2001 Ford Taurus OHV How many flushes?

My daughter’s Taurus has coolant looks like chocolate milk, I believe due to a previous owner putting a bunch of aluma-seal or other stop-leak product in the system. So, I am trying to get this cleaned out for her.

I have drained the cooling system and replaced its contents with a bottle of Prestone cooling system cleaner and distilled water and drove the car around for a few hours. I have done this (drained, put it a new bottle of prestone cooling system cleaner and distilled water) literally eight times now and it still comes out looking like chocolate milk with some stop-leak sludge in the bottom of it. Over these eight iterations the color of the fluid has improved only slightly.

My question is, is there any way to get faster results?

Thx, Pop

If you haven't already, you can take the thermostat out and run the engine off idle in your driveway/garage. That can save you the time of driving it around, anyway.

You can always do some manual flushing if you have access to a garden hose (that isn't frozen), and some compressed air if possible. Take the heater and radiator hoses loose, run water one way, blow it out with the air, run water the other way, air. Same with the block. Repeat until the water comes out clean. It's more work, and a LOT more mess, but it gets results. Whenever I've encountered a 'Mississippi mud' cooling system, this is the only way I've found to get them anywhere close to clean.

If you decide to manually flush, you can also remove the coolant reservoir and clean it out off the car. A sacrificial dishwashing brush can help. Or, just replace it. :silly: They're cheap.

Just remember to keep the coolant freeze point low enough for your climate when you're done.

Will give this a shot. Thank you Tyler!

Got the block cleaned out nicely using your technique, Tyler! Thank you! Next step is the heater core. That’s gonna be it’s own animal, I’ll keep it bypassed until I get some time to attack it in a couple days.

Will keep you posted. Heater core might be too far gone but we’ll see.

popoften wrote:

Got the block cleaned out nicely using your technique, Tyler! Thank you!

No problem!

Next step is the heater core. That’s gonna be it’s own animal, I’ll keep it bypassed until I get some time to attack it in a couple days.

Will keep you posted. Heater core might be too far gone but we’ll see.

Yeah, I have to say, I have had zero luck flushing that generation of Taurus heater core. :oops: Some come out a bit warmer afterwards, but that's about the best I've done. That stupid little bypass hose doesn't help:



If you have success, please let me know what the trick was! :silly: I still see Tauri like yours come in to the shop occasionally.

For what it's worth, I don't think the heater core is all that hard to change on those.