Coolant "flush" ?

[PIPO]

Would I be wasting time and money if I replace the stock coolant with CAT EC1 but without using restore / restore+?

[04hdfatboy]

Not necessarily. Just flush with a bunch of distilled water to get all the ford gold out.

[Truckmaniac]

Originally Posted by PIPO

Would I be wasting time and money if I replace the stock coolant with CAT EC1 but without using restore / restore+?

Do it right & use the Restore products. Why put new coolant in a dirty cooling system? Why risk contamination of your new coolant with old coolant that didn't get properly purged?

I did mine a few weeks ago and even though my truck only has 47K miles on it and the GOLD coolant didn't look bad, I flushed quite a bit of silica out.

You also need to replace the thermostats, but my recommendation would be to leave the old ones in when using the RESTORE products. Your engine temperature needs to reach 180+ degrees for it to work and I couldn't get my engine that hot with the t-stats removed, despite covering the radiator.

[PIPO]

So if I use let's say 28-32G of distilled water to flush the old coolant there's a chance the new one can get contaminated?

[Truckmaniac]

Yes, because the old coolant, minerals & contaminants adhere to the surfaces inside the cooling system and water alone will not break these loose.

It would be like you working in a coal mine all day, then taking a shower with only water: You'll still be "black" (from contaminates) and you'll stink.

Properly flushing the system is an all-day affair. Why not do it right (using Restore & Restore Plus) and not have to worry about it for 300,000 miles?

I highly recommend pulling the driver's side block plug during the drain & flush procedure to clear-out 1 1/2 gallons of liquid that are trapped in the block. There is also one on the passenger side, but it is behind the starter and would require removing & replacing the starter during each phase of the flush process.

My last recommendation would be the use of a Coolant Vacuum Refill Tool. The way the 6.4 and it's cooling system are built, it is hard to get all of the air purged out of the system. These pockets of air can cause "hot spots" and possible damage. The vacuum tool sucks all of the air out of the cooling system (it actually collapses the hoses) creating a negative pressure. The negative pressure is what is used to draw new coolant into the cooling system, which in turn eliminates air pockets. Lots of folks do the refill without the tool but I neither Ford nor I would recommend it.

[Truckmaniac]

Originally Posted by 04hdfatboy

Not necessarily. Just flush with a bunch of distilled water to get all the ford gold out.

I say: Do it right or don't do it at all.

If you aren't going to follow the proper measures to change over to a completely different type of coolant (RED), you may as well stick with the GOLD.

[04hdfatboy]

Originally Posted by Truckmaniac

I say: Do it right or don't do it at all.

If you aren't going to follow the proper measures to change over to a completely different type of coolant (RED), you may as well stick with the GOLD.

I agree to a certain extent; however i only flushed with VC9 (restore +) and water and my cooling system is fine. I also have a coolant filter. Flushing with restore and restore + can also cause an oil cooler to plug which turns into an expensive repair. Flushing with water and running elc is better than keeping the gold IMO.

[PIPO]

Originally Posted by 04hdfatboy

Flushing with water and running elc is better than keeping the gold IMO.

This is what I wanted to know...that I won't be wasting my time and money if I skip the restore.

[04hdfatboy]

Originally Posted by PIPO

This is what I wanted to know...that I won't be wasting my time and money if I skip the restore.

IMO no. The EC-1 coolant is better than ford gold. There are several guys in the 6.0 section that flush with water and add elc coolant because they dont want to clog their oil cooler.

[PIPO]

Thanks.

Well, after 5 hours of driving around trying to find this EC-1 coolant I decided to order it online.

Zerex ® Zerex Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant - GEMPLER'S