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Ever spend 30 minutes typing up a detailed history of your issue, only to have "Internet Explorer stopped working" right before you hit submit? So excuse the brevity in this one.
I recently performed a Restore and Restore+ flush on my 2006 with 105K miles, running Ford Gold Coolant. Delta was 10 degrees, but I'm having the cooler replaced while it's in the shop for STC and EGR delete, so I figured I may as well get the system really clean. I want to convert to ELC, which was the main driver for the Restore.
My drains weren't bad - some gel with Restore, but the + wasn't bad at all relative to what I've seen on the internet.
My current problem is that my drains - even after flushing through the radiator drain and driver's block plug with the engine off, engine on, allowing the truck to come to temperature and dumping the coolant, and even a "hot" flush via radiator drain and a small flow of tap water into the degas while the truck was at operating temperature - are still yellow tinted. I forgot to check pH, but the water smells just like warm tap water, it is free of contaminants, and you wouldn't know it had a yellow tint unless you pour it into a jug. No lie - I have probably run 500 gallons of water through this engine. I've also backflushed the heater core, radiator-to-degas hose, and EGR-to-degas hose to try and remove and residual chemicals/coolant that may be coloring my drains. No dice.
Am I chasing an unobtainable drain water coloration?
Are there other loops I should be backflushing? I did pull the passenger plug and flush with the engine off after the Restore, but have not repeated the exercise after the Restore+. I only have the easy two bolts in the starter right now so it wouldn't be absurdly difficult to do. I have a Fumoto, but I couldn't get the starter back in with it installed - may have to lop off the nipple. The Fumoto would allow for a hot drain but is a significant bottleneck to flow.
Could I have coolant/chemical seepage from the oil cooler or EGR cooler? With these being replaced, can my ELC live with it for a couple weeks till I get the work done?
Any other advise before I dump Gold back in it and call it a day (kidding - sort of).
Pictures for reference; captions for the picture are below the picture.
Left to right: Drain during last night's hot flush, unopened distilled, last drain this evening after a "hot" flush followed by a run in the neighborhood.
Left to Right: Restore drain, Restore+ drain, and radiator drain after all my flushing but before the two "hot" flushes I've performed the last two evenings.
I feel like the hot flushes have made progress, but it's slow and painful. I'm wondering what I'm missing. I'm not the guy who runs 30 gallons of distilled through his system and comes out smelling like a rose.
I recently did a switch to elc from the Ford gold. I did not use the restore or restore plus and maybe I should have. Besides the chemicals the only other difference in the way I did it is thermostat removal. Not sure, but maybe that would be a faster way to clear.
I did remove the thermostat before the first flush and have not reinstalled it.
Were your water drains as clear as the distilled water you put in? My cold engine drains are clear, but warming up the truck brings this yelllw tint out of the woodwork.
While flushing with hose in degass open one side engine drain at a time and when your degass gets full start truck and rev it up a few times it will blow crap out of engine. Do that a couple times per side. Might have rust in radiator
I did remove the thermostat before the first flush and have not reinstalled it.
Were your water drains as clear as the distilled water you put in? My cold engine drains are clear, but warming up the truck brings this yelllw tint out of the woodwork.
I remember the first time i did a flush I could not get every bit of yellow tint out. I gave up. That time I was going back with the Ford gold. This time when switching to ELC I went the extra step of removing both block drains and used a hose hooked up to my house softened water. No chemicals but it did get clear this time. I did the fumoto under the starter. It was a different style with the nipple on the side so the starter has room. I left a small section of hose attatched.
Just to follow up, I did remove the starter again and flushed tap water through the passenger side drain for 30 minutes. Did 6-7 cycles using distilled water - even drove for two days on water. Drains still yellow tinted, despite the pH very neutral. Checked my first Restore and Restore+ drains and they were off-scale in the correct directions (using around a 6-9 ph scale), so I am comfortable the chemicals are mostly out.
Replaced degas bottle, Y hose, and coolant filter, dumped ELC in, and moving on. Not enough data for a differential analysis but I think it may be a degree worse. I’ll update again if additional information from the flush comes to light.
Thanks for the replies.
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