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2000 V10 and I decided to flush my cooling system because the fluid had been a brownish color for quite some time and we have a camping trip next week to the NC Mountains.
long story short I was flushing by removing the thermostat, putting housing back on without thermostat then filling with distilled water and running for ~5 minutes with the heat on high. I cycled through nearly 30 gallons and still had brownish water. I decided to use a garden hose to constantly fill the reservoir, put a hose on the return line and run it into a 5 gallon bucket and flushed nearly 15 gallons that way…still brown ☹️. I will post a pic later.
if it is oil in the coolant does that mean I have a head gasket leak? If so and it’s been doing it for some time am I ok for one more towing trip? Any hints on how to better diagnose?
You sure its brown and not orange? When i flush i run with hose in top radiator hole, and that means it will drain from that disconnected hose. I run it like twenty minutes, you likely are not flushing it long enough..
You sure its brown and not orange? When i flush i run with hose in top radiator hole, and that means it will drain from that disconnected hose. I run it like twenty minutes, you likely are not flushing it long enough..
Agreed. 5 minute run time after refilling isnt long enough either. Did you run any acid through the system, or CLR/Simple Green to actually clean it? Sorry, but thats not enough time to flush nor enough water.
Could be slowly cleaning iron deposits out of the aluminum radiator, front & rear heater core. 2nd the CLR. Fill er up with clr and go for a drive. No need to have the heat on high. Does nothing for heater flow. Just have the temp set to anything besides 60.
I did put in 2 qts of Ford VC-9 on 2 different flushes with the distilled water. Fore reference I have put nearly 45 gallons of water through the system and am still getting the brownish color. It does seems to be more like iron deposits, but does it really take that long to flush out of the system? I had my wife raving the engine while I kept the hose in the reservoir to keep fresh water flowing in for nearly 15-20 minutes and it still was coming out brown. Here are pics of what I have recovered so far, as well as the sediment I am getting at the bottom of the water jugs and a pic of my old reservoir and the deposits at the bottom. Is the CLR just the household cleaner or their radiator flush? How much CLR do I use and how many times do I need to fill the system with CLR and water to get it cleaned out? How long of a drive each time? I'll be happy if this is not oil, but I would have thought after 45 gallons that I would have flushed out all the iron deposits. Thanks for the input.
Old reservoir not thick and sludgy like I would expect if it was oil sediment at bottom of water flushed out more sediment bottom of old reservoir
I pulled the Ex out of the garage this AM and ran the garden hose flush kit with the T connection for 10-15 minutes and the water is a lot cleaer,but still not 100% clear. I was going to get some CLR, but see my local Advance has the Thermocure cleaner. Would I be safe to do our camping trip into the mountains with distilled water and the CLR or Thermocure to really cycle the system, or would I need to use antifreeze with the cleaner? Its only about a 2.5 hour drive, but I assume there will be a lot of higher RPM driving to get where we are going.
With that much sediment/ stuff floating around the system, I'd bet a lot of money the impeller vanes on the water pump are worn down a lot.
After you get the system cleaned out, I'd replace the water pump.
You could also adapt a coolant filter meant for a diesel to your truck to help keep the system clean once you get it clean. Just about every 6.0 out there that's still running has a coolant filter, they're available everywhere. Usually they tap off the heater core lines for supply and return to the degas bottle, so they're not really engine specific. Below are a couple links to ones from reputable companies, again plenty out there on amazon and ebay too.
So I thoroughly flushed the system with a hose through the heater core hose with the return line plugged and port out of the reservoir attached to a drain hose to flush out the reservoir as well. Then I ran the engine with a hose in the reservoir and the drain plug from the radiator removed. I got the water crystal clear, poured in the Thermocure, filled it up with distilled water and proceed to drive for about 40 miles on the interstate for a business trip. I checked the reservoir level and color when I got to the airport for my trip and it was only slightly colored greenish which I assumed was just the Thermocure mixed with the water. The truck sat at the airport for a little over 24 hours while I was on my business trip, I think drove the 40 miles back home and when I opened the hood at home the reservoir had nearly black water in it. Below is a pic of 1 of 4 gallons that I drained out and the residue that was left in the pan that I drained the water into. Any ideas what this is? Is it actually an exhaust leak into the coolant passage? When I started the truck tonight to flush some more water through it, I do believe I had some white smoke at startup, and I have noticed a gradual decrease in gas mileage, which I assume could be explained if I am leaking coolant into the exhaust and messing up the A/F readings from my O2 sensors. Any further ideas/recommendations are appreciated.
4 gallons flushed out after 40 mile drive, sat for 24 hours and 40 mile drive home residue in bottom of drain pan after filling 4 milk jugs
Does it always start easy? If it starts hard after sitting while hot that would suggest hydro-lock.
If you have a borescope check the cylinders to see if the pistons are getting steam cleaned.
Yes, it starts just fine every time without issues. It use to start with a rough idle every now and then, but I haven't experienced that in awhile. I don't have a borescope, but can probably get my hands on one or rent one from the local auto parts store.
I dont think you are flushing properly still.. You said you put the hose with running water in the reservoir then pulled the radiator drain plug and ran the engine! This will only flush the radiator, and risk running the engine dry.
You should pull the top big hose to the radiator and put the hose in radiator where that big hose lead. Turn on hose and run engine. The big hose that went to your radiator will be your drain.
The stuff that you are collecting is from the flush stuff you are using and likely not getting out. Dont use flush chemical just use water from the hose and you will be set.
The coolant from my 01 V10 looked the same when I flushed mine a few months ago. Took a while to clean out and I ended up pulling my radiator and cleaned it with a hose internally/externally.
06-26-2022, 08:04 PM
