Alright. I've got 74K mlies on the original coolant so I've decided to R&R the system. I got 3 gallons of coolant and 3 gallons of distilled water, a new thermostat, some Prestone Anti-Rust stuff, and a 2 part heavy duty cleaner. My buddy recommend I get the cleaner and anti rust stuff. He's got a 92 suburban with 350K miles on the original water pump and radiator and his truck runs nice and cool. He's very hard on it to.

Anyways, what would be the best way to drain and refill the entire system? Pull off one of the hoses and let it drain? Do I need any gasket maker for the t-stat? The new one came with one. What if I get air in the lines? How do I go about flushing that out?

Thanks for the help yall.

 

Draining is kind or a pain in the butt using the rad petcock so I put a flush tee in one of the hoses that goes to the heater core. Then pull the rad cap off and hook up the garden hose then back flush the whole system for a couple of hours. As for draining I just hook a gismo I made that hooks the tee to my compressed air and slowly blow the water out Refill with a 50/50 mix My Brother is a Tech for Finning and he said replacing the antifreeze in a diesel is very important due to the high comp there is a type of implosion that happens in the water jacket surrounding the cyls and its important to flush this out often. So on his recomendation I do this annually. Cheap insurance IMO plus antifreeze contains rust inhibiters and lubes for water pumps and stuff.

It usually take 2gal distilled H2O and 2gal antifreeze to do mine and Diesel antifreeze is different than for gassers

 

I think what you're referring to is pitting due to cavitation at the waterjacket. It is created by the flexing of the cylinder wall during the compression stroke. Tiny air bubbles are created on th outside of the wajerjacket and are moving really fast. Air is very abrasive in this environment.

The diesel specific antifreezes are formulated to resist the formation of these air bubbles.

 

Most Ford dealership parts conters sell FW16 Coolant additive for the Powerstrokes. The Powerstroke has the clyinder sleeves/liners and are very prone to cavitation damage. Internatiol dealers may sell the FW16 additive too.

 

Thats good info there guys.

ps... BIG BLUE------ with over 4000 posts why do you not have your sig line filled out. For all we know you could be cruisin a Powerjoke or Duracrap.

 

LOL. Most people who know me know what I have, or should. But just for you, I filled it out.

 

Ok........ now you're worthy

 

Uh, you forgot to mention your scooter.... Looks bitchin in the back of the CTD !

 

 

FYI-- the type of cavitation erosion mentioned earlier is only an issue with drop-in liner type engines.

The B5.9 is a parent-bore engine, so there's practically no bore flex and cavitation is NOT an issue.

If you are REALLY concerned about cavitation erosion, go waterless on the coolant with Evans NPG+

jlh

 

Not trying to get a debate started, BUT, The ford IH 6.9 and 7.3 blocks are not cast for any type of sleeve, you have to bore it and sleeve it. The erosion issue is a problem most diesels have regardless of sleeve type. Some more than others. The main issue here is if you do not maintain the cooling system with conditioner you will have problems with the cooling system. A well maintained cooling system will perform the way it was designed for most of the life of the truck. I generally use Wix or Fleetguard. There are others that are very good too. Just go to a truck parts store and ask for it. Follow the instructions on the bottle and add it once a year. Or buy the litnus paper test kit and it will tell you the ph and how much to add to get it back to spec.

 

Hohn,

Some of us 53 block owners would beg to differ on cavitation concerns

But you're right, Evans seems to be the ticket.