timsch

I did fill with the thermostat out. As soon as water came up to thermostat level, I put it back in and attached the hose. Add more until the radiator topped off. If I'd premixed, I'd be too low on concentration because what was already in the block was only water left over from the flush with my garden hose that I couldn't get out.

Total capacity is 6 gallons. It only took 3.5, so I assume there was still 2.5 left in somewhere. I found no block drain plug. Maybe there's air. I'll find out soon enough.

Just refilled it as you described. It took 3 gallons of coolant concentrate and only 1/2 gallon of water before topping the radiator. Surprised I didn't get more water from the flush out. No big deal though. A squirt of WD40 up the drain hole got it moving much more freely. All's good (knock on wood). Hopefully I'll never make such a bad mistake again....

True, but the time it needs to be turned after years and it breaks then it's a problem. I'll get a q-tip and put some of my Parker o-ring lube on it if it's accessible as I think it'll be. Maybe it'll work....

Is there a trick, or is it just a pain? Any risk? I've got plenty of o-rings. That being said, mine's not leaking. I just want it to turn easier. Perhaps getting some lube up into the drain spout would suffice.

Flushed the system per the article here. I'm now emptying the water out from the radiator drain. There's mention elsewhere online about pulling the drain plug on the block, but not in this article, so I guess it's not critical. I couldn't find that block plug. Regarding the radiator drain plug, I couldn't turn it by fingers alone. I made a slot in a 15mm nut and turned it with a ratchet enough to drain. I'd like to pull it all the way out to inspect and replace or lube that o-ring. Is there a stop that could be broken if I force it, or can I safely pull it the rest of the way out?

Thanks for that advice. I'll be removing the thermostat when I do the complete flush this weekend and will do the full fill before putting it back in.

Thanks for the pointers and assurances. i was driving at least 25 minutes before it dawned on me my mistake. It's amazing how efficient these Diesels are to not heat up any quicker than that. Any easy way to check the Check Gages light and chime?

A major short between the ears caused me to lose the majority of my coolant on my drive this morning. I pulled over after seeing mist coming from under the hood. Upper radiator hose was disconnected. My temperature gauge was reading just above the upper line on the sweep but not yet to the red. Engine sounded and performed fine up to me shutting it down. I added about 2 gallons of water back into the radiator and reconnected the hose and finished the trip without issue. Oil on the dipstick didn't look contaminated. I'm hopeful my engine survived my mistake with no ill effects. Is there anything on it that I should check at this point?

The only Rockauto option was out of stock, and searching that PN turned up nothing. Nothing on Geno's, so I concluded that it would be hard to find. Looking again this morning, I found one at Partsgeek for $40. That'll work. i'll probably try to solder weld the original just to work on a skill though. Might need it sometime.

I have a 2" crack in my washer fluid reservoir. Plastic weld repair is the way I'd like to go. I see info online about techniques, but thought I should check here for actual experience welding these since I'm having trouble finding replacement reservoirs and I may only get one shot at the repair. Have any of you successfully repaired a crack on this reservoir? Any tips if so? thanks.

You and me both. No fun, and I could have easily never seen it. I'm guessing this is the culprit behind the two fuel pumps that the PO had put in. I'm wondering how something like this could be found if it hadn't caught my eye?

In my picture above, the problem was the bottom right, which according to the above, would be pin #7

A few days ago I disconnected the harness connection to the VP44 to clean the silicon based dielectric grease and redo it with Motocraft XG-12, which I read was more appropriate for harness connections. I noticed one of the female connectors was sprung more than the others, and appeared to have some corrosion. I sprayed the connectors with Deoxit D5 and ran a brush for cleaning paint guns that was a good fit through them. I then sharpened a pick to be able to get in and pry the sprung connector back together and pushed some 30ga bare wire down into the slight gap between the OD of that connector and the plastic, which held it in place pretty well. Put it all back together. Two short test drives and one longer one today on the highway, getting on it pretty good, one time floored, and it didn't miss at all. Looks like that connector may well have been it the whole time. Sure hope so.... Before pic:

Yes, that's me giving it the throttle. I can ease it up to speed, but any greater acceleration and it starts cutting or bucking. The more throttle, the more likely it's bucking. And it's consistent now. Thanks for sticking with me John. Edit: One thing I keep going back to in my mind is that the PO said he'd replaced the fuel pump a couple of times. So, a couple of possibilities: either something in my system may killing these pumps, or I'm dealing with a reman pump of not good quality that's failing. I recall reading on the forums that there are recommended rebuilders and you don't want to go cheap on that.