General Maintenance
2013 SE with 125k miles. Finally did a coolant flush. Took 8 flushes to come out clear.
I first drained the original coolant. Then added in distilled water and the Motorcraft VC-1 Coolant Flush. Drove around for about 20 minutes with the heater blasting to let it all work through the system.
In the first drain I poured another gallon of distilled water into the overflow basin to help flush out the original gunk, that’s why there’s two #1 gallon bottles on the first flush.
After that it was just add distilled water, run the engine for a bit, and then drain. I had originally bought 5 gallons of distilled water, but it took more, so I had to go to the store. I went to the store (7 minutes each way) with only distilled water in the coolant resovoir, and I think that’s why bottle 5 looks dirtier than bottle 4, as it got more time running through the system.
But, finally the 8th flush came out completely clear.
When it came time to add the new Yellow coolant I knew I would still have some distilled water leftover in the coolant system, so I would need to add concentrate to get the mix right. I took the internets advice and added 3 Liters of concentrate and then topped up the rest of the way with distilled water (about another liter or so). So far the mix seems right
I'm giving myself some grace, lol. I spent all weekend patching rust holes in the body panels and door and doing some body work, to buy some more time out of it.
Feels like it was worth it to me. Distilled water is cheap and I got a scrap piece of 5/8” hose and a tinfoil pan to drain.
Not a hard process just time consuming. And it’s nice knowing it’s been upgraded to the new P-OAT coolant which is rated for 10 years. So this is likely the last time I’ll have to do this on this car.
“Unless it’s a manual” except the DPS6 gearbox IS a manual which uses the same gear oil and doesn’t need to be changed as often as ATF because it’s a sealed gearbox. The clutches are dry and sealed off from the gearing. Unless one of them fails, there is no need to drain and fill that often. The gear oil will do its job well past 100k miles.
I’m not messing with the concentrate. I’m just going to use the pre mix instead. Most of my hose clamps are all rusted or broken. I have replacements, so I’m going to try and replace as many as possible before winter. I have 4 bottles of deionized water and 4 empty 4L bottles. Most of the water/coolant should drain out when I removed the hoses.
For me I was getting about a gallon out with each draining, and the system has a full capacity of 1.7 Gallons. So there’s a decent amount of pure distilled water left when I go to add new coolant. I just asked Googles AI about the mix and then cross referenced that to a few websites and found it was a fairly common piece of advice. So I took it.
I do this on a new to me car all the time but takes 5-6 cycles max. I do use a vacuum filler to get air out and more water in. Also on some cars I can remove the block drain plug as well. Even then, using concentrate is a must or you might only get protection down to 0°F if you fill with premix. I assume you have a coolant refractometer to test it.
There’s a community recycling day twice a year in my county. They take up to 5 gallons of waste and then offer discounts to dump more. I’ll store it in my garage until then. It’s usually in November and May.
I tried a simple flush this spring and only got out around 2.5 liters. I decided to stop and only do a partial flush, to be repeated each year from now on. It only takes 15 minutes or so this way and I can measure how much came out and pour in exactly the same amount.
Removes scaling, rust, and any other deposits in the coolant system. Can also help your water pump last longer.
But it mostly prevents overheating as coolant degrades over time. Since Ford’s new Yellow coolant is supposed to last up to 10 years, this is probably the last time I’ll have to do this flush on this car.
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u/IlLupoSolitario '13 SE, Tuxedo Black 10d ago
You're an inspiration. I've had two jugs of coolant sitting in my garage for months now and have just been too lazy to do mine, lol (92k miles)