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Coolant Flush/Fuel Filter

xFatcatx

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City, State
PORTLAND OREGON
Year, Model & Trim Level
99 SPORT
99 Sport, 4.0 SOHC, 4WD, 89000miles.

Anyone know if there is a coolant drain plug on the block somwhere. Im going to flush the coolant tomorrow. If just draining the radiator is sufficient (i am going to use a bottle of prestone flush also) then thats all I need to know. Also they told me the capacity at a 50/50 mix was 1 3/4 gallons, does that sound right? I bought one gallon of prestone and I will use 3/4 gallons of water for a rough 60/40 coolant/water mix. Does this sound right?

I am also going to change the fuel filter (for the first time). In my Hanes it shows two different types of systems, one pressurized where you need to unplug the inertia switch under the glove box first, and one that isnt. It does not say which kind mine is and I am a little confused. Is it as simple as taking off the old filter and installing the new one, anything extra I need to know?

Thanks all.
 



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there is a small valve on the, i believe on the drivers side, just loosen it (they do come all the way out but you dont have to, just loosen it.) drain it out an then flush it. this is how i flush the radiator


1. drain all the coolant. and shut the valve
2. using garden hose refill the radiator
3. drain again
4. fill back up with garden hose, put rad. cap on and start truck, let it idle untill you hear the thermostat open, thus flushing the engine too.
5.drain again, shut valve, refill radiator and overflow tank with 50/50 mix of coolant



fuel filter is pretty easy, need the little disconnect tool. the switch they talk about is bebind the passenger side kick panel, remove the kick panel and you will see a little black box with red switch, using a screw driver insert it into the slot and lift up on the red button. when your all done, just push the red button back down into original position

good luck
 






a rough 60/40 coolant/water mix. Does this sound right?

Why would you want to go 60/40?

I am also going to change the fuel filter (for the first time). In my Hanes it shows two different types of systems, one pressurized where you need to unplug the inertia switch under the glove box first, and one that isnt. It does not say which kind mine is and I am a little confused. Is it as simple as taking off the old filter and installing the new one, anything extra I need to know?

It will be pressurized. You need to remove the pressure prior to disconnecting the filoter with the special tool.
 






Hey Ranger, "there is a small valve on the, i believe on the drivers side", are you talking about the radiator here or the block?

Hey Aldive, "Why would you want to go 60/40?" why not, what should i do? They all say 50/50 to 70-30 so i thought id be good with 60-40.......:) I will pick up the tool on my way home. Thank You
 






AFAIK, 60/40 is actually the optimal ratio. Supposedly, this is the point that you get the maximum heat transfer. Using pure R.O. water helps too, instead of tap water.
 






The less coolant ( antifreeze ) the better for heat transfer. Here in Florida, I use 10% antifreeze and 90% RO/DI water.

You should base the level on the coldest weather you will encounter.
 






I grew up in Chicago, so that makes sense.
 






Whats a good ratio for PA ? We're about to go into the winter and its been about 2 years since I've changed the coolant.
 






Well i finally finished. I flushed with a small bottle of Prestone flush, then straight water, then added coolant, also flushed the overflow. I also changed the thermostat while i was at it, it was almost a lime green/yellow color with some white rusty looking krap all over it so it was probably due. It was kind of a pita though, not much room. No luck on the fuel filter and i ran out of light now so that ones gonna have to wait. Thanks for all your help guys.
 






That only drains the radiator, about a pint. Most of the coolant, another 10 pints or so is in the engine block.
There is a drain plug somewhere on the bottom of the block.
Can someone tell us where it is?

Denis
 






You should get more than a pint out of the radiator. I got very little out of this '93 when I drained it but as it turned out, the petcock was plugged. When I took the lower rad hose off I got the rest out. All over me. :)
 






Thanks. The radiator drain tap was ok, but I took off the hose as you suggested (keeping my head out of the way!). The radiator was empty, but when I pulled the hose down a few inches it drained the block - another 8 pints.

I drove the truck a few miles. Engine temp zero, no heat from the heater. When I eased the cap big gulps of air came up into the reservoir! Topped up radiator with hot water and all now OK.

There must have been an airlock, I guess because I did it all wrong!

Any ideas how it should be done?

Just noticed I'm on the wrong board. I have a 97 Ford Ranger XLT.

Denis
 












That only drains the radiator, about a pint. Most of the coolant, another 10 pints or so is in the engine block.
There is a drain plug somewhere on the bottom of the block.
Can someone tell us where it is?

Denis

lol, no plug on the block, youll get about 2 gallons by draining the radiator, unless like said before, your petcock is plugged. do as mentioned above to flush the coolant in the radiator


as for the air.... forgot to mention you have to burp out all of the air in the system, fill the overflow to the line and fill the rad. to the top, run the engine with the cap off. it will go down when the thermostat opens up. check the coolant level often untill all the air is out.
 






Thanks again, but I'm still mystified!
Opening the petcock gives just over 3-1/2 pints (the 1 pint was a bad guess). The radiator is definitely empty — proved by taking off the hose. The petcock is not blocked (water runs out freely).
The radiator is 20x17x5/8 = 7pts if it was just a hollow box. Assuming it holds about 50% of this, then 3-1/2pts is in the right ballpark figure.

What I am saying is that draining the radiator only drains the coolant in the radiator, not the whole system. Which is 13pts according to the manual.

I have a feeling there's a very simple answer to this!

Denis

PS as I said, I was able to drain the whole system by removing the hose. I am just wondering why other owners can drain the whole system from the radiator petcock.
 












I'm thinking of doing this on Sunday. Might as well change all the hoses, too. Is there a technical article or sticky on this procedure?
 






Yeah Al, that's what I thought, but from reading the other posts most people seem to think they are draining the system.

Bryan, it is an easy job — once you know how <lol>
Just take the hose off the bottom left of the radiator and pull it down a
few inches and the coolant will gush out.
Replace the hose and fill up with water. You can use a chemical, in which case follow the instructions. Run the engine and purge the air.
Drain again and refill with 50:50 antifreeze.
Make sure to purge the air as described by Ranger379. It is very important!

I think that's all there is to it.

Denis
 






Hey Sparky, when you only got 1 pint (which all this talk of pints is making me thirsty at 7am) out of your drain plug on the radiator, your coolant level was full right? And you pulled the rad cap off for air flow right? Because I got about 2 1/2 gallons out including the overflow. The only reason I asked about draining the block is that a coworker suggested it, thats how he does it with his built Mustang. I now know that is unecessary and draining the radiator is more than sufficient as by my second flush the water was pretty much crystal clear (as clear as garden hose water gets). This thread is really starting to crack me up.
 



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Bryan, I wouldnt change the hoses unless necessary just look them over real good, some are not fun to change, especially the top 6" hose to the thermostat (for lack of room). Heres how I did it, and I see you have the 4.0 SOHC as I do so it should be the same.

1. Make sure truck is cool.

2. Remove plastic radiator gaurd that protects the bottom of the radiator. 4 10mm bolts, two on each side.

3. Remove radiator cap.

4. Open plastic drain plug (looks like a plastic bolt, you may need a pair of plyers to get it started). It is on the bottom passenger side of the radiator. Make sure you put a bucket underneath before opening. You do not need to remove the plug all the way, just enough to where you have a good flow. Drain all the coolant. Tighten the drain plug.

p.s.during step 4, you can remove the small Overflow hose from the very top of the radiator (its the small hose that attaches to the left of your radiator cap). Simply unhook it and drop it down into your bucket, run water through the overflow to clean it. Gravity does the work. Hook hose back up.

5. Now its up to you depending on how often you have changed your coolant. I dont know if mine had ever been changed. I added a small bottle of "prestone coolant flush" and filled the rest of the Rad up with water. Start the engine with the cap off. after a minute or so top off the Rad with water and replace Cap. Let the truck idle with the heater on defrost at full blast making sure the coolant cycles everywhere and the thermostat opens up. Turn the truck off and let cool down.

6. Drain Rad again and repeat step 5 with water only.

7. Drain Rad and add 1 Gallon of coolant (make sure you never by the 50/50 premixed coolant, you are then paying $12 for a half gallon of water and instantly become a chump). Fill the rest of the radiator with water. Start truck up with cap off, after a minute or so top off radiator and fill the Overflow bottle to cold fill line. Get truck up to normal operating temp and check for leaks/check coolant level again to make sure its full. You are done.

Give yourself ample time (2-3 hours) to do this as you spend most of your time waiting for the truck to heat up and cool down.
 






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