My 02 Explorer with the 4.6 has about 100k on her and I think it is time to change the coolant. ( I have only had it since 87k )
Should I flush it or just change it. What is the best way ?
So a dead thermostat forced me to drain the coolant in my E350 7.3L. I noticed the previous owner had green coolant in the van so I decided to do a flush and put in the right coolant. I used Shell Rotella ELC. Well, I noticed after coming home the other day that the van was leaking coolant, upon inspection I noticed its now leaking from the water pump, then today the drain valve sprang a leak! What the HECK is going on!? Is it possible that the seals were shocked when I changed the coolant? Not looking forward to doing a water pump replacement on an E350... sure is crammed under the hood.
View 9 RepliesThis weekend my friend and I plan on doing a coolant flush, new Mishimoto thermostat housing with high temp thermostat and install a Mishimoto coolant filter.
Truck currently has some unknown green coolant in it and Im going to replace it with Rotella ELC. I plan on doing a couple hose water flushes then follow with about 5 distilled water flushes. I've been reading about putting some Cascade in on first flush to dissolve any silicate goo that might be in there hanging out. I might give that a try. Im sure I can manage this part from all the stuff I read about doing flushes.
This is the part that looks like a little more work involved than the flush. Doing the thermostat kind of worries me because of the tight area in there to work with the fuel line and the EBP sensor being right there. The current thermostat holds temps around 175-185 under normal driving. I bought the new Mishimoto thermostat housing with the high temp thermostat installed in it when they had their pre sale going on for the housing.
I decided to just go with the whole thing because of all the stuff I read about people having issues with the thermostat not fitting the older housing correctly since Im certain I have the original housing from 2004, like everything else that's still original on my truck. I plan on removing the thermostat before doing the flushes and then installing the new housing and thermostat and coolant filter before I add the ELC.
The coolant filter install looks fairly simple to do so I should be ok with that.
I did a coolant flush following the instructions posted on this site. In fact I did a little more than just a flush - replaced degas bottle cap, replaced thermostat and installed a coolant filtration system.
There were no leaks before I started and the only reason I did the flush was that there was green antifreeze in it.
I noticed that there was half a gallon of coolant under it in the parking lot this afternoon - the degas bottle still has coolant in it, so I drove it home and inspected the thermostat housing and top radiator hose, as well as all fittings and hoses installed as part of the coolant filter. Everything was dry.
I tracked the leak to the lower radiator hose - the one thing I did not touch as I drained from the petcock. Coolant is running down the lower radiator hose.
Could the new radiator cap have increased the pressure in the system to a point where it identified a weak point that was not leaking before?
My temps are great, ECT is stable about 188F - 190F and EOT is stable around 192F - 194F. I ran it hard and got temps up to around 200F and they both came back down to 192F range very quickly when I backed off. They were actually running about 5F higher before the flush.
I will try running the old cap to see if there is a difference, but if the lower hose is the weak point I'd prefer to replace that and run the new OEM cap.
My friend is changing out the ball joints, upper and lower, both sides. I have seen that the upper is typically done by replacing the whole arm, I don't plan on doing this. So, with a press and new ball joints, are there any nice tips from you all? Looking for useful info before I get into it. I did a search and have not found a thread like "ball joints-how to".
View 7 RepliesTruck has never been flushed. Would you try and back flush through oil cooler or just do a regular flush according to the procedure in the tech folder?
View 6 RepliesI just had my oil cooler and EGR cooler replaced, and I'm now consider doing a coolant flush with Restore/Restore+ to ensure the coolant system is clean. I know this might be backwards and perhaps should have done the flush first, but schedule and such did not allow. I do have a coolant filter.
View 5 RepliesI'm planning on doing the regular scheduled coolant flush but not sure if it can be done without any special equipment.
One dealer said they don't do many diesels but have a machine to do the refill and quoted ~200$. The other does more diesels but hasn't done a flush in a while and quoted ~500$ and said he does it old school by draining everything out and then water flush followed by refilling the systems.
Which one is right? Can it be done in the driveway? Which is the correct coolant for the refill and are any additives required after filling?
2004 VW Passat, 1.8L Turbo. So my coolant needs to be flushed since it doesn't look good and I for the life of me cannot find the t-stat housing or the water pump. I wonder if they changed everything in the 2004.
View 1 RepliesHere is the thing, this did not start until after I got a coolant flush, and went to get some gas. I was thinking dirty fuel injectors, so I put the Lucas Fuel Injector cleaner in with the next full tank of gas, and it didn't do anything.
There is a ticking sound, and the car sounds like a freight train chugging. The car still runs and still has great performance than ever before (due to the new plugs)
Here is what I have done:
Ran motor flush
Changed oil + Lucas Oil Additive
Changed all 4 Spark Plugs (replaced crappy Autolite with NGK Platinum)
Changed Power Steering Fluid (flushed)
Changed Coolant (flushed)
Cleaned the throttle body and intake
Drained through and filled up gas again + Lucas Fuel Stuff
You can't really hear it from inside the car, and it only seems to be happening after the car has been warmed up. It does not happen during a cold start at all (in the mornings).
The ticking sound stopped for a bit when I ran the motor flush, and changed the oil. Now the sound is still there, but it is A LOT less annoying than before. The car also has A LOT better performance with the new plugs, I seem to be able to take off a lot better at lights.
Here is what I still need to do:
Change the engine air filter.
Double check the throttle body and intake.
It is a 2004 Camry with 182,000 Miles. The ticking didn't start until after it came back from the shop, which has me suspicious. Shop claims nothing is wrong, which is a load of BS.
What I am thinking:
Stuck valve
Lifters
STILL dirty intake (shop could have done nothing and charged me for it)
After changing the timing belt and water pump I want to change the coolant. Stupid to have no temp gauge so I got a scan tool connected. Been idling 20 minutes and it hasn't gone above 189 degrees. Assume it has a 195 degree thermostat. I put fresh water in the radiator but still don't see it mixing with coolant in the block as if the thermostat has opened.
View 6 RepliesLooking for any good videos of flushing the transmission out of an 1997 F150. I'm having a hard time locating the input and output lines to the radiator. I don't know which it is top or bottom one...
View 11 RepliesI have an 03 Explorer with the 4.0 engine. There is a strong smell of coolant and the reservoir does go down slightly once a week or so. There is No Leak whatsoever that I see, I have checked under the hood, under the vehicle, under the dash, everywhere...nothing. Where is the coolant going? This seems to be a common problem, I work at a quick lube and almost all of these explorers are low on coolant when they come in.
View 2 RepliesI have a 2002 Explorer that had a whining rear, changed it out with a good rear out of my parts truck and now I have an ABS light on. It says something about input to the sensor and output from the sensor and left and right wheels. 4 Codes in all. I changed the speed sensor in the top of the rear to the one that was in this truck because the light wasn't on before and it still has this light.
View 1 RepliesI removed what I could, plastic cover and thermostat housing. Looks like I have to pull the intake to get the little bugger out of there. What's the procedure to remove and replace?
View 2 RepliesI have a 02 Explorer that has 2 cracked rear coil springs.
How hard are they to change ?
What brand to use ?
I was looking at the Monroe Quick-Strut.
its a 99 explorer xlt AWD 5.0l v8. It has the AODE/w tranny. When I take off with it (normal accelerating) it shifts fine from 1st to 2nd. But when it is suppose to change into 3rd gear the rpms will keep rising as i give it gas. When I let off the gas it goes into neutral. I plan on changing the fluid and filter in it. But need to know if there is anything to check in the valve body before putting new fluid back in? This problem has come at a bad time for me.
View 4 RepliesI'm in the process of changing my upper and lower intake gaskets. my question is, the upper intake along with the tubing on the fuel rail are caked with oil/carbon, along with the back side of throttle body. What would be the best way to clean them?
View 2 RepliesI have a 2000 explorer XLT and I want to change all of my interior lights to blue. I want the cluster, window switches, a/c unit and everything else blue. I just bought a blue stereo so that's one less thing. What types of lights and how many lights there are and where I can get them and how to change them?
View 1 RepliesI have Toyota camry 2003 v6 and power steering needs to be flushed. How to flush the power steering.
View 7 RepliesI recently bought a 2003 Toyota Tacoma with the 2.4 L engine and 160K miles. It seems to run fine. I took it into my Mechanics Files mechanic to have a couple of things done and he recommended doing a fuel system flush for like $300. My daughter has a 2008 Yaris w/ 100K. She took it to her mechanic recently (on the other coast) and he recommended a fuel system flush (for about $150!!--and she's on the West Coast, I'm in VA). She thinks her gas mileage is a little off (only getting 38 mpg !! ??), but otherwise the car is running fine. If these vehicles are running well, is there any reason to get this flush done? The idea that it may increase gas mileage if otherwise running well seems doubtful to me.
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