New SHO owner, coolant flush question

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Joshua831121

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Hello all! I recently bought my 1st SHO (2010, ingot silver) & im pretty excited! I'm looking at doing a coolant flush on it as I'm unsure when the last time that was done & I had a question as to what coolant & or additives you guys would recommend? Thank you for your time & knowlage
 

SHOdded

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Welcome & congrats! Motorcraft brand is a good choice ("OEM"). Also universal extended life coolants that meet Ford's specs for your 2010's requirements. Prestone, Peak, Zerex, etc.
 

Johnbigdog

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And go buy some distilled water. This will insure that the chemicals and minerals in the water won't negatively affect the system.
 

SHOinVa

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The dealership and a local repair shop want over a $100 to do a flush so I have been thinking of doing it myself. So my question to those who have actually done it before, How do you flush the system, I have seen on line where the drain plug is so that looks simple, but how do you pressurize the system to do the flush. Back in the old days you could splice a fitting into heater hose line and flush it that way. Pretty sure its not that simple now a days.
Charlie/
 

Johnbigdog

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Water transfers heat better than strait coolant but it does not do well for freeze and corrosion protection.

The chemical you mention I have no familiarity with and cannot say if any damage will not occur at or below 32 degrees F.
 

SHOdded

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Is it better to use distilled water only w/ Joe Gibbs CSP (coolant system protector) ??
Sounds like a product similar to Amsoil Coolant Boost
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/other-products/antifreeze/dominator-coolant-boost/
or Redline Water Wetter
https://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=74&pcid=10

Not sure how effective it would be in comparison to these 2. But really should not be used with straight water unless the ambient conditions are always above freezing, to be safe.

From Redline's literature:
BOILING POINT ELEVATION Red Line WaterWetter® does not significantly increase the boiling point of water; however, increasing pressure will raise the boiling point. The boiling point of water treated with Red Line using a 15 psi cap is 250°F compared to 265°F at 15 psi for 50% glycol. Increasing the pressure by 50% to 23 psi will increase the boiling point of water to 265°F. Because of the doubling of the ability of the radiator to transfer heat, boilover using Red Line treated water is not a problem as long as the engine is circulating coolant through the head and the fan is circulating air. Sudden shutdown after very hard driving may cause boilover.

FREEZING POINT DEPRESSION Red Line WaterWetter® does not significantly reduce the freezing point of water. If the vehicle will see freezing temperatures, an antifreeze must be used. Water expands approximately 9% upon freezing which can cause severe engine damage. Even in summertime, the use of air-conditioning can blow freezing air through the heater and cause freezing of the heater core unless approximately 20% antifreeze is used.
 

SHOinVa

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Ford OEM coolant is like 30 to 40 dollars a gallon. So $100 for them to do it isnt bad. Plus you don't have to worry about getting rid of the old.

LMAO You know you may have a very good point, I just ordered some tools I need to change the spark plugs and the thought occurred to me by the time I get everything I think I need; I could have paid someone to do it. The price of concentrated was $26 and I paid $16 for some mixed just in case I needed it. That being said the one thing I really wanted Ford to do was flush the PTO and they don't even know how much it would be. They have never serviced a SHO PTO and keep asking me how many miles it had on it. You just can not find a good mechanic anymore.
C/
 

BamSHO

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Yeah spark change is easy, and what they charge for that is way too much. Going to have a trusted dealer near me do coolant flush on my SHO and wife's Escape with the 2.0 Ecoboost.
 

SHOinVa

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Yeah spark change is easy, and what they charge for that is way too much. Going to have a trusted dealer near me do coolant flush on my SHO and wife's Escape with the 2.0 Ecoboost.

IDK Its looks like a lot of things are in the way and have to be moved or worked around, I also heard the old boots can be a real bi!*h to get out. I am going to give it a try as I have plenty of time but I may regret it. I really wish I could find someone who knows about the PTO.
C/
 

Linemonkey

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IDK Its looks like a lot of things are in the way and have to be moved or worked around, I also heard the old boots can be a real bi!*h to get out. I am going to give it a try as I have plenty of time but I may regret it. I really wish I could find someone who knows about the PTO.
C/
It's really not hard at all. All my boots popped right off. Just have some long needle nose pliers on hand, if you have trouble. Even then, not a big deal. Be sure to use anti-seize dielectric grease

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 

moonie

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IDK Its looks like a lot of things are in the way and have to be moved or worked around, I also heard the old boots can be a real bi!*h to get out. I am going to give it a try as I have plenty of time but I may regret it. I really wish I could find someone who knows about the PTO.
C/
I changed the plugs a couple of times on my 2011 SHO, first time I followed the DIY to the letter removing a bracket even though the DIY said you probably didn't need to. Next time I didn't, was really simple, no issues at all.
 

SHOinVa

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Every job no matter how easy can always turn into a nightmare, it has happened to me more then once over the years. But, I just got back from Sears and as usual I went a little crazy on the tool purchase, so I really have no choice to give it a try. One day, somebody will inherit a whole lot of barely used tools.
C/
 

SHOinVa

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It's really not hard at all. All my boots popped right off. Just have some long needle nose pliers on hand, if you have trouble. Even then, not a big deal. Be sure to use anti-seize dielectric grease

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I changed the plugs a couple of times on my 2011 SHO, first time I followed the DIY to the letter removing a bracket even though the DIY said you probably didn't need to. Next time I didn't, was really simple, no issues at all.

Thanks Guys, It went pretty well BUT I can see how it could turn into a nightmare, and I have a pretty good tool kit for someone who doesn't really work on cars, When I go to Sears I buy a lot of things "I might need one day". Pretty sure plugs where original, not horrible but it was time and the gap was not even close. Thermostat was easy, I spent more time trying to fish my extension out of that valley on top of the trans, Cold Air took longer then I expected but I was tiered. Best thing I could have done, it runs noticeably better and over 60 miles my MPG is up by 2.5. At that rate plugs will pay for them selves. Thanks again for the encouragement, Have a great weekend.
C/
 

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