replacing coolant - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

p4r4l3l · 09-26-2004, 06:23

atm my cars running straight water, as i just got my head done mechanic told me to run water for a week and then flush the system and put coolant, now ive got wynn's winter/summer coolant but am unsure how much to add as im unsure how much water the system takes

psycho chicken · 09-26-2004, 06:29

Don't know why the hell he reckons to run it with water for a week, I can't see the point in that.

Anyway, the cooling system is 15 litres. There's 5 litres in the block you can't get out. I think Ford suggest a 1 part coolant to 2 parts water (some people run half half though), so remove the lower radiator hose, let it drain, do it up, chuck in 5 litres of coolant for 33/66 or 7.5 litres for 50/50, then fill the over flow bottle to the full mark with water.

Run it with the heater open (set it to the hot setting) until the thermostat opens, top up as needed.

Yagz · 09-26-2004, 06:47

You run it with water to get all the gunk left over from gaskets, and castings sad, etc, then flush that dirty water, and replace it with fresh coolant.

psycho chicken · 09-26-2004, 06:50

Gaskets should be totally removed, and casting sand? Where the hell will that come from?

You'd never get it out anyway, as all the sluge will stay in the block unless you reverse flush it under pressure.

Yagz · 09-26-2004, 06:54

Coolant costs money. Water is free. When you replace a gasket, you use gasket goo, etc, and there will always be some shit that gets caught in the cooling system, especially if there's been any shaving/cutting in the head process. It's better to run straight water after headwork/gasket change to ensure all the shit is flushed from the system, THEN put expensive coolant back in.. It won't hurt the head to use water for a week..

p4r4l3l · 09-26-2004, 06:57

its not free but much cheaper than coolant ahhahaha

psycho chicken · 09-26-2004, 07:02

Yes but any shit you get in the cooling system will go straight to the bottom and you'll never get it out with a garden hose. Also metal shaving should be long gone from the head before it gets put on.

It won't hurt it but there's no point to it.

Yagz · 09-26-2004, 07:07

LOL, ok rob, whatever.. When i changed my headgasket in the XR6, i noticed some floaties in the water we used a week after the head was done.. They were parts of the goo stuff used in the gasket change..

WhiteOx · 09-26-2004, 13:37

Gasket goo on a head gasket???