Radiator flush and fill on 3.8L

[jsimmoms]

Does anybody have some tricks to make this easy. I just did mine and its a pain trying to get the air out of the system. Also I found out not to use anything but Motorcraft parts for this motor. Seems knock off brands don't really last. Thremostat was replaced 3 months ago and failed open and the bad part was i payed 14 bucks for this one when I got a Motorcraft for 12 bucks tonite.

Thanks James

[phil-l]

I just replaced the thermostat in my 2000 Windstar LX 3.8 yesterday.

Hmmm - I hope my (aftermarket) thermostat hangs on. The OEM thermostat was occasionally sticking open.

Yes, it took me awhile to get rid of the air in the system. I drove up and down the hilliest local roads I could find. I stopped at the side of the road to top off the system several times. Eventually, both front and rear heaters blew hot, though I suspect I'll have to add some more coolant mix in coming days.

[lewisnc100]

Did either of you try the Ford steps for bleeding air out of the system, worked well for me last time.

Steps for Filling - Bleeding

1 - During the initial fill, fill the degas bottle to the top of the cold fill range.
2 - Move the temperature blend selector to the full warm position and the fan motor control to MAX for the front and rear unit, if equipped.
3 - Start the vehicle with the degas bottle cap off and allow to idle until the thermostat is open.
4 - Top off the coolant in the degas bottle to the top of the cold fill range, install and tighten the degas bottle cap.
5 - Increase the engine rpms to 3000 for 15 seconds, and then return to idle for one minute.
6 - Repeat the previous step four times or until heat is coming from the rear unit while the vehicle is idling.
7 - Allow the vehicle to cool and top off the coolant in the degas bottle to the cold fill range.

[phil-l]

I filled the system and allowed the van to run for quite some time (with both temp selectors set max temp), while cleaning up the shop (probably about 20 minutes). I topped of the reservoir several times - but both heaters still ran cold.

I didn't start getting consistent heat until I drove up and down some hills...

[garync1]

I never had an issue with bleeding the air out. I just unhooked the bottom hose drained the old stuff out filled with water ran for a few minutes pulled the bottom hose off repeated a few times and filled with 50 50 mix seeing that I have no cap to radiator I just added a little water and put 100% coolant/antifreeze to the coolant tank, the 50 50 may be a little off..ran the motor with cap off for a few minutes and added coolant until full line was reached. after it reached operation temp I waited until cool enough to open cap and added a tiny bit more.. Never had a problem..I may have did it wrong, but it worked for me. hope this helps..

[phil-l]

You didn't see the problem because you only drained the coolant from the engine - both of your heater cores (presuming you have rear heat) aren't drained through the engine hoses.

I removed one of the hoses in the back, as well as the heater supply hose (immediately behind the thermostat housing; it uses a plastic snap attachment). This meant there was a lot of air in the lines after filling the system. It can take some effort to work the trapped air out of the system.