oil cooler question

[jerry f.]

Ok, hello everyone! I just read info about the gold coolant ford puts in the cooling system and what it does as far as stopping up egr coolers and oil coolers. I have a 04 e350 with the 6.0 in it. It is a cab and chassis box van. As far as I know the vehicle hasn't been worked at all. I was told that it never hauled heavy loads but really can't be confirmed. My question is, how can I know if the coolers mentioned are becoming or are stopped up? The van has roughly 88,xxx miles. I have no guages other than what is on the dash. Also, what needs to be done to this vehicle to insure reliability in the future. This is going to be a work vehicle. Thanks guys, Jerry

[jay diesel]

i you get a edge insight or similar product you can monitor the engine oil temp and the coolant temp. A difference of 15* or more is signs of oil cooler failure.

[jerry f.]

So what can I do to prevent the failure? Should I drain the coolant and replace with something else? If so what should I replace it with?

[jay diesel]

I am in the same boat. Have been reading alot the past couple days and i decided to flush out the gold ford coolant and replace with ELC-1 coolant. From what I have readthe gold coolant doesnt hold up to the heat from the egr cooler and the silicates begin to seperate from the coolant and plug up the cooler. There is a write up on what products to use for the flush. restore and vc-9 i think

[jerry f.]

Is the restore and vc-9 available at a parts house or dealer? I would like to get that crap out of there before too late. I don't need my van breaking down on me during work time.

[amdriven2liv]

VC-9 is a Ford product. It runs around $25 a quart, you need 2 for the job.

Read this link to find out where to get Restore and Restore+. Restore+ is supposed to be VC-9 type product.

Where do I get some Restore/Restore Plus?!?!

[jerry f.]

Do I have to use distilled water to flush the engine?

[2 stroker]

Originally Posted by jerry f.

Do I have to use distilled water to flush the engine?

ELC is the coolant recommended and used by International for this engine. .


Coolant Flush for changing to ELC

Drain coolant by removing lower radiator hose. Drain block from plug on drivers side of the block. Remove the thermostat. Replace plug in block and put lower hose back on. Put thermostat housing back on without thermostat. Fill with distilled water. run for 5 minutes then drain as above..Fill and run 5 more minutes drain. Put in 3/4 to 1 gallon of Restore an top with distilled water. Drive it for an 60-90 minutes then drain. Flush 2 times with distilled water or whatever it takes to come clear. Put 2 qts of VC-9 or 3/4 to 1 gallon of Restore+ cost less and fill with distilled water. Drive it for about 60-90 minutes. Drain and flush after. Flush 3 more times with distilled water untill it come out clean. Replace thermostat or put in a new one. Put hose back, make sure block plug is tight. Add 3.5 gallons of ELC concentrate and top off with distilled water. Make sure to run engine for 5 minutes between flushes to circulate the water good. Have heater on set to hi while doing this to flush the heater core too. new t/stat from Ford it should all come together (housing-t/stat-o-ring) in a box. The part number is RT-1169 other years should be the same.
2 stroker

[jerry f.]

Thanks guys for the advice. Looks like I got work to do. Thanks again, Jerry