I am going to change my antifreeze this weekend on my 97 f-1. I want to drain the block but I have never removed the plugs before. Does anyone know if you have to put any sealant on the treads when you reinstall them? Or has anyone removed them and then had problems with leaks? Any thing I should know before I start??? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Anytime you have pipe threads, use sealant. I use a product from Loctite called PST. Good stuff. It's available at better parts stores. At the very least use teflon tape.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, Torsion bars cranked up 2.5 turns. Needs one more door.

 

Explain to me how your going to get all the air pockets out of the engine?

I used to changed the antifreeze. NOT ANYMORE! If you dont do it correctly, you can get little pockets of air trapped in the block and heads. Then you've created hot spots which cook piston rings and such....

I'm real leary about doing it myself these days!

Better to pay someone who has a pressurized system that can minimize the amount of air that gets into the engine.

------------------
Rand

98 Ford Expedition 4X4 XLT
5.4, 3.73s, 17" wheels,
Homemade 3" "COLD" Air-Box
mod, SuperChip, Amsoil
everywhere but tranny, Perma-
Cool combo 6 pass trans/oil
cooler (FQR 5.4 @ 50K)

 

Rand,
I thought that would be taken care of by the new design of the "overflow bottle". It is my understanding that it is now refered to as the "Degas bottle", this is due to its function of removing trapped air. I know that it is pressurized by the radiator, which is different from overflows of old. You certainly bring up a good point and I will call my Dealer to question how they perform the change. Thanks for the comments and I will post what they have to say.

 

Yeah, I think the factory mounts the vehicles on a large table that they can then turn upside down, right to left, and front to back. That gets all those nasty little air bubbles out! Makes about as much sense as anything! Pease people, question everything you hear. Especially if it comes off the internet.

BTW, Ive got a $100,000.00 F-150 for sale. Any takers?

Sorry so sarcastic. These urban legends really get to me sometimes.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, Torsion bars cranked up 2.5 turns. Needs one more door.

 

Just drain and flush a few min with clean water, let drain again and then refill with antifreeze. When you start the engine with the heater on the water pump forces the antifreeze from the full radiator throughout the cooling system and the trapped air ends up in top of the radiator. That is why you may have to add more antifreeze. Don't worry about trapped air if the radiator is full to the full mark after the engine is warmed up. Be careful removing hot radiator caps.

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2000 F-150, XLT, SC, 5.4, 4X4, 355 LS, ORP, Black/Silver, class III, single CD, sliding glass, med. gray, keyless, elect. shift, engine date 8-18-99, Superchip. '93 Harley Fatboy Black & tons of chrome

 

I do a simple drain and fill.

While it helps to raise the front of the truck WHILE FILLING, it is not necessary. This will remove the larger pockets of air while filling.

Once filled to the COLD fill mark, leave the reservoir cap off, turn the heater on "HIGH" blower and set it to high heat.

Start the engine, and run it at about 1000 rpm. Once you get a STEADY stream of HOT air, you have purged the cooling system. Top off with coolant, and replace the cap.

 

I've read that using distilled water in the flushing process is more effective than the chemical flush products. It is more effective in removing chemical deposits.

Here's one way to do it. drain, fill (distilled only), run for 3 hours, repeat until all the green is gone. 2 to 3 times.

Of course running a car at idle for 3 hours may not be the wisest move on the planet, watch that temp gauge.

------------------
97 XLT SC w/62k mi. 3:55, 4.6L, 2" Fabtech lift, Tow package, CD, Auto, avg. 17.2 MPG w/ Goodyear GA 255/75/16's
future mods: BFG 285/75/16's, 3" fabtech coils, K&N air filter,
80-90k mi. mods: 3" spindles, centerline rims with 35's
creativepen@yahoo.com

 

98Fword:

I know your being sarcastic. By no means is this "urban legend."

I am not sure if the F150/Expedition 5.4/4.6 is an engine to worry about this or not. However, I listen to Pat Goss (radio, TV shows)and I feel with his tremendous knowledge, he's probably correct when he tells people not to drain and fill on certain engines. You need to check with your dealer. Even then I wouldn't be so sure!
You never know what kind of misinformation you'll get from a dealer.

------------------
Rand

98 Ford Expedition 4X4 XLT
5.4, 3.73s, 17" wheels,
Homemade 3" "COLD" Air-Box
mod, SuperChip, Amsoil
everywhere but tranny, Perma-
Cool combo 6 pass trans/oil
cooler (FQR 5.4 @ 50K)

 

I just checked the service manual for my '96 300 I6. All it remotly says about air pockets is to "bleed" the system first.
To do this you dissconnect the heater hose at the water pump fitting. then refill until coolant starts to come out of the pipe going to the water pump....
That's it, the system is blead, just run and top off with coolant as needed

------------------
96 F150 XL,special
Air/PS/PB/AM-FM-Cass/
Light Package/300 I6/
5 SP Man/...
Nothing fancy just my little baby

 

I have the tow package with the high capacity radiator on my 2000, and just did a drain and fill yesterday. No bleeding is necessary. How do I know? With the engine cool, I let the radiator drain until no more would come out and measured what I got. It was 11 quarts. I mixed up 11 quarts of a fresh 50/50 solution, and added as much as I could, then started the engine. After it warmed up a little, the level in the reservoir dropped just enough to allow me add the rest. I then shut the engine down. Sure enough, when the engine cooled, the level in the reservoir was exactly as before I started. If there were trapped air pockets, the level in the reservoir would be higher than when I started. So to all who are worried about such a simple procedure on the newer trucks................RELAX. Hell, ya think you'd just found a door crack or somethin.

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Click on any pic below for a closer look:
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2000 XLT Sport, Flareside, 2WD, SuperCab, 5.4L. Factory options: 3.55 LS, Class III tow, Dark graphite captains chairs & console w/CD changer, Remote entry , and Slider.
Mod Highlights: Window tint, light covers, Linex bedliner, ARE LSII lid, Flowmaster cat-back exhaust kit, Classic Design Concepts front bumper cover, and a Hellwig rear sway bar.
Wish list: K&N FIPK, Belltech 3/4 drop, and a SuperChip.
For details, go to: <A HREF="http://home.columbus.rr.com/selva1/f150.html" TARGET=_blank> </A>



[This message has been edited by selva1 (edited 09-15-2000).]

 

Uh, Selva?

I am really confused now. The owner's manual states our HD cooling systems hold 23 quarts. Where's the rest of it?

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Dunbarton "The Middle Aged Kid" '99 XLT SC SB 4x2 4.6 auto 3.55 ls The occasional Z-71 Eater! Wedgewood & Denim, SuperChipped, Airaid FIPK, HD electrical and cooling, power seat, Rhino Liner, Extang Classic tonneau cover, Mobil 1. Man, I got it all! (New Jersey)

 

Well I double check with 3 Ford and 1 Lincoln dealer and all of them just drain and fill. Funny thing was that only 1 knew about the drain plugs? The others said just flush and fill. So, I guess tomorrow I will be under the truck. Thanks to all for the help.

 

Hey Dunbarton:

I bought the full blown Factory shop manual for the 2000 F-150, and there seems to be a discrepancy between the capacities when compared to the glovebox owner's manual. The shop manual lists only 19.4 quarts. Which one is correct, I'm not sure. Can any techs out there clear this up?

The manual lists some interesting things, though:

1. "About 80% of coolant capacity can be recovered with the engine in the vehicle." I interpret that to mean that even if you drain the radiator AND uncork the engine block plugs, there will still be around 4 quarts remaining (below the level of the drain plugs, I assume).

2.After refilling: "Select maximum heater temperature and blower motor speed settings. Position control to discharge air at A/C vents.....Start engine and allow to idle. While engine is idling, feel for hot air at A/C vents. Shut off engine and allow it to cool. Check level in degas bottle and fill as necessary." That's it. Nothing new or ominous.

Here's how I see it: Short of setting up a separate tank with fresh coolant and splicing it in line to your system (Lower radiator hose sucking from fresh tank, lower radiator outlet disposing to waste), or pulling the motor, you'll never get it all replaced with a fresh 50/50 mix. I simply replace as much as I can reasonably drain every year or twelve thousand miles. This way, you will always have adequate freezing, boiling, and corrosion protection. Iv'e done this for years with all my vehicles, and I have never had a cooling system problem.

Also, I only used distilled water in my 50/50 solutions, as there are no minerals to deposit and plug tubes over time. I still have the original radiator in my 65 Galaxie, if you can believe that.



[This message has been edited by selva1 (edited 09-16-2000).]

 

The way I've been doing it for years is to drive up on ramps with a warmish engine, full heat on the dash ****, remove the rad cap, pop off the lower rad hose, drain everything I can, cut a heater hose near the heater, insert one of those T-gizmos that lets you connect the garden hose, flush everything backwards and forwards (by pinching off the heater hose) until the whole system is full of just clear water, re-connect the lower rad hose, top up with water and remove the garden hose, then drain off using the rad drain tap (measure it) so you can add antifreeze according to the percentage you want. Check freeze-up temp with a squeeze-bulb gauge and adjust by adding antifreeze or draining off coolant.

I don't know why this would't work with the new F-150s, but maybe I'm missing something with the newer vehicles. If my process won't work on these new trucks, I'm ready to learn.

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Black 2000 SC short-box XLT. 4.2V-6, 5-speed, 3.55 limited-slip. CD, remote entry, factory side steps, FORD box liner.

My third F-series: '73 F-100 Custom 240-cube 3-speed, '98 F-150 XL-SC 4.2 5-speed, and '00 F-150 XLT-SC 4.2 5-speed. GREAT trucks!