Goldenpony

Anybody done a drain & flush of the cooling system? Does the 4.6 block have block drain plugs? A local shop I trust charges $109 (includes coolant). I wonder if it's worth doing myself or have them do it. They install Zerex G-50 (gold) which meets the Ford spec. Thoughts?

SCCAGT

The block does not have a drain provision. Only the radiator does. $109 is about $20 more than I charge for a coolant flush.
Doing it yourself is always cheaper, no matter what the topic. Having someone else do the work has its benefits too. No mess in your driveway/garage. Proper disposal of old coolant. Etc.

157dB

LOOK HERE FOR THE ANSWER

ENGINE AND RADIATOR FLUSHING 4.6L GT

fosman77

I have always started at about 20000 miles, I drain the radiator and refill will a 50/50 mix coolant and distilled water, I do this every other oil change, My 1992 T-Bird had over 200000 miles when I sold it and no cooling system problems.

q8stang

i wanted to do the same thing but i was wondering if it was a smart idea since i have an electric water price. i open any hose from my cooling system and run the electric pump.

157dB

Its OK to do it that way but you wont get 100% of the coolant out.
Use a shop vac and now you are talking. It will suck the whole
cooling system dry. Make sure you have an air inlet as well as an air
outlet to the vacuum or you will pull quite a vasuum on the cooling
system. Bad. Could collapse the radiator.

Used to winterize pool plumbing with a shop vac.
After about 30 minutes of sucking, the pipes were dry.

charliebrown266

I would not put one of those plastic fittings in,Had one on my 96 gt daily driver and the fitting came apart,almost got hit by the car behind me sliding on my coolant that came out of the car.

charliebrown266

If you wanted to use those fittings i would remove the factory hose and then use another heater hose with fitting,when finished flushing install factory hose

Goldenpony

I like the sound of this. I would think if you took the lower hose off the radiator and applied the shop vac to it, the bottom nipple on the radiator (where the hose was attached) should allow the air to enter. I may just have to try this. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the thermostat while doing it and when you're done, install a new 'stat.