Coolant Flush Question

[frankmako]

I know this question has come up before, but I am not clear on the correct answer. I have asked this question on other sites in hope of getting the best knowledge base out there.

My EOT – ECT runs between 9 – 12 degrees @ 60 mph on flat ground with some small rises. This test run was for 35 miles after a freeway run @ 75 mph for 15 miles with hills and some flat ground. When I run the truck hard they will run between 12 – 20 @ 75 to 85 mph on the freeway with heavy hills and some flat ground. My ECT does not break 186 degrees no matter how fast, hard, and/or far I run the truck. The ECT normally stays around 182 degrees no matter what the outside temp is. I did two test runs, one at 31 degrees and the second one at 60 degrees. At the end of the second test run the ECT was 186 degrees and the EOT was 200 degrees. This was at the end of a 49 mile run with the last 15 miles hard freeway driving with hills at 75+ mph.

The truck is a 2004 with 88k miles and I don’t know if it has had any flushing and/or oil cooler work done. I am looking at doing a flush along with the back flush of the oil cooler and heater. Also, I am looking at changing to a HD ELC. I have a coolant filer system that I will put on after the flushing. I have researched the net to see how to do the flush. But it looks like either the Restore and/or Restore + is what killing the oil coolers. If I do several fill/drain/back flush do I need to use the Restore/Restore +? I know the Restore will take out some junk/goo and I am thinking about using it. But most of my reading shows that the Restore + is breaking up the junk that is plugging the oil cooler.

If I was going to do a cooler/egr change I would do a Restore and Restore + along with many back flushing to try and get all I can out before the new cooler/egr goes in. But this is not the case; this should be just a normal coolant flush with Restore and many back flushings.

 

[tankerdude]

This is gonna sound strange, I know.

A little while back I did a flush on my '05. Since I bought it used, I don't know if the previous owner ever did it.

Anywho, I followed the flushing procedures with the following exception.

I used an entire gallon of white vinegar with each of 4 cycles of tap water.

IE: drain the radiator, pour in the vinegar, fill the rest of the way with hose water.
Run/drive until up to normal operating temperature.

4 times draining this concoction through the radiator petcock.

I'm telling you, there was an un-f'ing-believable amount of crap that came out of that system.

Rinsed the system out with 3 more flush/fills of hose water, then 2 flush/fills using distilled water.

After that, Fords Premium Gold coolant and distilled water.

I know, sounds wierd, huh?

Well, my thinking was that the vinegar is nothing but a mild acid, and diluted as it was with all the other water in the system, it couldn't do anything BUT eat the crud out of the system.

To be honest, I don't know for a certainty whether it did any good or not, but time will tell. What I do know for sure what that all the yellow crap that wound up in the bottom of my bucket sure as hell didn't need to be in the system.

So, there you have it.