Just got my 7.3 all cleaned up, coolant flushed and about ready to install all of my new Mishimoto goodies. Before I do, how is the best way to make sure all of the garden hose flush water is out of the block? I am not new to coolant flushing but have always felt that there was a lot of remaining tap water in the block. With totally redoing the cooling system and using liquid chill, I want to make sure that I get it as pure as possible?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Rich

 

Its always better to use distilled water than tap water to do a proper flush, specially if in your area theres above normal hard water.

 

That does make sense, but its a bit late. Still, even with distilled water, It is difficult to get your mix right if you have water remaining in the block.

 

You can still fill it with distilled and flush it once or twice. I wonder how much water is still in there.

 

Post 2 has the procedure. There's always water left in the block. I never use tap water but I know some do. Our water here tarnishes bronze fixtures and I'm not about to put that in my block. 4 gallons concentrate then top off with distilled water.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/758512-7-3-coolant-flush.html

 

Thanks for the great link! Now I am wondering, I have everything in front of the engine removed. Would it be harmful in anyway to re-install the radiator and not the intercooler and run the engine just long enough to do a distilled water flush? The intercooler tubes are off so everything is gone in front of the turbo. Once all of this is done I have brand new Mishimoto Radiator, Intercooler and Transmission cooler to install. The old Transmission cooler and fluid is still in the truck.

 

The only harm will be the unfiltered air that enters the engine.

 

And be careful to not let anything else get sucked in while it's running. Why not just wait until you're in the final stage of reassembly?

 

I got thinking the exact same thing as I pondered it last night.

Thanks for the help!
Rich

 

Going to summarize, but the steps below are how I accomplished the coolant flush when going from green to red (ELC). This was especially important because my home is on well water.

1. Bought 40 gallons of distilled water
2. Drained coolant from radiator and block on driver side, removed the thermostat and replaced the water pump while I was at it
3. Filled radiator with distilled water and plumbed the degas bottle return line into an empty gallon jug on the floor
4. Turned truck on and let it idle in the garage while filling the degas bottle with fresh distilled water as "dirty" water was pushed into the empty gallon jugs from the degas return line
5. This took a while and I ran 35 gallons of distilled water through the engine

At the end I had 5 gallons of distilled to mix with the Rotella ELC concentrate from Tractor Supply. I installed the thermostat, drained the radiator of water, filled the radiator with ELC.

 

Thanks SOUS!!! I was possibly too much taken in by Mishimoto and bought their Liquid Chill to fill the new Mishimoto Radiator. I must have thought I had a lot of money and bought about everything Mishimoto offered for the 7.3. I don't see them mentioned much so I will have to report back on my findings. I was thinking of an IH water pump, but I am starting to feel the extents of my Mishimoto indulgences. Besides, the current water pump seems fine. A project for another day. But I am thinking of a coolant filter. Any recommendations? Where do they mount?

Thanks, Rich

 

Thoes Mishimoto parts are nice looking, but typically too much coin for my blood.

I went with the International water pump from Diesel Site as a kit. This was the first repair I had done to the truck right after buying it 4.5 years ago. It is a solid part and has the filter port. You can buy just the pump for a fraction of the cost and modify the boss on it to work just fine on our trucks.

Other than that, filters mounted near the radiator have worked for many years for other members.

 

Yep, I used the Gooch's flush procedure and it worked out exactly as they said! Of course, distilled water is the best, but expensive. So I used a tap water flush, then a deionized water flush, and last a distilled water flush as I remember it.

 

You'd be surprised onbthe amount of water released when removing the plugs on the block

 

Shoot, I forgot to mention I did remove the plugs on the driver side of the block, just could not get to the passenger side though. Adding that into my notes from above for future reference.