An Ode To The Coolant Flush - Coyote 5.0

[SOHCman]

Ford thought he was a clever fellow

Used orange dexclone, when he should have used yellow

Now I flush thirty gallons until clear I see

To rid myself of the dexclone looking pee

100K it went, until total destruction

Nearly causing a coolant eruption

Radiator was swapped after a Prestone citric acid flush. This is inside the old radiator (after flush) still with full on additive fallout

It brings a tear to my eye, so beautiful.

In summary, don't follow the 100K recommendation - especially with Ford Orange coolant. Luckily you can exchange the coolant fairly easily idling the engine and draining via the return hose to the de-gas tank using a long vinyl hose and many, many gallons of distilled water. Seeing the final bucket turn clear blue was a relief since several traditional coolant drops with new yellow had seemingly done nothing. This finally turned the tide from orange to yellow since most of the ~4 gallon coolant capacity stays in the system.

Cheers,
SOHC

 

[ripcord]

The Mustang doc prescribes a drain and fill every two years to keep the pipes clear.

 

[SOHCman]

The Mustang doc prescribes a drain and fill every two years to keep the pipes clear.

Interesting, is that under severe "track" service schedule or just the normal Mustang maint schedule?

The "(Insert manufacturer) knows what these vehicles need" mindset regarding "lifetime" and/or 100k fluid intervals is very prevalent, when common sense tells you its just to get the vehicle out of warranty and advertise low cost of ownership.

I missed a photo, this is the return out of the old radiator to the de-gas tank.

 

[ripcord]

No, two year drain intervals (I don't mean a flush) are overkill according to Ford, but coolant is cheap and it will prevent the buildup your are seeing. You could definitely go longer but why stretch it too far?