I've read how to do the coolant change by hand. I have a question about flush machines. A local shop says it will get all the old out and replace it with whatever I want (red in my case). Would the flush actually get all the old stuff out? Would it get enough out to be sufficient?

 

drain everything including the block, fill it up with water run it a few mins and drain it out completely... then just use the red stuff

 

Local shop is telling you what they think you want to hear. They are, in essence saying, "It will do anything you want to do". Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

A shop that lied to me that way wouldn't get any more of my business.

Drain complete, flush with tap water a couple of times, drain complete, flush with distilled water at least once (to remove any trace of minerals) and then drain and use the red stuff according to directions.

Pop

 

I agree with SpringerPop

 

Iused the same method as springerpop with no issues

 

I just did mine, and replaced the water pump this weekend. I drained from the bottom hose, to get as much out a possible, then filled with water ,ran it till the thermostat opened up, and then emptied. I also took the one hose to the heater core, and flushed it out with water, and then air so that it was empty. Then reinstalled everything, new thermostat at the same time, and put Final Charge in it. Whatevers left cant be enough to bother me, the stuff that came out after the water fill was pretty clean.

 

what is the beni to red coolant, what does it do and where do you get it.

 

Thanks for the replies

 

Check about 1/2 way down on this link for a discussion of coolants. Note that it states using tap water instead of distilled water for the flush derates the new (HOAT) coolant life by 50%.

http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/powers~1.htm

 

The red coolant is formulated for heavy duty diesel use, doesn't need the fw-16 additive and also doesn't produce the precipitate that wears out our water pumps and front engine covers. It is zero maintenance for 3 years or 300,000 miles, and can be extended to 6 years or 600,000 miles with a single dose of additive at the 3 year interval.

 

awesome thanks for the info, where was I when all this happened???

 

Just in case you're thinking about it, I'm not sure the diesel ELC's are approved for your 97 engine, I think there is some compatibility issues with gaskets in the older engines that limits it's use to the 99+ engines.

 

Good to know, I will still do it on my 03 EX though

 

you could just buy the final charge converter and do it that way, the company i work for did that a couple of years ago with the whole fleet of semi's 1,000+ units
no probelms

 

i'd propably just flush it anyway though maybe put the converter in it after the flush plus the regular final charge coolant to be on the safe side