Wow. Been a while on this thread.....sorry, guys!
Been enjoying the little bit of "summer" we got this year with some evening moonroof cruises to/from marching band. Truck is running smooth as ever. Still grinning ear to ear with the 6.0 over 3.73s. Talk about pull. I've laughed at more than my fair share of ricers that eye up the Foose 22s at red lights. When they catch me at the next light, the looks on their faces are priceless. Lol!
But alas, winter is almost upon us, and I have resolved to never let this truck see snow, or more importantly, salt. So with a beautiful 55* autumn day, I figured it was time to start winterizing. Hopefully she sees a couple more miles yet this year. At least needs a final wash, for sure.
I know there is a tiny coolant leak somewhere, because I can smell it occasionally and the level drops ever so slightly. I have been topping her off with water throughout the summer (though not much or often). I am unaware of the ratio now, and the coolant looks green, but dirty. Last thing I want is to freeze the block this winter. So a flush and fill it is.
I gathered 6 gallons of distilled water and 3 gallons of Prestone DexCool. I pulled the drain plug on the radiator, and this is what I got...
Gross!
I filled her with the hose, ran both front & rear heat full blast, and got her idling up to temp (used the scanner to be sure). Shut her down and drained again.
I repeated this process about 5 times. It was draining much clearer by then, and I had a rehearsal to get to, so I filled her with the hose once more and made the 30 min trip to rehearsal and the 30 min trip home.
When I got home I drained her again (pretty clean), but this time filled her up with 3 gallons of distilled. Let her run/burp for a good 20-30 minutes. Temps got the highest I saw all day at about 205, and she burped healthily a few times. Temps finally settled at about 194 and stayed there. Opened the drain plug once more and got very clear water.
This time I let her drain until there were not even little drips. This step took long enough to cook and eat dinner (spaghetti) and then sip a beer. At least an hour.
The 2003 manual I downloaded says 19 qts for the 6.0 (although I found many differing specs online). Every other spec I found was less, so I figure basing my math on 19 is good...
19 qts = 4.75 gal /2= 2.375 gal for a 50/50 mix.
I replaced the drain plug and gave her 2 gallons of new Dex (idled for a good 15 minutes, filled to the cold line almost exactly). Poured about 10 oz of STA-BIL into the (fresh) tank of 93, and took her for a 15 minute spin.
I will check the level tomorrow and top her off with a little more DexCool if needed. Should land pretty close to the mark, I think.
I also figured one last touch was warranted before she goes into hibernation, as
@Fosscore so generously contributed this to the cause....
Thanks, buddy! I know she'll sleep more comfortably with that finally done.
Next I need some rear appliques.....
