2.5L ('98-'01) what color/type of coolant 2.5l ranger

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

another coolant flush question:
how long must one run the engine to thoroughly cycle the coolant for multiple flushes?
can i just idle the engine for 10 minutes, drain, refill, repeat?
or must i drive the vehicle on a multi-mile trip to get the fluids properly cycled and mixed through the engine/radiator/heatercore?

 

[89longbed]

Youngbuck: After watching that video you posted I did some doublechecking on his info about the VC-5 and tracked down the website I found that claimed to be selling an ESE-M97B44-A spec coolant, and determined that site isn't a reliable source. In your engine Ford was only using inorganic type corrosion inhibitors and they were silicates rather than phosphates. It would be best to stay with that type of coolant since your block is already coated with silicate deposits.

Regarding your question about flushing, You don't need to run it a long time but I would let it run a little longer than the second time the thermostat opens. You should be able to judge that by watching the temp gauge drop when the thermostst opens.

 

[89longbed]

upposedly this 'Prestone Pime' yellow/gold stuff "for all years and models of ford, lincoln, mercury" and it says it adheres to ASTM D3306 and D4895 which is the same ASTM numbers as the ESE-M97B44-A coolant to be used with yr 2000 and older fords

Prestone Prime (https://www.prestone.com/product/prime-conventional-green/) is a low silicate type of IAT. It's not the best choice for you.

 

[Curious Hound]

Some notes on flushing. This is just how I do it.

First, I drain the system as completely as possible.

I have a Prestone flushing tee installed in one of my heater hoses.

Remove thermostat so it doesn't unterfere with flow. Put t-stat housing back in place.

Connect garden hose to the flushing tee. Leave radiator cap off. Run engine with garden hose flowing. Flush 10-15 minutes. Water coming out of radiator should look pretty clean.

Stop engine. Disconnect hose. Drain everything again through radiator drain and bottom hose removed.

While draining, disconnect heater hoses from heater core. Hold the garden hose in the heater core pipes and flush it. Do this in both directions. I then use compressed air ir the "blow" side of my shop vac to try to blow the heater core as dry as possible. Reconnect hoses. Many of us connect the hoses in the opposite direction each time we do a system flush.

Remove the overflow reservoir, empty and flush clean. You may even be able to get a bottle brush inside and clean residue off the tank walls. Empty, dry, reinstall.

Install thermostat with new gasket. Reinstall lower radiador hose and close drain.

I then pour concentrated antifreeze into the radiator to equal about half the system volume. Start adding distilled water. While adding distilled water, I start the engine to circulate everything. At this time, I have the radiator cap off and the cap is still off the flushing tee, which is at the highest point of the sysyem to let air out.

When the coolant starts bubbling out of the flushing tee, I cap it. When radiator is full, I put its cap back on.

Fill reservoir with 50-50 mix or pure coolant.

Stop engine and let it all cool off. As it cools, it may draw coolant from the reservoir. Top off as needed.

Check frequently over the next few days of driving and top off the reservoir if needed.

In my mind, this gets me the most thorough flush possible. Some engines have a block drain plug to help get the block drained good. I've never messed with that on my engines. But it would add a small degree of efficiency in getting old coolant or flushing water out of the block.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

which of those hoses going into the heater core do i want to force water into?

I searched online for a diagram of the 2.5l coolant system and couldn't find anything

 

[SenorNoob]

It wouldn't matter. Coolant can flow either way through the heater core. Hence the swapping hoses when servicing.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

i wanted to remove my thermostat to make this coolant flush go quicker.

well i just realized i havent touched my coolant since 2018 when my thermostat failed and i paid a mechanic to change it. it looks like he added RTV gasket and gorilla tightened the small 10 or 13mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing to the water pump. i cleaned the area and applied pb blaster and it still wont budge and i stripped the head just a little bit, any suggestions on how to proceed from here? i cant heat the area becuase it is plastic.

also are there easy to access matching bolts i can grab from elsewhere in the vehicle? id like to grab replacements next time i visit pick n pull.

 

[SenorNoob]

Those should be easy enough to get a decent hardware store. Look for "Metric Mini Head Hex Flange Bolts"

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You can try using a punch and hammer on the top of the bolts. Some fairly hard taps can sometimes help loosen any rust welds. Even better if you have a helper doing the tapping while you turn a wrench.
Also try tighten the bolt slightly before backing off.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

i realllly shouldve waited till i had a significant amount of driving to do before doing this flush, jfc so much idling and circling the block