nelson

 

I'm going to back flush my oil cooler in the vehicle this weekend. Stay tuned for my new post with pics.

 

Do you have problems with your deltas (EOT and ECT spread)? If your deltas are good than DO NOT do the chemical flush unless you plan on changing out the oil cooler etc...

I just did my pickup over the last 2 days. I had deltas of 3-5 degrees and I just wanted to swap out the Ford Gold for Cat ELC. I also swapped out the thermostat and the engine drain plugs for the Fumotos and they are a godsend for this application! There are 3 bolts holding the starter in place (if they haven't all rattled out) but the one on the top is a real buggar to get to. Apparently a swivel extension is the key!

I bought five 5 gallon jugs of distilled water for my flush and did the following.

- First flush was all distilled water (takes about 5 gallons with engine block drained on both sides as well as radiator)......

- before second flush I blew out the heater core with about 20lbs of air then filled again with distilled water....

- next I pulled the plugs on the block as well as the rad and ran tap water through the system for about 25 minutes... I also dropped the lower rad hose to get any crud out that might have been in there. Then with the tap running and the valves etc.. open I started the truck and revved it a little to blow any possible crud out of the system. Then filled again with tap water and drained. (did this twice)

- then flushed again with distilled to get rid of tap water.

- then filled her up with the good stuff! NOTE: Make sure to put all your coolant in first for your mix ratio.... a lot of water stays in the system even when draining the block! (close to 7.5 quarts worth!)

The tech folder has an awesome write up on how to do this and I also like these little videos.... I must have watched it about 5 times before doing my own! lol (it's 2 parts)

6.0 Liter Ford Powerstroke - Flushing the Cooling System with VC9 - YouTube

Here's part 2!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNKSToD7Gqg

 

I agree with Berick. If your deltas are good DO NOT do a chemical flush! If you do you stand a GOOD chance of plugging up a perfectly good oil cooler. IMO the chemical flush should only be done prior to changing out an already plugged oil cooler. It's your truck but there's lots of folks here that are doing just fine with the Ford Gold coolant (myself included). If my oil cooler ever needs changing I would do a chemical flush and switch over to ELC at that time but until the cooler needs changing I'm not getting too aggressive with flushing, I just drain/refill with distilled until clear and go back with fresh Ford Gold. I agree that the ELC has it's advantages,but chemical flushing also has it's disadvantages(in a properly working system). I would definitely put the coolant filter on,it's one of the best mods available for the 6.0. IMHO,this is one of those times when you "don't fix it if it ain't broke"!!

 

Thanks so much for your advice, makes perfect sence, I already have the coolant filter doing it's job, also im going to invest in some monitoring instrument, coolant, oil and exhaust temps, at the moment everything seems to be working good, my intention was to switch to CAT EC1 due to being silicate free, i'll leave it like it is and change my oil, getting close to 5k miles on it. Thanks for the advice, greatly aporeciated. Nelson

 

You're welcome Nelson. The ELC is a superior product and if you really want to switch over I would do just what Berick described in his post,but I'm gonna take my chances with the Gold for now. You really do NEED the gauges so you can monitor your deltas. ScangaugeII has a good rep. around here,as well as the Edge Insight. I chose the Insight and am very happy with it. Once you can monitor the delta you can make a more educated decision on what you should do. Glad we could help!

 

Hello Berick,
Thanks for all your info, good stuff, not looking forward to install the fumotos, but it's gotta get done if you want a good flush, the EC1 coolant back panel says if you have another type collant in the system it definetly has to be flushed at least three times (fill & drain) etc. WH 6.0 also does not recommend a chemical flush so I'll stay away from that, specially if the cooler and deltas still good.
In the Powerstroke Cooling System Flush v1-0 file i downloaded says that International made this engine and they use the CAT EC1 in other engines similar built like our 6.0's and they don't seem to experience the same issues we have with oil and egr coolers.
I just finished watching both videos you sent, excelent, greatly appreciated
Thanks
Nelson

 

Yes, there is a way to flush the cooler without removing it and without flushing the crud into the block.

It's a bit of work and will cost about 100.00 for the parts to fabricate the apparatus, but it can be used over and over again should the need arise.

I have resurrected 3 plugged oil coolers with mine without any problems.

 

Shooter - You've got my attention.. Inquiring minds want to know

 

I'm curious if anyone has tried this stuff:

Evapo-Rust

I bought a gallon for small parts on my 59 F100 4x4 project and the stuff is amazing. I was getting into chem backflushing my 6.0L but ended up changing the cooler and no longer have an issue, if I ever have rust issues I might try it.

 

Chet, yes I have used it and it works great. Archoil makes something similar to it also. There may be others.

 

Jarhead......

Remove the oval shaped cap under the turbo. It is the coolant outlet for the oil cooler.

Now I could be wrong on the sizes and its raining cats and dogs right now, so I'll go from memory.

Get about 10 feet of 5/8 x 1/2 plastic tubing ( I used clear) and enough fittings to hook up one end to a garden hose with a ball valve between the garden hose fitting and the tubing.

Next remove the water pump. When you remove it you will see a large hole in the center of the front cover, it is the inlet from the block to the water pump. Place a rag in the opening. Around the opening the water pump fits in you will
find 3 opening, the one at the top at about the 2 o'clock position is the feed line to the oil cooler. Place a rag in the other two openings so trash you flush out of the cooler does not get into the block.

Place the 5/8 tubing into the top of the oil cooler as far as it will go. It is a tight (friction) fit and should stay in place when the high pressure water is applied. Turn the water on and use the valve on the tubing to turn the water off and on to "blast" the oil cooler. The water will come out of the top hole in the water pump housing. I purchased a kiddy wading pool about 10 inches in height and placed it under the truck to catch the water, but I let it overflow. Any solids will drop to the bottom of the pool.

I usually flush it off and on for an hour or two.

Next get about 10 feet of 1/2 x 3x8 plastic tubing. Insert it into the hole in the front cover where he water from the oil cooler comes out. It is a tight fit and at an odd angle but once it goes in you will be able to push it in about 8 inches.

The next thing you will need is a pump that will push about 6 gallons per minute, I used this one....
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ct_16818_16818. A 2 or 3 gallon per minute pump will work if you can find one.

Get a 5 gallon bucket and place the discharge line from the water pump hosing in the bucket and run it near the bottom of the bucket. Use some other fitting to hook the supply line to the pump and put a short hose from the suction side of the pump into the buck, near the top.

Fill the bucket with your chemical of choice and circulate it through the oil cooler. At 6 gallons per minute it will leak quite a bit around the hose in the front cover, but with the valve on the pressure side you can reduce the flow to where it is acceptable. I used the kiddy pool to catch the chemical and reused it after filtering it through some blue shop towels.

I would run the pump for about 45 minutes then let it set for about 45, then run for another 45 and so on till I felt I had done it long enough. I usually do it all day long like that. The last time I circulated it I let it set overnight, circulated it the next morning and the flushed with high pressure tap water.

If you plugged the holes in the front cover you will lose a minimal amount of coolant and it will not contaminate what is in the block, radiator or heater core.

I do not heat the liquid, but it could be done. I would be very cautious about using any kind of electrical heating element unless you can make it 100% shock proof.

I used evaporust to flush mine, but one could use VC 9, restore, or restore plus or some other chemical you feel confident with.

 

Did you use it to do a Chem flush on your 6.0?

 

Did the flush today, used five 5 gallon bottles of distilled water, first warmed up the truck then I added one quart of the Motorcraft VC1 added to the old coolant as per instructions on the bottle, run the truck for 10 min. open the radiator drain and removed the block plugs, installed Futomo valves,, you have to remove the plug o-ring and install them on the futomo valve, after that everything was a piece of cake, filled the system with regular tap water went for a drive, draining and refilling was an easy process, refilled with distilled water, another drive, everytime with the heater on high. I collected the water coming out of the radiator and block in a pan and some black bits kept coming out then after the third flush with plain water didn't see any more black bits come out. Refilled with CAT EC1 coolant, installed a new coolant filter and ready for tomorrow, I don't expect to see much change except that now it's EC1 coolant,,,will keep an eye on it and keep you posted.
I took pictures but can't figure out how to upload here
Nelson

 

I did not use the old rubber o'rings from the block drain plugs.... just the flimsy blue gaskets that came with the Fumotos. People have used both. Although I would have gotten new rubber o'rings.