ive noticed that my coolant reservoir is pretty much empty, and what is in there is brownish. so im thinking i want to replace the fluid. after searching on here, i've decided not to flush, as i have a high millage engine (144,0xx). my question is, if i just want to drain it, and refill it, how do i go about doing this? and how much coolant will i need for the 4.0L? thanks!

 

on the bottom passanger side of the radiator theres a white plastic screw..Unscrew that and take off the cap on the radiator itll drain out...Id buy 2 gallons, that plenty...Id clense it though....

Take out the resvoir and clean it, then fill it up halfway

 

There is a valve on the side/bottom of the radiator. That's how you drain it.

IMO with that many miles I'd remove the bottom rad hose from the radiator only. Hang it out of the way. Then spray a water hose down in the rad until nothing but clear water runs out. Then reconnect and fill with a 50/50 mix.

Leave the rad cap off and start the motor. Let it warm up until the t-stat opens. When it does the top hose will get too hot to touch and the fluid level will drop. Top it off with 50/50 mix and put the cap back on. Then over the next few drives just keep an eye on the reservior bottle fill level. It might go down a little... but not too much if all is well.

Rich

 

I'm with Rich, clean that baby out with a hose. try to drain all the radiator fluid into a bucket first though.

 

so i want a green 50/50 fluid right? not an orange one? the reservoir has a picture of the green fluid with a check mark and orange with a red 'X'

 

yes you want the green. mix it 50/50 or you can buy premix

 

It's cheaper to mix it yourself.

The green is ethol glycol. (used for many years and lasts 2-3 years)

The red or orange stuff is "long life" coolant and will last for 5 yrs.


Rich

 

Orange does last longer, but DO NOT USE orange. Only use what ever color you originally drained out (put in this case, yours being brown)

I flushed mine last year, just hose thru rad till ran clear. Took awhile!
Mixed 40/60 myself.

 

i think mine is only brown because its old and dirty. i checked today, and my owners manual says green.

 

I wonder what year they went to the "premium gold coolant". My 05 calls for that and only that. Can't use the green or orange coolant. Mine doesn't need to be changed until I hit 100K miles. I think the only place you can get it is from ford. Never seen it in any stores.

 

The only problem I see with changing it myself is disposing if the old coolant.

 

If what you have is brown, I'd have it flushed (or flush it yourself)!

 

ya, i was wondering about that. if i'm running water from a hose through the system, i'm sure i will need like a 5 gallon bucket to catch all that water and coolant.

so i'm still not sure how much i need. ranger_1999 said 2 gallons, but thats if draining it only. i think i'm going to flush it, so i'm sure thats more than 2 gallons.

 

when you pull the lower radiator hose collect that, then you dont need to collect the rest, it will be diluted down enough IMO

 

Only 1 gal is needed for a stock ranger. (if you mix it yourself)

 

i see, so its "clean" enough to go down the storm drain.

 

There is coolant in my reservoir and it looks ok. I want to flush it because I have 111,000 miles and i doubt it's been ever changed.

 

Naw it ain't that clean. Probably clean enough to throw in your neighbors back yard though.

On second thought.. might wanna take it to a waste disposal place. Or sometimes auto parts places, or even a auto repair shop.

Rich

 

Yea, I cut the top off a 5 gallon water cooler bottle, turned it upside down and would catch till full, dump in a secret location where no pets or run off would be affected, then ran back to catch more. Once "clean" I just let it run to the street for a few minutes.

 

if you mix yourself try to use distilled water in the mix....

 

I used to think it doesn't really matter if you properly dispose of chemicals such as anti-freeze, but a good friend of mine lost thier dog because it started licking some spilled anti freeze on the garage floor. Dogs absolutely love the taste of it and it's incredibly lethal to them. Just something to consider for any of you guys with dogs. I know I always hose down the driveway real good after adding or changing any fluids in my truck from now on.

 

How does one fill it back up? I just noticed on my 2.3L there is no spot on the rad to fill, simply an upper and lower hose... disconnect the lower hose to drain and then disconnect the upper hose and run a garden hose in it? Or is there a better way? Also how does one drain the reservoir container?

Thanks,
-Nigel