I have 78K miles on my truck and its coming up on 6 years old. I have yet to do anything to the coolant as far as maintenance.

I know the owners manual says 100K/ 60 months for a change, so what do you guys recommend I do at this point? Full all out drain and flush several times and replace, or just drain the radiator and replace?

I have done searches on here and it looks like there is a science to this procedure....what with all the different %'s of water to antifreeze, etc.

Again, what would you guys recommend I do at this point, and is there a dumbed down version of how to do it for the slow people like me? Any help would be appreciated.

 

I would just do a drain and fill, remove rad cap then turn drain counter clockwise as you pull out on it. Just turn it until coolant starts to drain out. If you force it or turn pass the stopping point it will come out of radiator. use 2 gallon of 5 year red coolant and 2 gal distilled water. Pull the allen plug on top frontside of cylinder head or just remove heater hose to bleed air from cylinder head when refilling. Dispose of old coolant properly. Many auto parts stores will take old coolant from you. Check water pump for any leakage, now would be the time to replace it. Have a 5 gallon drain pan and funnel to put old coolant into plastic jugs for disposal. Remember coolant is poison to pets so don't leave it uncovered if you have dogs or animals or small kids nearby.

 

Thanks, exactly what I need...just a couple more questions for you.

1) what brand of antifreeze do you suggest? I know it has to be HOAT?? or something like that.

2) Should I mix the coolant and water in a container first in a 50/50 form and then add it to radiator?

3) Will it take all 4 gallons of mixture?

Sorry for all the questions for something that is probably a simple procedure, but I just want to make sure there are no mistakes...

 

Since I work for Chrysler I always use Mopar coolant. the Mopar red coolant 5 year I would mix first in 5 gallon bucket then add to radiator should take all of 4 gallons to fill. Replace pressure cap while you are replacing coolant or have it tested. They are not expensive and helps cooling system to do it's job and prevents overheating.

 

Don't use the cheaper green 3 year coolant, not compatable to the 5year red they will not mix.

 

I'm sure the mopar coolant is fine, but use Zerex G-05. It's the same stuff but kinda golden colored. I get it from NAPA.

I do the same thing as far as draining and refilling. Normally it gets out about 4.5 gallons or so draining it from the radiator only. Then I replace it with new stuff. It doesn't get it all out but since I do this procedure pretty regularly I don't see any need to flush. It keeps like new stuff in it all the time. My truck is at 177K miles now and still on the original water pump, FWIW.

..

 

It will take 7 gallons to completly change the coolant. I drain and continuesly fill with tap water as the engine is running to circulate the water through the system. When I know that all the old coolant is out I then drain and then fill with distilled water, run the engine for a minute and then drain as much of the water that will come out. Fill the system with 3.5 gallons of HOAT anti-freeze, (Zerex GO-5 is the cheapest) and then finish filling with distilled water which will give you a 50/50 mix.

One last step is loosen or remove the allen plug in the top of the head next to the thermostat to remove any air than can be trapped. Fill the radiator with distilled water until the coolant comes out, put the plug back in and finish filling. I know from experience that as much as 1 gallon of air can be trapped and will cause problems with cooling.

 

One caution about the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. It has caused some heartburn for others. You may want to read through this thread.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...5-t304284.html

Good luck.

 

Thanks again everyone for the great info...this site is awesome.

And one last question...if I cant get a hold of the Mopar (red) antifreeze, would it be OK to mix in the Zerex brand??..which is apparently golden in color?

 

Yes! the factory fill Mopar coolant is compatible with the Zerex g-05 as they are HOAT formulations. The Valvoline Zerex G-05 Hoat is available at NAPA under part # ZXG051. The finished fluid is a Yellow/Gold in color. The Mopar 5 Year/100,000 Mile with (HOAT) Embittered fluid is Red/Orange in color.

Keep in mind, you can also use Ford / Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant - Ford Part #VC-7B is the U.S. part number and CVC-7-B (Canada). This fluid is yellow/gold in color an of course is available at Ford dealers.

 

i had the coolant changed in my truck 2005 model at 42K miles, coolant was clean

the tech that changed the coolant in my truck just disconnected the lower radiator hose, he said he had too many of those (#$%%^) cheap little radiator drains not shut off or break off and sometimes he had to pull the radiator to make the repair.

use napa hoat antifreeze and distilled water, i also replaced the thermostat

at the time we did not know about the plug to releave the air trapped in the system. so i drove the truck about 2 miles and temp gauge when pasted center, i was getting a little on the worried side, was about to turn off motor,

then i heard a burp and temp guage when to normal, i had to add about 1/2 gal of mixed coolant when i got home

all was good expect for the air trapped, i now know to take out the plug and let the trapped air out.

 

I've used Fleetguard ES Complete Blue concentrate with distilled water in my 5.9s - FG recommended it. I test the additives with the strips (CC2602) occasionally and add the DCA4 (DCA60L) when needed. FG says it's not necessary to keep the nitrite and molybdate up cuz the 5.9 doesn't have wet liners, but if I do, I can run it unlimited miles and time. Don't neglect the t-stat. I had to replace mine at 60k miles, already. It got a wear pattern and wouldn't open all the way when I towed in the mtns. It still didn't run as cool as it did at 25k miles, when I bought it. So recently, I pulled the condenser coil and intercooler (while doing AC work) and pressure washed the radiator. I couldn't believe the stream of dirt that ran down the driveway. It run cool as new again. Craig

 

Im gonna change it out this weekend. I think Im just going to remove the lower radiator hose as stated above to avoid any issues with the drain plug thing...

When I refill with 50/50 mix, do I just loosen and remove the allen plug in the head, then refill....with the engine off???, correct? Then start engine and let it circulate??

Is there any brand of thermostat that you would recommend over any others?

 

Is the allen plug on the head an obvious plug?

 

MTC

Do not run the engine with the allen plug out of the engine. Fill the radiator until the fluid comes out the plugs hole. Put the plug back in and then finish filling the radiator.

Shorts

The allen plug is right behind the thermostat in the top of the head and next to the rocker cover.