Flushing cooling system

Hi folks,
My vehicle is a 98 5.0 Mountaineer with 110K miles, I think it is waaay
beyond time to change anti-freeze and clean the cooling system.
My first question is: Is there a drain on the radiator? If so, where. If
not, I suppose one just takes off one end of the lower hose. What is the
preferred way to clean the system?
Thanks again for all the great help,
Steve

"Esteban" > wrote in message
...
> Hi folks,
> My vehicle is a 98 5.0 Mountaineer with 110K miles, I think it is waaay
> beyond time to change anti-freeze and clean the cooling system.
> My first question is: Is there a drain on the radiator? If so, where.
If
> not, I suppose one just takes off one end of the lower hose. What is the
> preferred way to clean the system?
> Thanks again for all the great help,
> Steve
>
>

I can't say on the Mountaineer in particular but most radiators have a drain
valve at the bottom on one side or the other. I generally use a 5 gallon
bucket to drain it into. The only hard part is finding a place to take the
used coolant. It has to go to some kind of toxic waste center. If you try
to let it evaporate you might kill any animals that drink it. If you dump
it the EPA willl feed you to the Kangaroo Rats.

You can buy a can/bottle of Radiator Flush and follow the directions.

"Ulysses" /> wrote in message
...
>
> "Esteban" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi folks,
> > My vehicle is a 98 5.0 Mountaineer with 110K miles, I think it is waaay
> > beyond time to change anti-freeze and clean the cooling system.
> > My first question is: Is there a drain on the radiator? If so, where.
> If
> > not, I suppose one just takes off one end of the lower hose. What is
the
> > preferred way to clean the system?
> > Thanks again for all the great help,
> > Steve
> >
> >
>
> I can't say on the Mountaineer in particular but most radiators have a
drain
> valve at the bottom on one side or the other. I generally use a 5 gallon
> bucket to drain it into. The only hard part is finding a place to take
the
> used coolant. It has to go to some kind of toxic waste center. If you
try
> to let it evaporate you might kill any animals that drink it. If you dump
> it the EPA willl feed you to the Kangaroo Rats.
>
> You can buy a can/bottle of Radiator Flush and follow the directions.
>
Any place that sells anti-freeze has to take back the old stuff. That's the
law. Add 2 gallons of new anti-freeze to the radiator and using a funnel,
pour the old anti-freeze into the 2 containers. Then return it to the store.

John/mass

Can't say for the V8 but on the V6 there is a drain valve on the bottom
of the radiator but it's hidden by a plastic shield. If you remove it
you will see the drain.

Ken

Esteban wrote:

> Hi folks,
> My vehicle is a 98 5.0 Mountaineer with 110K miles, I think it is waaay
> beyond time to change anti-freeze and clean the cooling system.
> My first question is: Is there a drain on the radiator? If so, where. If
> not, I suppose one just takes off one end of the lower hose. What is the
> preferred way to clean the system?
> Thanks again for all the great help,
> Steve
>
>