The local Ford dealer quoted me a price of $168 for cooling system service. I paid a $115 for 4 gallons of gold coolant and 2 quarts of VC9 and at todays labor rates tells me they are skipping steps somewhere so that is why I decided to do it myself. Plus the fact that I was afraid they would use tap water vice distilled water!!

 

In reply to your questions.

My system is clean and has always been flushed every 50,000 miles... and I never worry about it (testing it for nitrate levels and such). I also have a dieselsite.com coolant filter installed since 50,000 miles or so. The pictures in the 6.0L section of the dieselsite.com site are mine that I sent them after being so impressed with their system years back!!!

I did NOT use the VC9 cleaner as many also advised me to "Do not disturb a turd that does stink"... meaning my truck is running fine and my coolant in the degas bottle is clean and no oil or such is present... and my oil cooler and EGR cooler all seem to being well. Why spend the money on VC9 and extra water (was my rational for NOT using it last month when I flushed my system).

The lower radiator hose is on the right side of the truck, so I always park my truck in my grass so the right side is slightly lower than the left side as to help drain the radiator and lower radiator hose/motor fully (water runs downhill you know - he, he).

As far as will the coolant stain... I have no idea... it will make your driveway slippery/slick if not cleaned up and flushed when down... I would drain it into your gravel or rocks (not not on your driveway). Have a piece of cardboard to lay on when disconnecting the lower hose... but be prepared to move quick when releasing the hose (you will get a little wet)!!

I also drive my truck to warm it up before the first drain... this makes everything drain and flow better and maybe suspends any sediment? As well, on the next few drains, the motor is already warm and reduces the "drive time" for the second draining.

If you do not have a coolant filter, now is the time to add one. Check out dieselsite.com for one that I highly recommend. Just buy the ball valves which is an accessory to make changing the filter easier and less messy.

FYI - open the degas bottle after each "driving trip" to release pressure before dropping the lowe radiator hose.

Good luck,

 

Ok did my coolant flush yesterday per BBC instructions Very time consuming not taking the thermostat out After the 1ST flush with the vc9 the water was a little rusty but not as bad as I thought it would be. After the 4TH flush the water was perfectly clear Now the problem after I put the 3.5 gal of gold coolant in I could only get in approx 1 gal of distilled water in. Can anybody explain this to me?? I double checked my owners manual and it clearly states that my truck has 27.5 quart capability. Unless their is a blockage some place I know it was completely drained cuz I drop the lower hose and left it about 30 min

 

Perfectly normal. The reason is because you still had around 2.5 gallons of distilled water in the system. It is impossible to completely drain the system with the engine in the truck. This is why you used distilled water throughout the flush process, because that water is going to still be in the block when you add your coolant.

Good job! Have a couple beers.

 

Normal... Water stays in block... Your are never draining 100% of the water with just dropping the hose.

You can use between 3.5 - 3.7 gallons.

If you have a coolant filter add an extra pint of coolant over the 3.5 gallons

 

DUH!!!! I should have known that!! Thanks bpounds and BBC for the reply!! I think I'm getting dummer in my old age!! Think I will have them beers maybe get the blood circulating to my brain again

 

I did my coolant change today. I bought 18 gallons of distilled water at Walmart for 83 cents each and 4 gallons of Zerex G-05 at O'Reilly's for $17 each. I did the draining through the radiator stopcock instead of by the lower radiator hose and I did not remove the thermostat nor did I do any chemical flushing with VC-9, Restore, Simple Green or any of the other things I have seen mentioned.

The first drain came out yellow with no signs of any sediment or other debris. Each successive drain was a bit less yellow. By the fourth or fifth drain cycle the water was substantially clear with just a hint of coolant. I stopped there with the draining and refilling.

I used the slope of my driveway (front of truck pointed downhill, of course) for my final drain and got out about a half gallon more fluid than the earlier drains which were done on the flat part of my driveway.

Added the 3.5 gallons of G-05, strarted up and topped off with distilled water to the min mark. I will keep an eye on the level when I go for my next drive.

After my first drain, I could see some sludge/sediment stuck to the contours of the degas bottle. I took off the degas bottle so that I could try to flush it clean. I used the flexible plastic tool below attached to my garden hose to try and blast loose the sludge.

Camco 11691 Water Heater Flushing Tool Camper Trailer Rv

I got most of the sludge out but I was surprised how well stuck onto the contours of the degas bottle the sludge was. If I could not get a direct stream of pressurized water on the sludge then it was not coming out. I can see how an oil cooler would clog if this sort of stuff was floating around and looking for a place to land and stick. I can only hope that I don't have too many other similar deposits lodged elsewhere in my coolant system.

I decided to pass on the coolant filter for the moment.

Thanks for all of the advice on this procedure.

 

Rest assured you have them elsewhere. They did not decide to only deposit themselves in the degas bottle. This is why you need the VC-9. It is pay me now or pay me later.

 

What you say makes sense. The only issue with the VC-9 is knowing to what extent those deposits are truly loosened and/or dissolved and then how well they suspend and flow out with the rest draining fluid as opposed to simply lodging somewhere else (possibly worse). I don't think there is any way to know the answer to which course is best.

Since we use the truck almost exclusively for towing our fifth-wheel which usually amounts to anywhere from 5K to 9K miles per year (54K total now on our 06 placed in service in late 05), I am hopeful we can get the 150K and up that some here are reporting on their OEM oil coolers with only doing the distilled water flushing. That is at least another 10 years of towing for us. Fingers are crossed that I guessed right as to how to treat the cooling system.

 

I'm with you, homeschoolin. The VC-9 should not be used when you have good heat transfer in your oil cooler. Only use it when there is already restricted flow.

Using VC-9 is not on the Ford maintenance schedule. But coolant flushes are on the schedule. Not that the Ford schedule is perfect, it obviously is not.

BTW, a new degas bottle and cap is not very expensive. And you get nice clear plastic for a while. I wouldn't spend too much time trying to clean one.

 

There isn't any way to know but i would bet with the lower miles on your truck that it would clean it up without any harm. My truck has low miles also and i plan on using the VC9 every year or two to keep it clean. That is a lot cheaper than an oil cooler. I guess we all have do what we think is best for our trucks. I am curious as to what will come out the next time I use the VC9.

 

Thanks for the tips, I had to replace an oil cooler last year and plan on swapping out the coolant. I already added a coolant filter, probably too late but who knows.

 

If we both keep our trucks then it will be interesting to compare notes as our trucks age with you doing the VC-9 flushing and me doing distilled water only flushing. A sample of two is too small to be of any scientific value, but interesting nonetheless.

My general philosophy is: "when in doubt of the benefit(s), keep your money in your pocket" (unless a safety issue is involved).

 

Thanks to all of you for the info. I feel like I've been reading this one thread all night and now I have another project to do! This is next on my list. After the brake fix on the rear and working on the AC.

 

Ya i think I will not be using VC-9 either, my spread between oil temp and coolant temps are like 0-4 driving in town and almost always stays at 6 differential driving on the highway. Ill be doing just the flush with distilled water, im afraid if i use VC-9 it may clog my cooler, i could be totally wrong but obviously my coolant system is doing ok so why take a chance and make it worse...if the spread increases then ill try vc-9. just my thoughts great read though, makes a boring day at work go by quicker.