Hi, another question, doing an overall check of the rig before my trip to USA.

Is it really necessary to remove the plug and drain the engine to replace the antifreeze, this plug is a plumber plug and I have no tools to remove it, it is situated in a really bad spot and just looking at it makes me sick. I am quite sure If I take it to the garage they will not take the time to remove it.

I am thinking of using rad flush and after, just run warm water through the rad hose until water flows clear. Is this good enough?

I know there will be water left in the engine and I have to adjust the antifreeze. Just how much antifreeze is there in the engine itself?

Thank you guys, now I have to go back and check all the other things.

 

There are 2 drain plugs one each side of the engine......one is over/behind the starter

When you find time you could do the following.......

BajaGringo Block Drains

The block drains are just 1/4"npt pet*****, available in the "HELP" section at the auto parts store. You need a 9/16" crowfoot socket that fits on a socket extension to reach in to tighten them (There's no room for a reg open end wrench). Then, cut up an old spark plug socket to fit over the petcock to loosen/tighten. Once they are loose, slip the 3/8" rubber hose over the end of the petcock and continue loosening the petcock (with the other end of hose in bucket). Intstalling these is still messy and a bit of a hassle, but NEXT TIME it'll be a lot less messy and a lot easier. Smear 'em with anti-seize to make sure they turn 'next time'. I've already had to use mine because when I had the radiator 'rodded' they didn't have the right kind of antifreeze, and I was 200 miles from home. So I needed to re-flush the system and re-DCA it. This makes saving/reusing the expensive DCAs/antifreeze possible if you use CLEAN BUCKETS. I bought a special funnel that snaps into the radiator fill, and use a metal spray paint funnel/filter/screen just to make sure nothing too big gets back in there. Yeah, I'm a little '**** retentive', that's probably why my eyes are brown. BajaGringo
**********************************
I added them to mine a few weeks ago(idea stollen from Baja) I confirm they are 1/4" npt pet***** and the 9/16" crowfoot is neccassary also.

--------------------
Kennyd
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Get the quality brass pet***** that open fully with a 1/4 turn (twist-**** on the side). There's all different kinds available.


4 gallons of antifreeze and 4 gallons distilled water. This includes the overflow reservior (cleaned out). Then you need 2 bottles of SCAs.. DCA4 from IH or VC8 from ford. Test strips from NAPA/WIX or IH. Go to IH ask for the Fleetguard 3-WAY Coolant Test Strips CC2602B contains 1 Test strip. You need about 4 for 1 years testing....check due date.

They show A/F freeze point (EG and PG coolants), Nitrite level and Molybdate levels.

Back flush the heater both ways.........

Normally when doing a complete fluid change I do the Tstat also, as there is a check ball in the upper coolant manifold. It's purpose is to drain trapped air from the heads so over heating on initial start does not occur. Consider leaving the heater to water pump hose off at the water pump. Fill the block through that hole. I also place a prestone fill drain T in the heater hose so air can be purged latter if needed.

CAUTION:
The specified/required thermostat does not contain an internal bypass, since the bypass is located in the cylinder block. Whenever the thermostat is replaced, it is mandatory that only Motorcraft E5TZ-8575-C or Navistar 1807974C94 thermostat be installed.
CAUTION:
Do not attempt to repair any thermostat. It should be replaced if it is not operating properly.
Check the new thermostat before installing it for correct opening temperature. Before suspending in boiling water, with a flashlight check where the rubber and the flat metal flange meet for bad seal. Tstat should start to opening barely at 180-192f, fully open 200-212f, allow to cool and check for rubber seal again.
Removal: Disconnect batteries, drain 4+ gals A/F, remove: as required, fan belt, alternator set aside, alt bracket, remove filter support from fuel filter then e/block. Disconnect upper rad hose at rad, remove tstat bolts and housing. Clean both faces, depression and holes in block, ensure check ball in goosekneck is clean, free and rattles "do not remove".
Installation is reverse proceedure, I do not use sealant on gaskets and faces. REMEMBER the tstat pellet(copper end) goes into the block. I do use a "very small amount" of sealant on the edge of the tstat face when installing into the recess, now go for coffee, allow sealant to setup, this has saved me from tstat slippage when the gasket and goosekneck are installed. Replace all items in reverse order......
Manifold bolt torque......... 20ftlbs

 

Not much left to say after that post, Pete covered it all.

 

My plug are just standard square plumber plug, no petcock on it. It looks like a 12 mm wrench will fit on it but I could not unscrew them.

Is it really important to drain the engine, If I can avoid it, I will

Thanks for all your info, i will print it.

 

Hi All--
While the BajaGringo is a very nice solution, there is another way to go. Drain radiator and fill with tap. You will get about 4 gal out and have about 3 gal in engine. Run to temp with heater controls on full heat to get full mixing. Drain radiator and repeat. After about 6 cycles the water out of the radiator will run pretty clear. Then do two or three flushes with distilled water. On the last drain put in 4 gal of low silicate green plus the DCA4. You may have to drive the truck a bit to get all the green in and top off one more time with distilled water. Now you can keep it fresh by occasionally (at least once per year) just draining the radiator and adding 50/50 plus DCA4. I would be totally comfortable with the above procedure if the system is resonably clean. If you have lot of crud due to poor maintenance then a more serious flush is probably in order. Just my take on this.
Jim

 

Jim22, you say 3 gallons in the engine, so all you have to add after flush is 4 gallon of antifreeze and 1 gallon of water? Thats what I was wondering, how much in the engine. But I have a big radiator from a 1996 Ford, is it the same?
The plug are almost impossible to remove.

 

Mine is 1994 F250. I flushed it for the first time last week. I wanted to get what was in there out and had no time to deal with block plugs-- just like you. The manual says total capacity is 29 quarts (not counting overflow bottle). I put a five gallon pail under mine and it did not quite fill up on the first drain, so I figure I got about 4 gallons out. This leaves 3.5 gallons in engine. I flushed several times with water like I said. The important thing is to have full circulation between flushes. When you refill after a flush you will not get a full 4 gallons back in until you drive it. I did not worry about this until the end of flushing. On the last cycle I poured in 4 gallons of antifreeze, 2 1/4 pints of DCA4 and still needed some distilled water. Do yourself a small favor before you start, hit the stopcock with some liquid-wrench type spray to let it open easy. It is a lot of fill and drain cycles so it does take a couple of hours but it is so easy. The first time I as nervous opening up the thing hot-- but just use a rag and the pressure release valve on the cap works good.
Jim

 

Jim, did you try with a flush T, you know the one you put on your heater line and screw on a garden hose to circulate the fluid, onpening the rad bleed until clear water comes out?

 

I did not tried it, I have heard from guys that it works fine but you do have to tap the coolant line and do you gain anything?
Jim

 

Has anyone had problems with their heater core plugging or getting an air bubble in it after doing a coolant flush? I have seen this happen on a Ford tempo before after a coolant flush and heater core replacement. Wasn't pleasant to say the least and I really don't want to have the same experiance with my diesel. Also, how would I flush the system without screwing up the thermostat? I plan to fill it back up with Fleetcharge (purple coolant) as recommended by Dave S, should already have the necessary SCA/DCA's for a complete system right? I also plan to add a coolant filter is why I ask .

Not too sure about having a shop do the flush as I have not seen any of them remove the coolant plugs on the block...Tell me what you guys think...

-Dave

 

From the Fleetguard Service Bulletin:

FLEETGUARD UNIVERSAL PG CONCENTRATE ANTIFREEZE requires the addition of
Supplemental Coolant Additives (SCA's), such as Fleetguard DCA4 additive, when used in diesel engine applications. The DCA4 inhibitor system protects diesel engines from liner pitting, and from hard water scale deposits.

 

I was able to easily remove my block drain plugs...

shallow 9/16 socket, wobbly, 6" extension, 3/8 drive ratchet.

 

Well I did my flush. I used the T flushing kit on the hose that goes between the heater and the pump. It worked very well, just run the engine warm, have the tap water connected with low pressure, remove the rad cap, unscrew the drain from the radiator,circulate with warm water, let it run until clear water flow out of rad and from the rad revervoir.

Then I used some flush product, run the engine rev. at 1500 RPM for 10 minutes than reflush with garden hose for about 10 minute.

Refilled with 4 gallons of collant. I did not use ionized water, all the specialist I checked with, every body use tap water, I guess it is not all that bad.

I did put some ionized water at the end.

 

All the specialist you checked with are wrong.

These things are so depedent on the cooling system on a coupla different fronts, it's critical to get it right.

Every decent rad shop will tell you to use distilled water. You dont want ANY particles floating around in the coolant system, no matter what size. Most wells do have some sort of hardness problem. Most municipal water supplies do too, plus they chloronate their water .

I don't know where this Ionized water thing came from? Distilled water is readily available at any grocery store.

 

Deionized Water is just what it sounds like: Water that has the ions removed. Tap water is usually full of ions from the soil (Na+, Ca2+), from the pipes (Fe2+, Cu+), and other sources. Water is deionized by using an ion exchange process.

Distilled water is literally water that has been boiled, evaporated and condensed - leaving all chemicals, toxins and waste behind and creating pure, clean water. Distillation will remove bacteria, viruses, cysts, heavy metals, radionuclides, organics, inorganics, and particulates.

Use what you want.... but your rad will perform better with either of the above used.