Hi all,
I know this has probably been beat to death, but I just want to clarify some things. First of all, I am doing a coolant flush soon, and I am thinking of putting an ELC in it. My truck came factory with green coolant, which is strange considering it is a 2003 7.3. I am still on the fence about putting an ELC in it. If I did, how much would I need to flush it? Would it be okay if there are tiny amounts of green stuff still left in, or does it need to be completely gone?

Thanks!

 

There should be no green left, and there really is no excuse. If you follow the directions its very easy. I left my hose on for an hour while I ate dinner.

You will need 4 gallons of concentrate ELC and 4 gallons of distilled water (for the final fill). You will also need 10-15 gallons of distilled for flushing.

I had Ford do my flush last time, because I go so tired of doing it. Cost me $160. Thats about the cost of the ELC, so its up to you. But if Ford does it they will use Ford Gold.

 

Trey, have you check NAPA's prices in your area? I purchased 4 gallons of Zerex ELC a couple of weeks ago for $50. I got a small discount since I have a fleet but normal over the counter price was $13.99/gal...


To the OP...get the flushing T from NAPA for 3 or 4 bucks...it's makes it much easier. The hardest part of the entire process is getting the block plugs removed. Next time I do this, I am going to screw in some hose barb fittings into the block, about 3 feet of hose and a ball valve at the end. Then I won't have crawl under the truck to pull the plugs when draining the distilled water. Other than that, this procedure works pretty well...
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...formation.html

 

Wow. Didnt see it when I went but I didnt look diligently. Our napa is TINY though, they may not have it. Where I have gotten ELC is a commercial fueling station. I get Chevron DEL at about $25/gal

The CAT dealer down the road has the ELC for about $29/gal.
Concentrate for both.

 

Ouch!
I am heading to So Cal this weekend. Do you want me to grab 4 gallons of Zerex for you (concentrate)?

 

How I flushed mine. The long way but flushes the system effectively.

- Drain radiator (catch coolant)
- Fill rad/degas bottle with hose water
- Drive long enough to open up T-stat (with heater on defrost full)
- Drain radiator again (catch coolant)
- Fill rad/degas bottle with hose water
- Drive long enough to open up T-stat (with heater on defrost full)
- Drain radiator on ground (coolant pretty much already gone)
- Take drain plug completely out
- Fill rad/degass bottle with hose water
- Keep hose in degas bottle running (I made a flushing cap out of an old degas bottle cap that hose screwed on)
- Start truck with heater running and let the hose flush the system for 15 minutes
- Remove hose, put drain plug back in radiator
- Fill rad/degas bottle with distilled water
- Drive long enough to open up T-stat (with heater on defrost full)
- Drain radiator on ground
- Tighten radiator drain plug
- Fill rad/degass bottle with concentrated coolant
- Use truck a several days or so to let coolant mix then drain some into a clean cup to test the concentration. Add coolant or distilled water to get the proper concentration.

You can do an extra drain and fill with distilled water if you wish, I just did one. The dealer would most likely just use hose water. The MC Gold coolant is good coolant and if it can stand up to what the 6.0l and 6.4l put it through it will not have a problem with the 7.3l. Since I was buying 4 gallons of MC Gold coolant my dealer gave me a break on it.($15gal) Napa wanted $17gal for Zerex G-05.

Cap I made

 

No thanks. I have Ford Gold and am quite content for now. Dont feel like doing ANOTHER flush...

Thanks for the offer though!