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2009 2.3 coolant change procedure?

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Old 05-22-2018
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2009 2.3 coolant change procedure?

Ok another dumb question but on the 09 2.3 there is no radiator cap, well not on the radiator anyway. The cap is on the sealed overflow tank. On other vehicles with this style coolant system that I've worked on there has always been a bleeder valve on top of the engine usually on the thermostat housing. I can find no such bleeder anywhere on this engine. So, after I drain the system what is the proper procedure to refill the coolant and purge the air without a bleeder valve?
 
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Old 05-23-2018
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Degas system was the first system used when pressure caps were added.
You leave air in the top of the radiator, or in this case Degas tank, so coolant has room to expand when it gets hot.
So you never fill Degas system to the top, or it will blow out coolant when it warms up, there will be a FULL LINE on a Degas tank, obviously a COLD full line, lol.

Yes, they don't often put bleeders on engines any longer, or drains in the block to get ALL the old coolant out, lol.
I loosen and remove a higher hose like heater hose at the firewall, or at its by-pass valve.
Then refill the system until coolant start to come out the hose and fitting, that will clear most of the air from the engine, then reattach hose and fill up the rest of the way.

Leave cap off and start engine, it should suck a bit more coolant down, let it idle 2 or 3 minutes then top up, to the LINE only, and put cap on.
Drive it to full warm up and then top it up after full cool down, check it over the next few days when it is stone cold, top up as needed, but should be stable after 1 day.
 
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Old 05-23-2018
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Easy enough, heater hoses are easy to disconnect on this engine. Luckily ford was nice enough to at least install a drain petcock so draining the system is easy. I think this whole Ford's idea of coolant lasting 150,000 miles without maintenance is a joke though. I'm at 65k so if I can at least get a decent amount of the coolant changed I'll be ok. The system isn't dirty or anything, just doing preventative maintenance.
 
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