Inventory of ALL coolant hoses--replacement time!

[fixizin]

Gang, my truck has only 33K mi. on the odo, BUT it is 9 years old, and the coolant in the expansion tank has taken on an ominous BLACK color... I'm assuming one or more hoses is disintegrating internally. (System has never been flushed--my bad.)

Anyway, I want to replace EVERY hose that coolant flows through.

I count 4 hose (sets) total, please tell me if there's more I haven't spotted:

1- Upper rad hose
1- Lower rad hose, with plastic Y (wye) branch
2- Heater hoses, each one wyes off a small diameter hose to the intake manifold (to heat incoming air? )

Did I miss any? Are there any short heater hoses on the cab side of the firewall?

Thanks in advance,

 

[flyingbrick]

Gang, my truck has only 33K mi. on the odo, BUT it is 9 years old, and the coolant in the expansion tank has taken on an ominous BLACK color... I'm assuming one or more hoses is disintegrating internally. (System has never been flushed--my bad.)

Anyway, I want to replace EVERY hose that coolant flows through.

I count 4 hose (sets) total, please tell me if there's more I haven't spotted:

1- Upper rad hose
1- Lower rad hose, with plastic Y (wye) branch
2- Heater hoses, each one wyes off a small diameter hose to the intake manifold (to heat incoming air? )

Did I miss any? Are there any short heater hoses on the cab side of the firewall?

Thanks in advance,

I'd be looking elsewhere, as every time i had a car come into the rad shop with ''black'' coolant it was a head gasket. Do you have coolant in your oil, and or low oil?

 

[Earl43P]

I'd do the "chemical" flush, as planned, THEN replace the hoses after you get clear water.

I also would simply use 5/8" heater hose and forget about the T's for the intake (also called the HWBP mod). You're in FL. No good reason to HEAT the intake, although some will say it COOLS it down to 195*.

After it's been flushed and refilled, then watch for future contamination. I can't fathom you have a head gasket blown and no other symptoms, especially considering the age of your OEM coolant, say what....NINE YEARS????

 

[flyingbrick]

I'd do the "chemical" flush, as planned, THEN replace the hoses after you get clear water.

I also would simply use 5/8" heater hose and forget about the T's for the intake (also called the HWBP mod). You're in FL. No good reason to HEAT the intake, although some will say it COOLS it down to 195*.

After it's been flushed and refilled, then watch for future contamination. I can't fathom you have a head gasket blown and no other symptoms, especially considering the age of your OEM coolant, say what....NINE YEARS????

I had a 98 sunfire come in did everything we could, had to send it out for a head gasket.

And i would not waist my time with a chemical flush, as i have seen them do more harm then good, either take it to a rad shop and have it done the right way or just flush it out with a garden hose at home.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

coolant turns nasty colors without head gasket leaks. while its a possible cause, i wouldnt say its the probable cause.

fixizin, you got all the hoses. there are no hoses inside the cab to worry about. i would follow Earl43P's suggestion on eliminating the hoses to the intake (they are to heat the throttle body to prevent icing, which can be a problem if your not from florida ).

the one flush ive had the best luck with is mac's radiator flush (sold by napa). you want the powdered stuff, not the liquid. just follow the directions on the bottle and your cooling system will be spotless. also note that ford v-6's can sometimes be a bugger to get all the air out of...so be patient and after your done, expect to have to add coolant to the reservoir for a few days or so.

 

[Will]

If it's a head gasket you'll most likely see nasty gasses boiling up with the radiator cap off and the engine warmed up.

Engine cooling systems can be really nasty. My truck is a former US Forest Service truck. When I first looked in the radiator after buying it it was bright green. The next time, it was black. I was really afraid it was wasted. As it turns out, I found a receipt that said the block heater or something had been replaced. So I figured since it had no other symptoms of a head issue I would flush the system a few times with a week in between. And of course, I replaced all the hoses. So it's fixed now. Just the rotting rubber from age had deteriorated them. Just touching them made your finger like charcoal. It might take a few flushes if it had been neglected for 14 years like mine had been. Buy a kit that lets you flush with a hose--simple directions and the hose fitting stays in the heater hose permanently so you can do it easily a number of times. Run straight water in it for a week while you rinse it everyday until its pretty much clean, then refill with coolant.

 

[fixizin]

Guys, thanks for all the responses...

a) Don't think it's a head gasket; the "blackness" is particulate in nature, like a powder you can see swirling in the green... but it IS getting darker lately. Also, crankcase oil looks and smells normal, and nothing dodgy at the tailpipe.

b) Thanks for reminding me about the BLOCK HEATER--mine's got the factory model w/ short 110V cord--but is that in contact with the coolant? Though I've never needed it in NV, AZ, or FL, truck was built in the MN plant, and came with the heater. Sadly, neither Haynes nor Chilton manuals touches on it. Is there a PLUG available if you want to remove the heater???

(Canadian tourists have shown me pics of shopping malls in the Great White North where you park and PLUG IN to a power pedestal... brrrr... lol. )

c) So the consensus is to do any flushes with the OLD hoses in place, to clean out radiator, water pump, etc., withOUT damaging the new hoses? Will it EVER run clear with the old hoses?

d) What's the coolant of choice these days? Green? Red? I haven't kept up with the technology.

e) Should I mix the new stuff with DISTILLED water? Certainly don't want to use the local HARD mineral (calcium+magnesium) tap water...

 

[Will]

Replace all the hoses before you start flushing. They are decaying like crazy. I don't use chemicals to flush out of fear of dissolving something. I use tap water and regular old anti-freeze. If you don't like tap water you could get a jug of drinking water i guess. Or buy a pre-mix. It's not that important.

The block heater can be replaced with a freeze plug. Easy to do.

 

[Southern3.0]

Use green coolant, and like you said we have the hard water here in Fl so it would probably just be easer to buy the premix.


And for Coolant technology theres

The good old green stuff

GM's red Dex Cool, I dont like that stuff, ive noticed it turns real nasty when it gets old.

And the newer Clear or Yellow type is called G-05. I don't know to much about it though, i do know that it smells bad like pool chlorine and it seems like theres oil in it or somthing. I guess it protects aluminum better and because alot of new cars have O ring seals on coolant passeges, I guess it helps stop them from leaking.

Heres some more info on it
http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=10

 

[hihoslvr]

So while we're on this topic: I assume everyone is somehow collecting the antifreeze, and disposing of it properly, right? Yeah, I'm an effin' treehugger, but would also appreciate any tips on how to safely accomplish this task...

 

[Will]

In most places, it's safe to dump it into the drain. Guess you should know that before getting on a high horse. Of course since the Lone Ranger is mounting you, you already know that.

But it is a good point.

 

[hihoslvr]

Whoa! Easy boy! Ain't no high horse, wait Hi-Ho Sliver was the horse? whatever, anyway it is not safe to put that stuff down the drain, even if it is legal, bad news if antifreeze finds its way into your streams, rivers, and lakes.

In my community, it's listed as Haz-Mat, and you need to find a drop-off location, some shops might let you drop off small quantites, but therein lies the problem, because draining and flushing will yield several gallons of tainted fluid. You sure-as-shootin' don't want it anywhere yer dog (or cat) is gonna find it...

 

[pillen140]

dexcool is horrible, why do you think gm cars all need intake reseals around 50,000 miles. they make a 100% waterless coolant (forget what its called) but prevents any rubber or gasket damage, and wont corrode any thing internally like water does.

 

[hihoslvr]

well not to beat a dead horse or anything icon_rofl, but here's a good link:

http://www.eetcorp.com/antifreeze/antifreeze-questions.htm

Likely alot of ya'll already know this stuff, but it's good to review.

ps - my apologies for jackin' this thread

 

[mhughes165]

now adays in completel sewage systems with storm drains and what not they have a 100% sealed water processing system, it cleans out all contaminates from the water, it really is kinda disturbing if u think about u......cause where do u think all that re proscessed water goes lol