Coolant Flush: How to re-fill w/Distilled H2O?

[QuercusRubra]

So I've been reading a lot about cooling system stuff while searching out my radiator, and now waiting for it to come...

It sounds like a good idea to flush and use distilled water to mix with antifreeze/coolant.

On my '95 F350 Powerstroke I have the old style cooling system with cap on radiator like pre-95. Apparently ford did that 'till late '95, but none of the parts references know this.

I like the flush procedure on Cap-A-Radiator here Cap-A-Radiator -- Makes sense, simple, succinct. Except I think I'd flush each component separate...at least the heater core...why not? Any way...

So, My question is how do you flush and fill the system with distilled water when you're done with the garden hose? Do people have a trick for pushing it in there? Or do you just fill the radiator and mix it a few times and call that clean?

How much of the fluid actually drains when you pull the block drain plugs? Is there trouble getting air in if you pull the block drains?

Hopefully this sparks some good discussion, or reveals some good tricks

 

[greenskeeper]

I've never used distilled water in any of my water cooled engines, I have public water, I guess it is "clean" enough.

Take note of the total capacity of the cooling system. After you are done flushing and have drained everything out put 1/2 of the total capacity of straight coolant into the system. Then top off with water. You should be close to a 50/50 mix.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Using City tap water is a NO NO in a radiator. No matter how clean it looks, it still has disolved lime and stuff in it, then the heat cooks it out and starts plugging up the core tubes. Use only Steam Distilled water, cheap at most any grocery store. To clean the coolant system, use any good caustic cleaner and do as the instructions say. Takes about 8 gallons to fill the system, 4 gallons Antifreeze and 4 gallons Distilled water. That puts it down to about a -25*F. I use Fleet Gard, it's pink and has the SCA in it.

 

[ironworker40]

Block drains yield approx. 1 1/2 gal of coolant. Block drains have no effect on air. No need to flush with distilled water after garden hose flush. But as oldbull8 said always use distilled water when filling. I empty half the antifreeze in the bottle into radiator then pour half a gallon of water in radiator. Now you have two bottles half full that you can pour water or anti freeze into to make 50/50 mix and when you fill them two you will have 4 bottles to mix in.

 

[Spun4Fun]

That's how i did it ... I went to wallmart and bought 20 /1 Gal dist water the night before ( 16 to flush and 4 to add to concentrated antifreeze ) in fact People at the cash register looked @ am as if i was NUT ..OOH well . along with 4 gal of SCA PRECHARGED COOLANT / ANTIFREEZE It's the FLEET the pink good stuff . You can buy your hoses and thermostat if you like to do it all once .

Disconnect both batteries .

I disconnected the bottom Rad hose , removed the Rad cap , turned on the Rad drain plug in a bucket along with the hose , Then i removed both block plugs one at a time after the hose and drain plug stopped draining . These PLUGS are super super fun you will have such a great time getting them out the 1st time . However the 2nd flush will be much easier and you will be a pro at it.

Connect the bottom hose back in and don't tight the clamp, Turn the drain plug off , Hand tight your plugs back in place , poor total of 8 gal of dist water and ran the truck for 10 min -15 min and make sure the heater is on high .so you flush the heater core as well .

Shut the truck off .. It's your choice if you want to cool before the 2nd flush or not .I did not .

Drain the same way you did before .Now remember you are a pro at the plugs and don't skip skipper on the passenger side plug .. It will flush 1 to 1 1/2 gal .

Hand secure every thing back in place like you did before then Repeat with another 8 gal of dist water .

drain again . You should have nothing but clean and clear water coming out from both sides and the front.

Secure every thing back in place for good . Your bottom Rad hose with the clamp , Make sure you shut off the Rad drain plug and secure your Favorite Plugs and don't over torque them as they are cooper plugs.

Get the 4 gal of Fleet charge Antifreeze 1st and them all to the Rad followed by the last 4 gal of Dist water and that is why you bough total of 20 ,if you have stock RAD it will hold total of 8 gal give or take ( 4 Antifreeze +4 Water ) don't be alert if the system only take 3 gal of water and 4 antifreeze since there some Dist water might be trapped there .

Have fun mate

 

[greenskeeper]

Using City tap water is a NO NO in a radiator.

I've never had a problem. I guess I got lucky all those times (hundreds of water cooled engines serviced over the years)

 

[Spun4Fun]

ooh with the 7.3l flush it with a hose i guess , I was referring to the IDi as they known for their cavitation so going with distilled water is a must for these blocks

 

[Masami]

On the IDI's its a must to use the anti-cavitation additive FW-16. Distilled water isn't going to help you there. Inernational used to use precharged SCA water filters, so there was no warning to add FW-16 in the manuals rewritten by Ford. More than a few IDIs went down the drain.

On the PSDs, the block drain plugs are usually frozen in there. After the tap water flush, flush with distilled water, do both with the heater on. Then do a drain. There will be residual water left in the engine. Then add 4 pints of FW-16 and 4 gallons of straight low silicate anti-freeze. On an OBS, the radiator (32 quart system) will fill up so put the rest into the degas bottle. Then, after a few days, the engine will burp out some air, refill the degas bottle with whats left of the anti-freeze.

I use just well water myself with no problems for the past 50 years.

Its not suggested to use the orange stuff in an OBS. Its ******* the injector cups.


But I'm a noob, so what do I know?

 

[madpogue]

SCA and what type of water to use are completely separate issues. You need water WITHOUT minerals, and ESP. without chlorine, in ANY engine. You need SCA in a diesel.

"Heater on" does nothing. There's no heater control valve.

Straight anti-freeze is a BAD idea. Full strength, it has less cooling capacity than when mixed with water. And with conventional EG anti-freeze, the freeze point actually goes UP after a certain concentration.

The block drains are exactly the same on an IDI and a PSD. We have an '85 and two '95s, and had absolutely no trouble removing any of the block drains.

 

[Masami]

I get about 4 gallons of residual water left after a drain without pulling the block plugs. So, it winds up being 50/50 mix water/anti-freeze/FW-16 after adding the anti-freeze/FW-16. About 3.5 gallons to be exact. The rest is added to the degas bottle. So, its not straight anti-freeze, remember I said 4 gallons of anti-freeze, not 8. Mine is a 32 quart system, is yours 16?

The comment on adding FW-16 was in reference to the comment of minerals causing cavitation. It isn't, its the lack of SCA additive because Ford messed up their service requirements since Ford doesn't use pre-charged SCA water filters, unlike IH. IH never had the requirement of adding the SCA in their service manuals. Ford copied the manual but did not use a water filter, precharged or not.

My drain plugs are frozen in there, just like a lot of other PSDs.

Last time I checked my well, it didn't have chlorine in it and the water has worked just fine for the last 50 years without any precipitation of minerals into the cooling system.

Just because I'm a noob here doesn't mean I haven't played with diesels.

 

[Masami]

I forgot to add, my truck also has the Ranger heater bypass max A/C mod so I do have to have the heater on.

 

[madpogue]

Sorry, my bad on the volume of anti-freeze. Post #7 didn't explicitly say that mineralized water causes cavitation, but yeah, the implication there is way off track. Distilled water won't affect cavitation, but that doesn't mean it "won't help you".

But shouldn't that Ranger bypass be "open", that is, full flow to the heater core, with the HVAC control set to OFF? Not that it's relevant to the vast majority of PSD or IDI owners....

 

[Masami]

Well, its in bypass in the Max A/C position for most people who install one. So just putting it in Heat makes sure there's flow to the heater. A few have installed it for operation in the vent and A/C positions also. The mod actually works out pretty good and is simple and cheap to install.

There are people who live where the water is highly mineralized or on city water where they add "stuff", not just chlorine, it would not be good to use that tap water.