Hey everyone. So I made a mistake so to say and looking for advice. I drove a 2000 Ls from 08-17. Did lots of work loved the car so much I wanted a second gen so in 2018 I bought a 03 v8. Got a good deal but the upper plastic radiator hose was busted at the dealer where I bought it and I replaced all plastic parts first two weeks of having the car. BUT for about the first two weeks I was running the car I had mistakenly used green coolant cause that what my 2000 used. Oops. Changed it immediately and flushed best I could. Now I need to flush again and there seems to be a dark color and some gummy substance inside my degas bottle so I’m assuming that’s through out the system. Planing on flushing it again today but what chemicals or products are good to use when trying to clean this all out. I’ve heard vinegar? I’ve heard degreaser? Just trying to get thoughts on the situation before I start. Thanks for any advice
Best cooling system flush method?
- Thread starter 03 ivy
- Start date
Thanks as always joe!!After draining all the coolant out this morning it actually doesn’t appear that bad. I did use the gold stuff in 2018 after flushing the green out completely. I flushed a few times till it was clear of any green. It now appears to be a more orange color but there is still a dark color and gummy stuff on the inside of the degas bottle. Looking in the engine fill cap from what I can see it looks nice and clean viewing the thermostat. Wondering if I should replace degas bottle again before that stuff works it’s way into the rest of cooling system. Also my motorcraft upper radiator hoses seem to be deteriorating only on the top half. Even on the outside. Is that normal for oem parts? The car sits often for a few days at a time and it looks black gum on the top of the hoses. Can actually scrape off a rubbery gum on the outside of the hoses.
And what about the metal degas bottle from China on eBay. Does it fit the gen 2 and is it a bad idea? I always go motorcraft when replacing coolant parts but I was just curious about the metal one.
Coolant Radiator Overflow Bottle Tank for Lincoln LS Ford Thunderbird New | eBay
Coolant Radiator Overflow Bottle Tank for Lincoln LS Ford Thunderbird New | eBay
no they did that shortly after I installed them. I hadn’t used any cleaner in the engine bay before I noticed. It appears to be just the top half of the hoses and only the ones I replaced. They are all motorcraft parts. Here’s a couple pics you can see the goo that’s built up on them. And the stuff inside the degas bottle.
ajv8
Well-Known LVC Member
fill full of distilled water
drain
repeat till clear
fill 6 quarts of g05/gold
finish rest with water
bleed
you may want to check your transmission fluid, cooler failure at the radiator can make your coolant look like this
drain
repeat till clear
fill 6 quarts of g05/gold
finish rest with water
bleed
you may want to check your transmission fluid, cooler failure at the radiator can make your coolant look like this
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joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
The LS has an air-to-oil transmission cooler. There is no connection between the radiator and the transmission! (No in the radiator transmission cooler.)
Thank you for the info and flushing procedure. After digging in a little more it seems to be only gummy and discolored inside the degas bottle. All other places that I could Check out seemed pretty clean still and no sign of the gummy stuff. Was actually pleased on how clean the thermostat and radiator seem. Think I will be ordering a new oem degas bottle just to be safe. Thanks as always to everyone on lvc!!!