I flushed and switched

[osue077]

So I flushed and switched to the this What is the Zerex ELC? today and I have to say that I was SHOCKED at what came out everytime I flushed the system. Here is how I did it, simular to what Gooch's method minus the t fitting for the garden hose.

I initally pulled the top and bottom radiator hose and the drivers side engine plug. I also removed the thermostat. Then stuck the garden hose in the degass bottle, top of the radiator and the top of the engine thru the top radiator hose to initally flush the Ford Gold Coolant. I buttoned everything back up, filled it up with the garden hose and then ran the motor a few minutes with the heat cranked. I did this twice.

Everytime I drained the system into a white 5 gallon bucket to see the color and what was draining out.

I put the old thermostat back in.

Next I filled with 1 gallon of Restore and 3 gallons of distilled water and ran the engine with the thermostat in for 1 hour at high idle with the heat cranked.

Next I filled with 2 qt of VC-9 and filled with nearly 4 gallons of distilled water and ran the engine with the thermostat in for 1 hour at high idle with the heat cranked.

I took the thermostat back out.

Next I filled with distilled, ran the engine for 5 minutes and flushed. I did this 3 times with out the thermostat in and on the third flush, it was as clear as when it went in.

I installed the new thermostat and buttoned everything up for good.

I fillled the degass with 4 gallons of the concentrated and ran the engine till it got up to operating temp and topped it off with about a qt of distilled water to the "low" line on the Degass bottle.

All said and done, about 3 hours. Next up is the coolant filter that I'll put on tomorrow unless it is too cold outside.

One thing that I did notice is that the old thermostat showed considerable amounts of wear and kept the engine between 182 / 184. The new is keeping it about 192 / 194. Before the flush my EOT was usually 10*-15* higher than ECT. Tonight, driving in it was holding 17* difference at 75mph. So, my next move is rebuilding the Oil Cooler and possibly deleting the EGR cooler.

[osue077]

I got the dieselsite coolant filter installed today in 15* weather and snow. It went together pretty easy except for the bolt that goes in behind the radiator support but that was because it was friggen cold out. With a flashlight, I could see it trickling in the degass bottle. And the red coolant is cool to see, looks alot like blood.

One question that I do have is what is the part # for the napa coolant filter that works with the dieselsite set up?

[BirddogTN]

It's in this thread.

Dieselsite Coolant Filters

[Horsestrokin]

I installed the Diesel Site coolant filter too. I wasnt impressed with the some parts used, but hopefully it will hold up, and do its job!

[osue077]

I've never heard of anyone having any issues with the dieselsite set up, if I do, I'll fab something up.

[Calkidd]

Is it necessary to install the thermostat during the flushing process? It seems to me you can cut your flushing times considerably without having to wait for the thermostat to open.

[osue077]

I only reinstalled the thermostat when I ran the Restore and VC-9 for the 1 hour intervals so that the engine would operated at the normal temperatures. Otherwise - it was was out so that the system would completely flush without waiting for the engine to warm up.

[Rattlesnake18]

Very interesting. I have been considering doing the whole coolant switch myself. I am about to order the DS filter setup and think I should do the coolant change before I install the filter. How much coolant did you have to use and how much did the whole switch cost ya?

[osue077]

4 gallon of ELC concentrate $100
1 gallon of Restore $20
2 qts of VC-9 $20
Ford Thermostat with gasket and housing $60
16 gallons of distilled water $16

When I filled the coolant, it took all 4 gallons. I ran it till it was warm, then added about a qt of distilled water. The coolant filter went in easy, did it in about 1 hour in 15*. Could have done it in half the time at 45*.

[k2davis1]

Correct me if im wrong but Ive read several threads that after a flush the ECT-EOT spread got bigger.?!.? What causes this, loosen up **** in the system? Ive got a filter but need to get ELC in the system ASAP.