Shelty

hey guys... what is the proper way to flush the coolant system in the 5.0? my car almost overheated in city traffic with the A/C running yesterday and i want to clean it out... from what i can tell, original rad, waterpump and most of the hoses are original too, no leaks, coolant is kinda dirty looking....

do i just drain the plug then run the hose through the rad until it cycles through till the water is clear? then fill it with a 50/50 mix...

Jfsram

The drain plug, cycle water through it is good maintenance. This should probably be done every 5 years or so. The fill should be 50/50 using distilled water.

Look up your cooling system capacity and if it's 14L system then make sure you pour in 7L of coolant. If you drain and fill the radiator with 50/50 mix. It will be diluted because there is alot of water in the engine block and heater after a flush.

If you do indeed have an original radiator. Don't expect too much from a flush. It may be time for a replacement.

Bubba 95SN

Distilled water is often overlooked.

rmodel65

go to walmart and buy some of the radiator flush its about 8$ and the flush fittings they are about 4$ there too...you splice the fitting into your radiator hose drain the water put the flush in and fill with water drive for a few day to let it work its magic

then flush the stuff out with your water hose attached to the fittin in your radiator line
and refill with antifreeeze


you dont really need a 50/50 mix in the summer infact it will cool a lot better with less antifreeze and more water

Shelty

thanks guys. yeah its the oe rad or at least an oe replacement, has the ford stampings on it, and judging by how much of this car is still OE, i wouldnt put it past it to be the only rad this car has ever had... hell the shocks were original when i bought it...

TrimDrip

you need to flush the heater core too. This shop I was putting a roof on the other day, I found a box of some Ford stuff that cleans the iron out of the block. I think I may try it out next.

mattdel

Paying an hours labor for a shop with a real flushing machine is your absolute best bet.

5.0kid

if they know what they are doing lol trust me seen a few people ive worked with over the years run teh car with a flush and then drain pet **** and fill.