I have read conflicting advice in the forums regarding the following:

VC-9 flush with or without thermostat installed?

I'm leaning toward leaving it installed for this part of the process and taking it out for the proceeding round of flushes. Thanks!

 

I would agree. The vc-9 needs to get hot and ran through longer. Take it for a drive to make sure the T-stat opens up. I drove mine for about 30 miles.

Good luck!

 

100% correct.

1. Drain coolant
2. Add 2 cans of VC-9 and top off with distilled water.
3. Drive 20 to 30 miles, preferably at highway speeds.
4. Drain radiator at petcock first, then pull lower hose. Then remove block plug on driver side. Not necesary to do passenger side.
5. Remove t-stat. To do this, remove air cleaner. Then 2 nuts on t-stat housing. Pry press. sensor bracket off of studs. Tight fit but it will move. Remove 2 more nuts and pull t-stat and housing from studs.
6. Remove t-stat and put housing back on. Re-assemble everything and fill with distilled water.
7. Run at 1200 rpm's for 3 to 5 minutes and drain as described in step 4.
8. Repeat 4 to 5 times or until water coming at is as clear as water going in.
9. Install t-stat using new O ring. I used vaseline to hold the O ring in place.
10. After everything is re-assembled fill with a 50/50 mix of Ford premium gold or Zerex GO-5.
11. Start engine and check for leaks. This is a lot easier and quicker than it sounds. If you don't remove t-stat then you have to run truck between each flush till t-stat fully opens and then let cool down to work on it.

Highly recommend installing coolant filter kit while cooling system is empty. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

Thanks for the replies! Coolant filter kit is arriving today.

 

Beachbumcook 6.0L Coolant Flush Procedure
With The Addition of VC-9 Engine Cooling System Iron Cleaner and 69cj Thermostat Removal Option

BBC does it every 50,000 miles just because it is fun to do and he is **** about maintenance. PLEASE NOTE THE MIN LEVEL ON THE DEGAS BOTTLE IS NOW THE NEW FULL LEVEL.

1) Buy Four (4) gallons of Ford Premium Gold Coolant (or Zerex G05), Two (2) bottles of VC-9 and one (1) Thermostat O-ring (if removing T-stat) at dealer.

2) Buy 15-18 gallons of DISTILLER WATER at local grocery store.

3) Open Radiator Stopcock and/or Drop lower radiator hose until radiator is empty.

4) Close stopcock and/or reconnect hose.

5) Add 2 bottles of VC-9 to degas bottle (The VC-9 is in the Ford procedure for flushing prior to water flush and new coolant). Add distilled water until the degas bottle is at MIN. Go for a 20 to 30 mile drive (Some say you need to drive at temp for 1 hour to fully clean system). Drain system, then proceed either with or without Thermostat.

Thermostat Removal Option: (Thank you 69cj)
A) Pull air cleaner assembly.
B) Drain coolant (See step 3 above).
C) Remove upper radiator hose.
D) Remove 2 nuts on t-stat housing.
E) Lift and move press sensor bracket to the side. Not a lot of play in it but it will move.
F) Remove 2 more nuts on t-stat housing.
G) Remove housing. It will lift right off of the studs.
H) Reverse procedure to re-install. Use a new O ring (5 bucks at dealer). I used Vaseline to hold the O ring in place. Tighten nuts to 23Nm (17lb/ft).


6) Add distilled water to degas bottle until it reads MIN.

7) Drive vehicle with heater on HIGH (HOT) until temp gauge goes to normal and thermostat opens (Excursion owners Do Not Forget Rear Heater). If thermostat is removed just idle for 5 minutes gently varying idle rpm’s between 750 and 1500 or turn High Idle Mod on.

8) Repeat steps #3,#4, #6 and #7 no less than 4 or 5 times until drain water is clear.

9) You now have 100% distilled water in your system.

10) Drop lower hose 1 last time, drain and reconnect. Reinstall Thermostat if removed earlier.

11) Look in manual to verify your system capacity (27.5 quarts) and add 3½ gallons of FULL STRENGTH Ford Premium Gold (or Zerex G05) coolant into your degas bottle.

12) Start motor and add distilled water to bring system level to not exceed the MIN Mark on degas bottle. PLEASE NOTE THE MIN LEVEL ON THE DEGAS BOTTLE IS NOW THE NEW FULL LEVEL.

13) Drive truck around to open thermostat and let cool once or twice to purge any air. May need to add more distilled water (don't add more coolant)... but when done you have flushed your entire system and have a perfect 50/50% concentration of coolant and distilled water.



Good Luck.