Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
AH64ID
TDR MEMBER
This is a pretty simple maintenance procedure, but I thought I would throw my . 02 out here for everyone to read.
First off the service manual has the procedure, and it really is quite simple.
In addition to the coolant flush I changed the thermostat. That procedure can also be found in the service manual.
I started off by simply draining the OE fluid into a bucket. It was still very red, no oil, or any contaminates that I could see. There was a little bit of some contaminate the showed up on the 3rd flush in the radiator, but looked liked what I have seen in every cooling system. On my 2nd flush the coolant was much warmer and now had a small oil film on the top. But my buckets were new and I attribute that to the new plastic and warm water, something to consider if you find the same conditions when you flush your system.
Since it was in the 20's and snowing yesterday I knew I would have a hard time making the coolant warm enough to open the thermostat to get a good flush, and removing the thermostat would cause a leak so I modified my OE thermostat. A freind of mine calls this a "Hawaii T-Stat".
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So I drained the block/radiator 5 times. This may seem excessive, but consider this. A drain only gets about 4-5 gallons out, and its a 7. 4 gallon system. So I wanted to ensure that I had as much of the old coolant out as possible.
What I would do is drain it, very slow about 30 minutes to drain, then fill it with distilled water, and start it. I would then top it off with the engine idling, put the pressure cap back on and bump the idle to 1100 and turn the EB on to get some heat. With my Hawaii T-stat and a 30ish degree garage (cant fit the truck in with the door closed) and the hood open the coolant would only get to 114*. I would let it get to 114* then turn the EB off and bump the idle to 1500 for a few minutes. Then shut it down, drain, and repeat.
This photo shows 1 gallon from each flush, with the full strength OE fluid on the left and an unopened gallon of water on the right. Drains 4 and 5 were identical in color, so I assumed that was about my point of diminishing returns.
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For coolant I chose Zerex G-05, its HOAT and the factory fill. HOAT coolant is very difficult to find, and HOAT is not compatible with non-HOAT. I think I paid about $11/gal for it at NAPA. (Even thou its the OEM fluid, its not pink it's a yellow, which is really hard to see in the overflow tank)
Since its a 7. 4 gallon system and only 4-5 gallons drain you MUST, I repeat MUST, use concentrated coolant, not a 50:50 pre-mix (even thou the service manual states 50:50 you don't want to do this, it will yeild you a 25-40% mix at most). You need to add 3. 7 gallons of coolant to the system to have a 50:50 mix. First thing to do is to make 1. 5 gallons of pre-mix, this is for the overflow tank. Fill the overflow tank to the FULL line and pour the rest of the 50:50 in the radiator. Now add the remaining 3 gallons to the radiator. Now, and only now, will you and any straight distilled water to the radiator. I was only able to get about . 5gallons of distilled water in after the coolant, so even adding a gallon of distilled first will mess up your 50:50 desierd mix. Now start the enigne with the heater still on full and let it idle for a minute. Then add more distilled water to top it off. Repeat this once. Now you should be full enough that you won't pull your overflow reservoir below ADD.
Take it for a test drive, try to drive it a few miles after you have reached operating temp to get the coolant and water to properly mix throughout the block, radiator, and heater core. This was the hardest part for me, it was 19* outside, and there was 1-3" of snow on the roads. Even with my winter front fully closed I had to get up to 65-70 to get the T-stat to open and mix, then slow and accelerate again... But I got the t-stat to open 6-8 times and am confident I got a good mix.
I used 3. 7 gallons of G-05 and approx 23 gallons of distilled water.
A little trick for pouring the coolant into smaller containers from the bucket. If you have ever put a funnel in a gallon container you know it bubbles and spills since the air cant escape. Try putting a toothpick in the opening of the container with the funnel, works great.
#ad
First off the service manual has the procedure, and it really is quite simple.
2005 Service Manual said:
In addition to the coolant flush I changed the thermostat. That procedure can also be found in the service manual.
2005 Service Manual said:
I started off by simply draining the OE fluid into a bucket. It was still very red, no oil, or any contaminates that I could see. There was a little bit of some contaminate the showed up on the 3rd flush in the radiator, but looked liked what I have seen in every cooling system. On my 2nd flush the coolant was much warmer and now had a small oil film on the top. But my buckets were new and I attribute that to the new plastic and warm water, something to consider if you find the same conditions when you flush your system.
Since it was in the 20's and snowing yesterday I knew I would have a hard time making the coolant warm enough to open the thermostat to get a good flush, and removing the thermostat would cause a leak so I modified my OE thermostat. A freind of mine calls this a "Hawaii T-Stat".
#adSo I drained the block/radiator 5 times. This may seem excessive, but consider this. A drain only gets about 4-5 gallons out, and its a 7. 4 gallon system. So I wanted to ensure that I had as much of the old coolant out as possible.
What I would do is drain it, very slow about 30 minutes to drain, then fill it with distilled water, and start it. I would then top it off with the engine idling, put the pressure cap back on and bump the idle to 1100 and turn the EB on to get some heat. With my Hawaii T-stat and a 30ish degree garage (cant fit the truck in with the door closed) and the hood open the coolant would only get to 114*. I would let it get to 114* then turn the EB off and bump the idle to 1500 for a few minutes. Then shut it down, drain, and repeat.
This photo shows 1 gallon from each flush, with the full strength OE fluid on the left and an unopened gallon of water on the right. Drains 4 and 5 were identical in color, so I assumed that was about my point of diminishing returns.
#adFor coolant I chose Zerex G-05, its HOAT and the factory fill. HOAT coolant is very difficult to find, and HOAT is not compatible with non-HOAT. I think I paid about $11/gal for it at NAPA. (Even thou its the OEM fluid, its not pink it's a yellow, which is really hard to see in the overflow tank)
Since its a 7. 4 gallon system and only 4-5 gallons drain you MUST, I repeat MUST, use concentrated coolant, not a 50:50 pre-mix (even thou the service manual states 50:50 you don't want to do this, it will yeild you a 25-40% mix at most). You need to add 3. 7 gallons of coolant to the system to have a 50:50 mix. First thing to do is to make 1. 5 gallons of pre-mix, this is for the overflow tank. Fill the overflow tank to the FULL line and pour the rest of the 50:50 in the radiator. Now add the remaining 3 gallons to the radiator. Now, and only now, will you and any straight distilled water to the radiator. I was only able to get about . 5gallons of distilled water in after the coolant, so even adding a gallon of distilled first will mess up your 50:50 desierd mix. Now start the enigne with the heater still on full and let it idle for a minute. Then add more distilled water to top it off. Repeat this once. Now you should be full enough that you won't pull your overflow reservoir below ADD.
Take it for a test drive, try to drive it a few miles after you have reached operating temp to get the coolant and water to properly mix throughout the block, radiator, and heater core. This was the hardest part for me, it was 19* outside, and there was 1-3" of snow on the roads. Even with my winter front fully closed I had to get up to 65-70 to get the T-stat to open and mix, then slow and accelerate again... But I got the t-stat to open 6-8 times and am confident I got a good mix.
I used 3. 7 gallons of G-05 and approx 23 gallons of distilled water.
A little trick for pouring the coolant into smaller containers from the bucket. If you have ever put a funnel in a gallon container you know it bubbles and spills since the air cant escape. Try putting a toothpick in the opening of the container with the funnel, works great.
#ad
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So just a little tip to all you first timers... the fan belt goes around the outside of the fan pulley on it's backside. That's why it doesn't have to go over the fan. And if you try putting it over the fan when installing, you get caught on the wire harness to the fan clutch, Ask me how I know. 
(Mag Hitec). At $15. 95 it cost me $150 just for the oil. For some odd reason, possibly due to the dual steering stabilizer installed up front, the front re-useable gasket had deteriorated enough at the bottom that I did not want to reuse it. I just used silicone gasket maker. The steering stabilizer system uses a skid plate mounting system that uses longer bolts and mounts on the lower half of the front dif using longer bolts up against the front cover. One was almost hand tight. I think some oil got down in between and reacted with the gasket. It's a non-stock item. 
