Starting the coolant flush

[william_ace]

Alright fellas, I know this might not be the most exciting thread but I am starting a portion of the "bullet proofing" process. I bought this truck (below in my sig) about three weeks ago for what I feel was a pretty decent price. Its very very clean inside and out. Only a few small dents/door dings on the pass. side door and bed. Downsides for me were the 6 speed and higher mileage.

For the last couple of days I have been flushing out the coolant due to what I believe is what happens when the previous owner does no coolant maintenance and has a blown oil cooler. Here is what came out of the coolant bottle.



Thanks to all of you who put in the effort for the stickies as they have helped a lot. So far I have flushed this thing no less than 10 times (clock plugs still in, thermostat removed) and a little oily goo still come out. I believe the oil cooler is ruptured so bad that it actually is letting a very noticeable amount of oil into the cooling system. I figure about a quart since I have started the flushing process.

This weekend I plan on installing:

Full Coolant Flush
New Oil Cooler
Sinister EGR Delete
Blue Spring Update
Updated turbo line
4" MBRP turbo back exhaust

I'll keep you updated! Thanks

[jwsland]

I took a long time to do my flush (driving the truck in between flushing) because time was an issue. I'm pretty sure I clogged my cooler bad and blew my gaskets. With arp's already installed. Just something to think about.

[william_ace]

I've just been doing it in my driveway. It's taking forever. Little bit off goo keep coming out and I have been doing this for almost 8 hours now. flushing it iwth tap water now and once it starts coming out clear then i'll switch to the 30 gallons of distilled water that i have sitting around.

[justinmix]

You need to use something to break down the oil in the cooling system. I normally use dishwashing detergent for oil contamination. Just make sure what ever soap you use is a non foaming kind. It will take a LONG time before you get all the oil out of the system. Until you replace the leaking oil cooler it's pretty much a waste of time to try and get it totally flushed out.

[PGreenSVT]

You need to use something like Dawn dish washing detergent, Greased Lightning, Simple Green, to do your flushes and you need to get the temp up by covering the radiator since the Tstat is out. Remember you need to have the heater turned up on high while you do this. The hoses should really be replaced also since the oil will cause them to break down.

[william_ace]

Two moving blankets were used to cover the radiator while I was doing the flush to get the water up to operating temp. I also used a cup or more of detergent per flush to loosen all of junk that was in the system. its getting pretty clean now but I am going to leave just water in the system until the oil cooler is swaped this weekend. When that is complete I will drain until completely clear and add the coolant. otherwise like you guys said, it will be useless.

[jwsland]

I flushed until clean water was coming out and left distilled water sit in the engine for a few days since we couldn't get to the rest of the work. When I went to drain the water it looked like blood, dark red in color. Someone here said it was rust starting to form. I was very alarmed so I ended up doing two flushes for safety precautions.

[william_ace]

Well, all is done. Only problem I am having at the moment is what I believe to be a worn out intercooler pipe clamp as that keeps blowing off. Other than that, the truck runs so much nicer, easier cold starts, and I love the exhaust. Off to install the new hose clamp.

[william_ace]

Okay, installed the new hose clamp and this is still happening? Thoughts? Suggestions?

[GregsSD]

You need to get every bit of the oil residue off your boot!

I just spray some starting fluid on the boot and on the flange, then wipe it off with a clean rag. I do this several times, the starting fluid does a great job of dissolving any oil.

Then re install.