Cooling system flush

[mikkelstuff]

I really need to flush the cooling system in my 3.0L '02 Ranger.

With older vehicles, I have spliced a garden hose connection into one of the heater core hoses and run water through the engine and radiator while draining with the lower radiator hose disconnected - after running a cooling system cleaner through the system.

Looking at my '02 Ranger, I'm not sure if it is possible to splice a garden hose connector into one of the heater hoses. Both hoses have factory fittings in those hoses. One I believe to be a vacuum controlled valve.

I might be able to splice in where the one heater hose makes a 90 deg downturn into the engine near the thermostat housing if that will fill bypass the thermostat to fill the engine block.

Any experience with this?

 

[Curious Hound]

I really need to flush the cooling system in my 3.0L '02 Ranger.

With older vehicles, I have spliced a garden hose connection into one of the heater core hoses and run water through the engine and radiator while draining with the lower radiator hose disconnected - after running a cooling system cleaner through the system.

Looking at my '02 Ranger, I'm not sure if it is possible to splice a garden hose connector into one of the heater hoses. Both hoses have factory fittings in those hoses. One I believe to be a vacuum controlled valve.

I might be able to splice in where the one heater hose makes a 90 deg downturn into the engine near the thermostat housing if that will fill bypass the thermostat to fill the engine block.

Any experience with this?

It should still work fine. Splice in between the thermostat and the vacuum valve, which I believe is what you proposed. I'm pretty sure that if you turn the heater controls on to max heat, that should ensure that the heater core also gets flushed.