Was going to attempt to flush my 6.0 out this weekend fluid looks like a rust color seems pretty straightforward seen a few how to on you tube only questions I have is how much coolant do I put back in and how much water do I put back in what the best coolant to use also any dos or don'ts would be appreciated thanks guys

I think it is 13 quarts of coolant and 13 quarts of distilled water. Be sure to use distilled water. Tap water has many minerals that will cause problems. Your owners manual will give you the total capacity of the cooling system. Divide that in half and you have the coolant and water amounts. I use Motorcraft coolant for this engine.

Amount depends on if you pull your block drain plugs or not (I'm lazy and only pull the one on the roadside) the one on the curbside has to have the starter removed to get at. If you use Ford Gold you don't need to drain both to do a decent drain and refill. but if you swap that out for an ELC type you'll need to drain both and flush several times with water. As for total amounts I can't say, I just premix my Ford gold 50/50 and add it that way after I drain. If you chemical flush be ready to change oil coolers if your not needing to already.

Cooling system holds 27.5 quarts, so I was close in my guess.

Here's a copy of a post I did back in 2011' on the method I use to flush my coolant, which is similar to Mcrafty's method.

We have coolant flush machines at my dealership. They aren't all they are supposed to be, or should I say claim to be. They also only work well if you can keep the t-stat open, which is a challenge when pumping cool water or coolant through the system for extended periods. Would be ok to use for getting the first heavy doses of old coolant out. But what has worked for me on my 6.0L is...

1) pull the drivers side engine coolant block plug out and drain old coolant into pail (very easy to get to) (passenger side plug is behind the starter-and really isn't necessary to remove for flushing),
2) loosen the radiator drain plug and drain old coolant into pail,
3) remove the radiator cap and put garden hose into coolant reservoir,
4) turn hose on and start truck,
5) let truck run at idle for 15-20 min with the heater on full hot with block drain and radiator drain loose or removed,
6) the engine water pump will aid in flushing the entire cooling system including the block, the water will become crystal clear flowing out of the block and radiator drains and also overflowing out the coolant reservoir cap hole by the garden hose
7) once you are done, turn engine off and remove garden hose, let everything drain out, put plugs back in loosely, and refill and run and drain several times with distilled water
8) after the final water drain cycle, put radiator and block drain plugs back in tight, next add your selected coolant choice, if I remember correct, should take about 3.4 gal of "pure coolant"...which will mix with the left over distilled water in the block...which should put you at a 50/50 coolant protection level or -34F.

By the way...I still use the G-05 gold coolant..flush every 50k...no issues yet.

Harry

Good post Harry, and the proper way to do a 'good flush' no doubt...Like I stated in my original reply, I'm lazy and since I do have a coolant filter installed and have yet to get anything but maybe a few specks of pepper sized particles and I too still use the gold coolant, I choose to leave the remaining used coolant in the block and not go the extra mile to flush with the tap water and then distilled drain and flush. I plan on doing mine every 30,000 miles. The truck had 103,000 when I bought it with Ford Gold and <10* deltas ( normal driving 6 to 7*) and two years and 23,000 mi. later the deltas are the same.