How To Tell If Coolant Is Circulating - Auto

[XXitanium]

Simple.

 

My F250 had a fuel leak coming from the engine compartment. I wanted no part of it. Crawling up in the engine at 0 degrees.

 

I took  it to the dealership. They diagnosed broken "fuel filter water valve". They charged me over three hundred dollars to replace it.

 

Over $200 was labor. I bet it was half hour job.

 

Simple - and no sense of personal satisfaction and/or being screwed at the dealer.

[superhawk996]

I hope it's a diesel or they lied to you before robbing you.

[blackhawkxx]

7 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

I hope it's a diesel or they lied to you before robbing you.

No way, it's right next to the muffler bearing.

[Zero Knievel]

Okay, flushed the system today.  Started out milk chocolate brown but finally went clear.

 

Pulled the old thermostat and installed the new one.  Took some pics of what the hoses/thermostat housing looked like.  There is still a brown coating on stuff.  I'm debating doing another heavy clean/flush before putting in antifreeze to see if it gets more out.  With the new thermostat in, the engine will run hot again and I believe heat is a key part of cleaning out the junk with the cleaner.

 

Thoughts?

 

[Furbird]

Seriously?  You're worried about that?  You would have been having seizures if you would have seen the crap in the hoses of my friends truck.  Fill that sucker up and rock on.

[redxxrdr]

The top of the image looks like you may have found your leak as well. Notice the slight rust line under the gasket?

Clean off the mating surfaces, get a new gasket, and IF you choose to use RTV, use very little.  Use the correct type coolant, at the proper mix and go with it.

Edit,

and remember to have your heater on when you are running and filling.

Some systems circulate the water all the time. Some only with the heat on.

This will make sure that the heater core  is full too.

Edited December 17, 2016 by redxxrdr

[Zero Knievel]

Sounds good.  I'm picking up a product called Evapo-Rust.  It's a water-based de-rusting agent that's safe for pretty much everything.  I'll run that through the system with distilled water then flush again.  That should make it cleaner still.

[superhawk996]

Safe for all metals, rubber, plastic, gasket materials, sealants, etc. at 200+ degrees and won't froth up by the impeller?  If so then have at it if you wish, but that residue isn't an issue.

 

Was the thermostat stuck open?

 

Edit: if you're gonna use that stuff I'd leave the thermostat out and install it after flushing, the flushing will be faster and safer.

Edited December 18, 2016 by superhawk996

[Zero Knievel]

Well, it's done.  Old thermostat was stuck open, but without a working thermostat, the engine never got hot enough to really get a good cleaning.  Not much rust came out when I reclaimed the fluid, but the radiator's guts looked significantly cleaner.  Filled with distilled water and another round of system cleaner.  Drained, disconnected hoses and blew everything out with compressed air then refilled with 50/50 pre-mix.  Everything's working perfectly now.

 

Lesson learned.  I'm marking the calendar to remind me to flush and replace the coolant every 2 years like I should have been doing all along.

[srideaux]

Not knowing any thing about the history of this truck, like a previous owner attempting to remedy the same problem by running a flush threw it and not getting all the flush out of the system,( or neutralizing it properly) this can cause thermostat failure, and over time eat the impellers off the pump.with this in mind rest and other contaminants can and will stop up the heater core. Were it my truck, I would replace the water pump with a new one, I have seen rebuilds that the impellers have come loose on the shaft not allowing proper circulation of coolant . replacing the thermostat is a no brainer. fill the system with water only, if the temp comes up and there is still little or no heat from the heater, next place is the heater (temp)  control valves, are they operating properly, ? Last and certainly not least, the heater core is stopped up. they are not expensive to buy, and there are many sources for them. but the bitch is changing one out. 

Good luck, will be interested in what you find.

[srideaux]

Congratulations on a job well done, There is always a certain satisfaction in doing it yourself.

[RodeRash]

On 12/14/2016 at 1:08 PM, jon haney said:

If this is a Chevy, go with DBLXX's suggestion. :-)

 

Damn Ford fanboi. 

[jon haney]

20 hours ago, RodeRash said:

 

Damn Ford fanboi. 

Yep.  Have owned a 79 Mustang, 87 Ranger, 96 Mazda(Ford) B4000, 3 Dakotas, and now a 12 F-150 Eco-Boost.

I miss the Ranger and the 03 Dakota the most.

[blackhawkxx]

5 hours ago, jon haney said:

I miss the Ranger

Still have mine.

[superhawk996]

Ford list:

Mustangs: '73 notchback(current), 2 '84 SVOs, 95 Cobra, 95 GT convert, 80-something cheapo 4banger.

Trucks: '88 E-350(current), 99 F-350(current), 80 F-250, 88 F-250, 89ish Ranger 4.0, '88 & '89 Broncos.

Explorers: 91, 96, and 98(current).  GF has an '02.

And 2 Ford powered boats.

Extremely likely that there are others not coming to mind.

 

I've owned many brands: Nissan, Toyota, Datsun, Honda, Porsche, Volvo, Jaguar, Mazda, Jeep, Dodge, and very likely others.  Not one Chevy that I can think of even just to flip.  Not that I hate Chevy, just never had one appeal and drop into my lap.

 

Vehicles I still think about and wish I still had: '78 or any other year CVCC Civic with manual choke, Datsun B210, Mustang SVO, Porsche 928, Jaguar S-Type R  --somewhat in order of wish level.

[CBRXX]

If you're low on coolant and have air in the system you will potentially not get heat.

 

If you havent already refilled, pull the hoses to the heater core and back flush it by itself, just hold the garden hose to the end of the outlet hose.

You should easily be able to see if it is flowing or not that way.

[XXBirdSlapper]

I would pull the freeze plugs and use wire brushes and steel wool to clean the inside of the block. You don't want to rust a hole into the cylinders. Add a couple bottles of navel jelly to the cooling system and let it run for a few hours. That bitch will be sweet as a virgin's honey pot.

[superhawk996]

On 12/18/2016 at 10:43 AM, Aunt Zero said:

Well, it's done.  Old thermostat was stuck open, but without a working thermostat, the engine never got hot enough to really get a good cleaning.  Not much rust came out when I reclaimed the fluid, but the radiator's guts looked significantly cleaner.  Filled with distilled water and another round of system cleaner.  Drained, disconnected hoses and blew everything out with compressed air then refilled with 50/50 pre-mix.  Everything's working perfectly now.

 

Lesson learned.  I'm marking the calendar to remind me to flush and replace the coolant every 2 years like I should have been doing all along.

If you didn't open the drain(s) on the block or water flush it a few times you left cleaner in there.

[Zero Knievel]

28 minutes ago, superhawk996 said:

If you didn't open the drain(s) on the block or water flush it a few times you left cleaner in there.

 

The system has a flush kit installed.  I had a better chance of leaving a remnant of softened well water in the system than any cleaner.

[superhawk996]

8 minutes ago, Aunt Zero said:

 

The system has a flush kit installed.  I had a better chance of leaving a remnant of softened well water in the system than any cleaner.

Even an ounce of well water will completely wreck the whole system!

 

JK.  Your description of what you did didn't cover flushing out the cleaner, but if you did all's good.

 

I drain my systems whenever the coolant looks shitty, usually only when I buy something neglected, then never again.  So far so good.

[XXitanium]

On 12/17/2016 at 1:22 AM, superhawk996 said:

I hope it's a diesel or they lied to you before robbing you.

 

i knew I was getting hosed. 

I had kidney stones going and it was about -15F last week. I just wanted it done.

Then the starter went.  .... .... .... .... .... 

 

..last round of folly, I got the lifetime warranty starter.  ...at a different dealer - so - better, so I went back to them. They checked the alternator (batteries, lifetime warrany, weren't charging - one of them tested bad the other - good, no lifetime warranty on the alternator).  The last time I got batteries I asked this non-branded shop to go and get me Motorcraft with 3 year unlimited warranty. The warranty was going to be over in February. FoMoCo gave me one new battery free. I bought the other one new for peace of mind. I got the new alternator as lifetime warranty.

 

They cleaned all the connections and replaced bolts in the terminals etc. Parts were $500.00 for the stuff not under warranty.

 

LABOR WAS ONLY $100.00

 

I don't know if I'll own it for another 3 years for the batteries. The charging light that was on on the dash for 6 years (diagnosed as un-diagnose-able) magically went out. It's in the thirties for temp this week - maybe rain on Christmas. I'm thinking it should start well when the -20F stuff comes through.