Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Dave MacArthur
TDR MEMBER
I just did my first coolant change and flush. Here's how it went;
1) Open radiator petcock (drain). This was somewhat difficult. I used a pair of needlenose pliers and went easy. Twist a little, pull out a little, etc, etc.
2) It took about 5+ minutes to drain the overflow tank (leave radiator cap on).
3) Open radiator cap.
4) While the rest of the system was draining I removed the overflow tank to clean it out (it had quite a bit of gunk on the bottom). Disconnect the hose that goes between the radiator and the overflow tank at the radiator (no clamp). There is a little button on the back of the overflow tank that fits into a hole in the fan shroud. Just stick a screwdriver between the overflow tank and the fan shroud and lift the overflow tank. It comes off very easy. I cleaned it out and left it off for now as it allows more room to get to the lower radiator hose.
5) It took about 20+ minutes to finish draining. I used a 5-gallon (drywall type) bucket to catch the old coolant. It filled up to within 3 or 4 inches of the top of the bucket (my truck was sitting a little nose down, about 6 inches lower in the front). The old coolant looked a lot like pea soup. A little thinner maybe, but pretty bad. I should have changed it earlier. It had almost 4 years and 70,000 miles on it.
6) Remove the lower radiator hose at the engine. This was quite difficult. The next time I will buy whatever pliers are made to work on the hose clamps. I used a pair of Channel locks but they didn’t grip the clamp very well. Then I went to pull the hose off. That’s when I discovered that you could actually weld rubber and steel together. I tried everything to pull the hose off. Twisting, pulling, wiggling it up and down. I even tried using a huge pair of Channel locks to twist the hose. I was careful not to tear up the hose but I was really trying. Then I got the idea to use a hook tool that I have. It looks just like a screwdriver but it has a small sharp hook on the end. I carefully inserted the hook between the hose and the engine flange and pulled a little. I worked my way around the hose being careful to keep the hook from gouging the metal or puncturing the hose (the inside diameter of the hook is about the size of a pencil). It worked incredibly well. This is a definite must. It broke the seal and got the hose moving a little. Then I was able to pull it off by hand very easily.
7) Disconnect the heater core intake hose from the engine head. This was fairly easy. The clamp is smaller and easier to get to.
8) Install 5/8’s inch flushing “tee” on the end of the heater hose. I then cut a 3 or 4-inch section of 5/8’s inch heater hose and connected it to the other side of the tee. I connected this back to the engine head. I did it this way so I could just remove it and not have the tee permanently mounted in the heater hose. I didn’t use any clamps on the tee set up.
9) Attach water hose to the tee and turn the water on slowly then up until getting a good flow out of the engine. I ran this about 8 or 10 minutes. Turn off the water and pull out the tee. Leave the heater hose loose for now.
10) Next I stuck the water hose in the radiator cap opening and flushed out the radiator. The petcock was still open. I also lifted up the lower radiator hose so that the radiator would fill up all the way. I flushed it for about 5 minutes and then shut off the water and lowered the radiator hose and let the radiator drain again.
11) Close petcock. Twist, push, etc. , etc. I used the needlenose pliers again because it was tight.
12) Next, I took the remaining piece of heater hose (I bought a 1 foot piece) and attached it to the heater hose connection in the engine head (where the heater core intake hose attaches). I put a funnel in the hose and started pouring the Fleetguard premix coolant in. I wanted to flush out any water remaining in the engine. Almost immediately blue coolant started running out of the engine. I poured ½ gallon through in total.
13) Pull the hose and funnel off. Re-attach the Heater intake hose to its fitting in the head and slide the clamp back down.
14) Re-attach the lower radiator hose. Once again, without the correct tool, this was a real pain to get the clamp slid back into place.
15) Replace the overflow tank and re-attach the hose to the radiator.
16) Fill the radiator with coolant. It takes a few minutes to let the air bubbles out. Top it off and put the radiator cap back on. Don’t do this with the engine running like you normally would. There is a valve that allows the air to escape but only when the engine is not running.
17) Fill the overflow tank to the full mark.
18) Start, check for leaks, and go for a drive to bring it up to operating temperature.
19) Recheck the overflow tank for the next few heat cycles and add more coolant if necessary. Mine didn’t need any more (yet anyway).
1) Open radiator petcock (drain). This was somewhat difficult. I used a pair of needlenose pliers and went easy. Twist a little, pull out a little, etc, etc.
2) It took about 5+ minutes to drain the overflow tank (leave radiator cap on).
3) Open radiator cap.
4) While the rest of the system was draining I removed the overflow tank to clean it out (it had quite a bit of gunk on the bottom). Disconnect the hose that goes between the radiator and the overflow tank at the radiator (no clamp). There is a little button on the back of the overflow tank that fits into a hole in the fan shroud. Just stick a screwdriver between the overflow tank and the fan shroud and lift the overflow tank. It comes off very easy. I cleaned it out and left it off for now as it allows more room to get to the lower radiator hose.
5) It took about 20+ minutes to finish draining. I used a 5-gallon (drywall type) bucket to catch the old coolant. It filled up to within 3 or 4 inches of the top of the bucket (my truck was sitting a little nose down, about 6 inches lower in the front). The old coolant looked a lot like pea soup. A little thinner maybe, but pretty bad. I should have changed it earlier. It had almost 4 years and 70,000 miles on it.
6) Remove the lower radiator hose at the engine. This was quite difficult. The next time I will buy whatever pliers are made to work on the hose clamps. I used a pair of Channel locks but they didn’t grip the clamp very well. Then I went to pull the hose off. That’s when I discovered that you could actually weld rubber and steel together. I tried everything to pull the hose off. Twisting, pulling, wiggling it up and down. I even tried using a huge pair of Channel locks to twist the hose. I was careful not to tear up the hose but I was really trying. Then I got the idea to use a hook tool that I have. It looks just like a screwdriver but it has a small sharp hook on the end. I carefully inserted the hook between the hose and the engine flange and pulled a little. I worked my way around the hose being careful to keep the hook from gouging the metal or puncturing the hose (the inside diameter of the hook is about the size of a pencil). It worked incredibly well. This is a definite must. It broke the seal and got the hose moving a little. Then I was able to pull it off by hand very easily.
7) Disconnect the heater core intake hose from the engine head. This was fairly easy. The clamp is smaller and easier to get to.
8) Install 5/8’s inch flushing “tee” on the end of the heater hose. I then cut a 3 or 4-inch section of 5/8’s inch heater hose and connected it to the other side of the tee. I connected this back to the engine head. I did it this way so I could just remove it and not have the tee permanently mounted in the heater hose. I didn’t use any clamps on the tee set up.
9) Attach water hose to the tee and turn the water on slowly then up until getting a good flow out of the engine. I ran this about 8 or 10 minutes. Turn off the water and pull out the tee. Leave the heater hose loose for now.
10) Next I stuck the water hose in the radiator cap opening and flushed out the radiator. The petcock was still open. I also lifted up the lower radiator hose so that the radiator would fill up all the way. I flushed it for about 5 minutes and then shut off the water and lowered the radiator hose and let the radiator drain again.
11) Close petcock. Twist, push, etc. , etc. I used the needlenose pliers again because it was tight.
12) Next, I took the remaining piece of heater hose (I bought a 1 foot piece) and attached it to the heater hose connection in the engine head (where the heater core intake hose attaches). I put a funnel in the hose and started pouring the Fleetguard premix coolant in. I wanted to flush out any water remaining in the engine. Almost immediately blue coolant started running out of the engine. I poured ½ gallon through in total.
13) Pull the hose and funnel off. Re-attach the Heater intake hose to its fitting in the head and slide the clamp back down.
14) Re-attach the lower radiator hose. Once again, without the correct tool, this was a real pain to get the clamp slid back into place.
15) Replace the overflow tank and re-attach the hose to the radiator.
16) Fill the radiator with coolant. It takes a few minutes to let the air bubbles out. Top it off and put the radiator cap back on. Don’t do this with the engine running like you normally would. There is a valve that allows the air to escape but only when the engine is not running.
17) Fill the overflow tank to the full mark.
18) Start, check for leaks, and go for a drive to bring it up to operating temperature.
19) Recheck the overflow tank for the next few heat cycles and add more coolant if necessary. Mine didn’t need any more (yet anyway).
