I'm planning on flushing my cooling system, and need to know how much coolant to use. I'm going to use one of those Prestone "T"s, and flush with a cleaner and water. I'm sure that some water will be left in the block, so I need to know how much "straight" coolant/antifreeze to use.

 

Take half your coolant capacity (in owner's manual, I THINK it's 13 quarts total, so 6.5 quarts), add that much coolant, then top off with as much water as needed. That's gonna give you a 50/50 mix, adjust the coolant if you want a different ratio.

 

what he said ^^^.

and makes sure you flush it well. i did mine half *** last time and it looked dirty after just one day

 

You're doing yourself a HUGE favor and saving some time with that flush kit. I've installed those flush kit T's on every vehicle I've owned. They are easy to install, and make the flush SO much easier. Just hook up the garden hose and flush away. After the majority of the coolant has been removed, keep the bottom rad hose off and run water through the system from the hose. Start the truck and crank the heater up full. That'll clean the heater core out too.

Good luck.

 

Here is what I'd suggest:

Your truck is 8yrs old. That means that some level of solids have leached out of the fluid and parts of the engine. The bottom of your rad and bottom of your heater core is where it mostly accumulates.
instead of the "T", do this:

Take the bottom rad hose off
Take the t-stat and top hose off.
Disconnect both heater core hoses on the engine end.
Then use a lawn hose to "flush" the solids (looks like grit) from every which way you can.
Install a new t-stat & re-fill with a 50/50 mix of preston and distilled water and you'll be good to go for many more years.


FYI: Adding a "T" will only flush the fluid. It does not address the debris that settles out and down.

Rich

 

I've been wanting to do a coolant flush on my truck too but I don't know what to do with the old coolant? I live in a suburb, do any of you guys have suggestions as to where you can take the coolant (legally)?

 

I shouldn't have any problem with solids, as I've had the system flushed every 30,000 miles. This is just the first time I'm going to do it myself.

 

You'd be surprised at what comes out when properly flushed with the "T" adapter. And the lower rad hose is already off for the common flush as is.


Most gas stations have a fluid recycling depot. Just put the old coolant in the containers that the new stuff came in. Obviously you'll need a container to catch it in first.