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Which Coolant Flush procedure is the most thorough?

124K views 48 replies 15 participants last post by  russmon06 
#1 ·
I have read through threads for a few days and I am curious which one of the coolant flush procedures is the most thorough? I will be draining mine, replace the thermostat and housing, and a new degas tank when I do it. I want to make sure it is done 100% correct.
 
#2 ·
The one written by bismic would be the best.
Just disregard where it says to hook the truck up to a scanning device, set throttle to 1500 and let it run for an hour. You can just take it out for an hour long drive.

There is also another good one by "PgreenSVT" (or something like that)... its the same one that "2 stroker" quotes all the time on this forum.
He says you can use tap water, I DISAGREE wholeheartedly. NEVER use tap water. Distilled water is less than a buck a gallon and does not contain the minerals and chemicals you will find in tap water.
 
#3 ·
He says you can use tap water, I DISAGREE wholeheartedly. NEVER use tap water.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

If your only using it in the flush procedure - then I don't see the problem. Certainly as part of the final mix I would use diionized/distilled water - but for the one hour heat and flush I don't see there being sufficient minerals in there to add to the problem.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Your block retains 50% of the total water in your cooling system, even when you have drained your radiator and pulled both block plugs.
So, you introduce about 3.5 gallons of tap water, that yields 50% tap water as a percentage of total capacity. Lets say you used tap water just once, and used distilled from that point on, after the first fill/flush with distilled, you have 25% of the system as tap water.
Flush again with all distilled, now you have 12.5%.
Again with all distilled, 6.25% tap water.
Next flush using all distilled would be about 3.125% tap water.
Next "all distilled" flush, and you still have 1.662%, and on and on until you feel like you have gotten all the minerals you put in with tap water diluted to whatever you feel comfortable with.
If you don't put it in, you don't have to flush it.

For the cheap cost of distilled, you save somewhere around $4 by using tap water for one shot, but have introduced minerals (which cause the rust you are attempting to clean out) and other chemicals (depending if you have municipal water or a well).
Well water will have a much higher mineral content, municipal will have more chemicals.
Is it really worth trying to save 4 dollars at that point?
 
#5 · (Edited)
This is a post by PGreenSVT



Flushing and cleaning the 6.0



Restore is for cleaning out any silicate goo. VC-9 is for cleaning out iron and scale. Restore Plus is the same as VC-9 and cheaper.

To flush drain the coolant by removing the lower radiator hose from the radiator, and removing the drain plug from the driver side of the block. There is a drain plug on the passenger side also but you have to remove the starter to get to it. I don't bother with that one. You can skip the block drains if you want except for the final drain before adding fresh coolant. You will just have to flush a few more times to get the block clear.

I also highly recommend you pull the thermostat out on your first drain and put the housing back without the thermostat. It only takes about 10 minutes and will save you 2.5 hrs or so in doing this whole procedure.

Ok now put the lower hose back on and the drain plug back in the block if you removed it. This is the procedure you will use each time to drain the system, except you will not touch the thermostat again until you're finished the whole procedure. Make sure that you set your heater to high while doing this to flush out the heater core as well.

Fill the cooling system with tap water, start the truck and let the water circulate for 5 minutes. (if you did not remove the thermostat you must run the truck until the thermostat opens + 5 minutes to circulate. This takes 15 to 20 minutes each cycle and is why you should just remove the thermostat) Stop the engine. Drain the system and repeat the flush.

Now add at least 1/2 gallon of Restore and fill with tap water. Drive truck or run on high idle for 60-90 minutes. Drain and flush 3 or 4 times.

Add 2qts VC-9 or 1/2gal of Restore Plus, top with tap water, and drive the truck or run on high idle for 60-90 minutes. Now drain and flush until flush water comes out clear and clean. When you get clean flush water, flush 3 more times using distilled water if you are draining the block or 5 times if not. This is to replace any tap water in the cooling system with distilled water and very important.

After your final distilled water drain it is time to put the thermostat back in. I recommend you install a new thermostat at this point. They are only $20 or so and it is good maintenance procedure to do so. Fill with 3.5 or 4 gals of ELC concentrated coolant and top off with distilled water. Drive the truck or let run for a while topping off with distilled water. Check the truck over the next few days and top up as required while any air left in the system works its way out.

Keep some 50/50 ELC on hand to use to top off the cooling system from here out and you are good to go.

new t/stat from Ford it should all come together (housing-t/stat-o-ring) in a box. The part number is RT-1169

Here is the Restore Product from Cummins dealer
Check the difference in the 2 products and what they do
http://www.fleetguard.com/pdfs/product_lit/emea_brochures/LI33024-GB.pdf

I understand what ex mounty is saying but you need to flush that 3 1/2 gallons of Ford Gold Cxxp so why not use tap water that is if your clothes don't turn yellow when you wash them, then that is a different story but after you get the coolant out when you add the Restore you can go with distilled water but you can still use tap because the Restors+ (a mineral cutter) will cut all the tap water from the Restore flush, if you have the distilled water use it.
2 stroker:ford:
 
#6 ·
Fill the cooling system with tap water, start the truck and let the water circulate for 5 minutes. (if you did not remove the thermostat you must run the truck until the thermostat opens + 5 minutes to circulate. This takes 15 to 20 minutes each cycle and is why you should just remove the thermostat) Stop the engine. Drain the system and repeat the flush.
When you say fill the coolant system do you mean the resorvoir bottle or the radiator?
 
#8 ·
Looks like I will be tackling this problem this weekend. I hope to see lots of crud and grim come out.
 
#9 ·
Can the restore products be purchased au Autozones etc
 
#10 ·
The Restore & Restore+ products are produced by Fleetguard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cummins Engine Co. My local Freightliner dealership showed it available via order, but I also have a Cummins Engine Sales/Repair Center nearby and they had both items on hand. The guy that went back to the back to get them told me he normally only sees them use the Restore Products on stationary, industrial engines. To answer your question.... no. I have heard of a lot of fellas on here having to order the stuff for lack of a nearby facility with it on hand.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The Restore & Restore+ products are produced by Fleetguard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cummins Engine Co. My local Freightliner dealership showed it available via order, but I also have a Cummins Engine Sales/Repair Center nearby and they had both items on hand. The guy that went back to the back to get them told me he normally only sees them use the Restore Products on stationary, industrial engines. To answer your question.... no. I have heard of a lot of fellas on here having to order the stuff for lack of a nearby facility with it on hand.
I will attest to that. I called every Cummins marine engine dealer in my area and a Cummins Truck Dealer/Parts Supply approximately 75 miles inland and nobody ever heard of Restore . The Cummins HQ in Pennsylvania referred me to a place in the Bronx (NY) and they never heard of either.

I wound up purchasing it online HERE however it says "Ships Today" then when you go to check out it states "OUT OF STOCK" :disgust:

I called customer service and was told that it gets drop shipped out of Tennessee and that I'd have it in a few days. That was Monday morning 3/28.

I have also found it is also very difficult to find (at least in my area) ELC that is CAT EC-1 rated. I have to drive approximately 60 miles to pick it up. What I found is Zerex - Red which is CAT EC-1 rated $15.42/gallon


.
 
#11 ·
Ordered
*Thermostat
*New overflow reservoir
*RESTORE PLUS
*Delco ELC

plan on doing the switch over next weekend.
 
#12 ·
Ordered
*Thermostat
*New overflow reservoir
*RESTORE PLUS
*Delco ELC

plan on doing the switch over next weekend.
Don't forget the distilled water you should be able to get it at Walmart about .62 a gallon, 30 gallons.
2 stroker:ford:
 
#13 ·
Didn't know how much to buy but had that on my list.... Got some hot shots on the way to.... Hope to feel like I am behind a whole new truck in another month
 
#14 ·
What is the part number for the upgraded fuel pressure spring and how hard is it to install? Might do hat to while I'm at it.
 
#17 ·
.

Mine before i installed the fuel pressure gauge i had 50 lbs at idle and 44 at WOT and that is to low, installed the kit now 62 idle and 58 WOT, low fuel pressure will kill injectors and over 70 lbs may blow injector o-rings.

The Reg. Kit number is 3C3Z-9T517-AG and you get it form Ford
The spring is located behind the small plate that the return line attaches to. This is probably one of the easiest repairs you can make... Take the four screws loose (they are T-27 torx screws), change pull the old spring out of the brass cup, put the new spring in and re-install the plate. When you are taking it loose, keep your thumb on the plate so the spring/cup doesn't pop out and also use your thumb to hold the plate up tight to the fuel bowl when re-installing, so the screws can be threaded in good.
You can see the plate and return line here.
Page 30: Fuel Supply System

I would not buy the aftermarket spring from GDS. It has been shown to raise pressure well beyond what is recommended and risks blowing the internal o-ring in your injectors
The only hard part is the hose is in the way, you need to get a turkey baster a new one and suck out all the fuel from the upper filter houseing that way you don't have a mess. After you are done you have to cycle the key 3 time 30 sec. each time to prime the fuel system. Hope this helps.
2 stroker :ford:
 
#18 ·
Band_Member did an excellent write-up with plenty of pictures.
His thread is located right here.
Something I don't understand is that when I got my kit, it came with the spring already in the plunger, but I do not see that in the kit that Band_Member used, nor is it mentioned by 2 Stroker.... Strange
 
#23 ·
Actually, no. I just clicked on it and saw "Quantity 1". Donno why you got 4. I received it today too. 4 days after ordering, thankfully.

I also received my order for 6 cases (36 gallons) of distilled water ($48, everything is at a premium around here). Dayum, did you know distilled water is actually much heavier than regular water ?

I'm glad I didn't have to wait 2-4 weeks for the Restore. My local municipality has a haz-mat drop off day coming up that I want to take advantage of to get rid of the old coolant and flushing by product.

Btw, the 1 gallon of Restore shipped cost $32.45

When do you think would be the appropriate time to swap out the coolant filter during the flush process, right before adding the ELC ? This is the first coolant filter, btw.

TIA
 
#21 ·
There was a bif write up on here about Hot shot VS Rev X and everyone basically said that they were very similar products. Please don't tell me I just wasted money. Is RevX really better? If so I will trash the $60 bottle of HSS I just ordered.
 
#22 ·
Hey now! I would NEVER abdicate tossing $60 down the drain. Give it shot if you already bought it.
Some people say it works others don't. My personal feeling (having never tried either) is that the rev-x had a better following. If it fixes your particular instance of stiction, stick with it.
 
#24 ·
What about the coolant filter? None of these say anything about replacing it.
 
#25 ·
I shut the valves off on both sides of my coolant filter until I was on the last two straight distilled water flushes. That way no VC-9 or anything else got in there.
Then, to check the coolant filter for flow afterwards, touch the filter. If its hot, its working. If its cool then replace the filter.
 
#27 ·
I guess I could always unscrew the filter and dump the liquid contents and refill with clean distilled water at each step along the way.

That way at least the hoses to and from are being flushed along the process. I'm just trying to ascertain the most logical way of doing this as thoroughly as possible.

If the starter wasn't so hard to remove I'd pull it and pull the drain plug on that side too but I'm not going to mess with my starter if I don't have to.
 
#28 ·
Not sure if there really is a 'right' way to do the coolant filter. I left mine on, valves open almost throughout the whole process. I figured anything that remained solid would stop in the filter if it made it there--anything that dissolved would probably remain in solution. When I was at the last few clean water flushes, I shut off the valves, took off the filter, and opened the inlet valve a few times and let a QT size yogurt container get filled up to watch the water turn clean. then I put on my new filter, and opened the outlet valve, ran for a few more minutes, drained, replaced my thermostat and filled the system.
 
#29 ·
The concentrate ELC and both Restore products are very, very hard to find. I had to go to the local distributor to get the ELC concentrate.

The restore I got last summer from Ryder and at that time both could be acquired in one gallon amounts. Not sure what has changed. But if a 4 gal case is the only way to get it from them, the members could set up a "group" to acquire it, having one member buy the case and three others committing to the other gallons. The shipping would just have to be split, adjusted for the three extra gallons getting to the first source.

If I do another flush later this spring I could be the "distributor".
 
#30 ·
If 'anyone' reading this needs help getting a hold of either of the restore products, ELC concentrate (Delo, Rotella, Fleetrite, Cat, etc), or even the no-housing $30 blue spring kit from International, let me know. I'll do what I can to help you out on the acquisition, and I accept paypal payments. No money to be made here, and I know I can get any of the above products without a minimum # of gallons purchase. Just send me a PM.
 
#31 ·
did this today with restore and restore +, a lot of sand and rust came out with a little crud, now still flushing with distilled, water is about clear!

Next for disassemble for new oil(again) and fresh Rotella T6 with a shot of REV-x for good measure.

Hopefully mine was the oil cooler and not a HG!! I'll let ya'll know if I just wasted a weekend and a few hundred bucks!!
 
#32 ·
did this today with restore and restore +, a lot of sand and rust came out with a little crud, now still flushing with distilled, water is about clear!

Next for disassemble for new oil(again) and fresh Rotella T6 with a shot of REV-x for good measure.

Hopefully mine was the oil cooler and not a HG!! I'll let ya'll know if I just wasted a weekend and a few hundred bucks!!
Do you have a coolant filter installed to remove the casting sand in the system one reason for your problrm the other the Ford Gold coolant. Have you replaced or deleted the egr cooler also a good set of gauges are a must.
2 stroker:ford:
 
#33 ·
EGR was deleted this summer along with the oil cooler replacement, I just replaced the oil cooler again, temps are back to normal. From my understanding the failure of the frod gold was a result of the coolant being blasted by 1000* exhaust gas gasses causing the silicates to "gum" up. But since the egr cooler is gone, the coolant doesnt see above operating temps.

No I do not have a coolant filtration system yet, that is next.
 
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