coolant question

[party of 5]

I have a 2002 f250 7.3 psd. The coolant resevoir says 50/50 water to coolant. Is there a certain kind of coolant/anti freeze that should b used or is a brand such as Prestone ok?

[Charlie]

I have a 2001 F-250 7.3 PSD and just this past week flushed and changed the coolant in the radiator. What I used is the Preston 50/50 mix. It takes about four gallons. There are others that are acceptable, as long as they are the antifreeze designated by the green color. If you want to save a couple dollars buy the 100% and mix it with distilled water. The manual states that the coolant should be changed at 50000 mile intervals.

Another important thing that you should do is add a pint of Motorcraft Diesel Cooling System Additive when the coolant is replaced. It previously had a part number designation as FW-16. This is a corrosion inhibitor and is available at all Ford dealer parts counters. Also a preventive, your manual states that you should add 8 oz. of the additive every 15000 miles. I have been faithful to this program and so far no problems with cooling system or engine at 100K+ miles.

[HamRad]

Charlie,

I have a 2002 7.3 PSD and the coolant color in mine is gold. I replaced my coolant about 6 months ago. I guess you're not supposed to mix the gold and green. I do not know why they have different colors. I also did not know about the Additive stuff. Guess I'd better get me some.

Party of 5,

If I were you I'd just stay with whatever color type you have in the engine now. I also did not know about the DISTILLED water. I now carry a gallon or two of the water as well as a gallon of anti-freeze.

HamRad

[ols1932]

Charlie,
I had never heard of using distilled water to mix with the antifreeze. For more years than I can remember I've just used plain tap water. I don't recall reading anything about distilled water on the Prestone jug. Can you enlighten me?

Orv

[clutch]

I don't think you have any aluminum in your cooling system so the distilled water may not be necessary. You do need to use the addative package to prevent electrolosis from eating holes in the cylinder liners. As mentioned above in a Ford it should be refreshed on a regular basis.

Duramax motors do require distilled water because of the aluminum heads.

Dodge trucks with a Cummins do not need any addative packages.

[awaywego]

I have always used distilled water in the cooling system because it does not have the minerals and etc. to plug the radiator.
I have never read it anywhere, but I can see the difference in the system.

[Charlie]

Ovr...I hate to be the bearer of bad news and I know you are not alone in adding tap water to vehicle cooling systems. Below are two pages that I copied from my Ford manual on pages 197 and 199.

Ordinary tap water contains many impurities, some of which are iron, sulphur, calcium and chlorides. Distilled water means that the water has been vaporized and condensed leaving the minerals behind.

A vehicle radiator is a simple heat exchanger and if tap water has been added to a cooling system these impurities detach themselves from the water and reattach to the tubes in the radiator. This reduces cooling capacity and creates corrosion. The third paragraph on on the second pic describes how the system should be treated in an emergency.

[HamRad]

Charlie,

Thank you for the information. Guess I'll have to find my owner's manual!

HamRad

[Cat320]

The green coolant (Prestone, etc) should not be mixed with the new orange coolant (DexCool). They are not compatable. If going from green to orange, be sure all the green is out before adding the orange.

[GregN]

Coolant types should not be mixed. As for the mix of water and coolant, you should go with want the manuel says. The additive is nessasery. As said before it keeps the coolant from pitting the cyclinders walls which could lead to a leak over time. I have installed a coolant filter on my truck. As coolant has a very fine silica in it and the filter take care of that. Also the filter come precharged the the additive. You can also buy coolant with the SCA Additive mixed in it. I just run the coolant that I buy straight out of the jug, as it is already pre mixed.

[dieselguy]

I've followed this advice from a diesel website ... he seems to know what he's talking about. He particularily states DO NOT use the "UNIVERSAL COOLANTS" that claim to be compatible with any and all. I use the FleetCharge Antifreeze with the precharge in it ... it's purple in color. It always comes out within the recommendations using the test strips. As stated earlier, I also have a coolant filter in my system. Suprising what it catches if you saw an old one open.
Cooling system maintenance
The cooling system on any diesel has special concerns. It's possible for the coolant to cavitate--produce tiny bubbles--that can with time cause pin holes throught the cylinder walls from the water jackets. For this there is an additive; Ford P/N FW-15 or FW-16, Fleetguard P/N DCA4; that needs to be maintained in the coolant. Generally this means installing 8 to 10 oz of the additive to the cooling system every 15000 miles. Another method is to monitor the cooling system with Fleetguard's DCA4 test kit P/N CC2602 or CC2602A. This measures the level of DCA4 in the system, then you add the amount of SCA/DCA as required to reach a nitrite level of 1.2-3.0 PPM. The cooling system should be drained (and flushed if you live in an area with especialy alkiline water) and refilled with a fresh 50/50 mix of coolant/distilled or demineralized water and one pint of the additive for every two gallons of coolant/water at 30,000 miles. Use only a ethylene glycol-based coolant, preferably low-silicate.
Antifreezes I can recommend:

Ford or Motorcraft Premium Antifreeze
Texaco Antifreeze/Coolant
Texaco Antifreeze/Coolant Prediluted 50/50
Zerex 5/100 (white bottle) Antifreeze/Coolant
Zerex Ready To Use Antifreeze/Coolant (premixed 50/50 with demineralized water)
Zerex Heavy Duty Precharged Formula
Shellzone Premium Quality Antifreeze
Prestone Heavy Duty (black bottle) Antifreeze/Coolant with SCA
Fleetguard Compleat EG--precharged at 1.5 units/gallon DCA4
Also available premixed 50/50 with water with the same DCA4 level
Pyroil Heavy-Duty Antifreeze/Coolant--Low Silicate
Peak Full Force or Advance
FleetCharge Antifreeze/Coolant--precharged with Pencool
WalMart Super Tech
2002 model year trucks use any of the above if your truck came filled with green coolant. If it came from the factory with yellow coolant, only use Motorcraft Premium Gold Long Life Antifreeze, Zerex G05 (gold bottle), Peak Global Lifetime (gold bottle) or Peak Extended Life CF-EXL (silver bottle). These coolants are fully-formulated using hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT) and do not require SCA/DCA. Recommended service interval with the gold coolant is 5 years or 100,000 miles. Test the gold coolant periodically for pH balance and freeze protection.

Trucks originally filled with Gold coolant:
All 2002 F-Series built at the Kentucky Truck Plant (VIN 11th digit "E")
2002 F150-550 built in Cuautitlan (VIN "M") from 2-4-02
2002 F650/750 built in Cuautitlan from 1-28-02
All Econolines built from 7-15-02
Ford has approved using the gold HOAT coolants in their vehicles as far back as the 1999 model year, providing the cooling system has been thoroughly flushed to remove all traces of the green coolant. If regular tap water is used instead of distilled or demineralized water, the recommended service interval is only 50,000 miles.
Ford does not recommend using propylene glycol-based coolants in any of their vehicles, or "universal" coolants that claim to be a replacement for any color antifreeze. They also have not approved the use of any organic acid tecnology (OAT) extended life coolants (ELC) in the PowerStroke cooling system.

[Trailer Trash 2]

quote:Originally posted by clutch

I don't think you have any aluminum in your cooling system so the distilled water may not be necessary. You do need to use the addative package to prevent electrolosis from eating holes in the cylinder liners. As mentioned above in a Ford it should be refreshed on a regular basis.

Duramax motors do require distilled water because of the aluminum heads.

Dodge trucks with a Cummins do not need any addative packages.

I do believe the radiator is aluminum with plastic top and bottom,

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by Charlie

Ovr...I hate to be the bearer of bad news and I know you are not alone in adding tap water to vehicle cooling systems. Below are two pages that I copied from my Ford manual on pages 197 and 199.

Charlie,
Not bad news for me. I researched my owner's manual and nowhere could I find ANY reference to distilled water. It merely states "...add a mixture of specified coolant and WATER..." I take this to mean that I can add plain water as I have been doing ever since my truck was purchased new. I talked to the Ford dealership and they indicated that what I was doing was okay. I didn't ask whether or not the newer trucks required distilled water, I was merely interested only in what I was doing. I guess it would behoove each of us to read our owner's manuals. Again, thanks, this topic made me do some research.

Orv

[Thunderman]

Charlie,
Did you replace the radiator hoses when you changed the anti-freeze?
If not, how often?

Thanks!

[pud2]

How do you flush your system on diesel's? I have done it on the gas burners by pulling the top hose and stick the water hose in the fill nozzle of radiator and let it run for a while. But i see this may not be possible with the diesel's.

[Charlie]

My reason for emphasizing distilled water is I know what happens to the impurities that ordinary water contains when subjected to pressure and heat. I worked many years with high pressure steam systems....up to 1450#. Water treatment was critical and the company would have used distilled water if possible but that would have been cost prohibitive so we treated the water to make it as pure as possible. The more heat and pressure a system has the more of these impurities attach themselves to metal, regardless of brass, steel or aluminum. The higher the temperature the more corrosion they create. The worst of these is chlorides. All tap water, regardless how fresh it is contains some chlorides.

Before vehicle cooling systems became designed as they are in the modern vehicles with opaque plastic tanks, does anyone remember looking in a radiator when you could see the tubes when the radiator cap was removed? The white material that is attached to the tubes in the radiator is the impurities that was in the water when added to the cooling system. When a radiator lost it's cooling capacity the radiator had to be pulled and have the tubes cleaned by either roding out or acidizing the core to remove the "scale".

My philosophy about cooling systems is the purer the water that is added, the less likely problems will be encountered from fouling and corrosion. For me the cost of a couple gallons of distilled water to add to my vehicles is the same as buying cheap insurance.

[dieselguy]

pud2: There are other ways, but midway underneath the exhaust manifolds just above the parting line between the block and oil pan are 2 plugs ... one each side. Use a six point socket or a good allen wrench seated firmly in the plug and remove them. Be ready to get out of the way as there will be alot of coolant pouring out ... a large catch pan (5 gal) is useful here. If nothing comes out poke a coat hangar or something in the hole to remove the sediment and rust. Put the garden hose in the radiator and let it run for a while till clear water runs out. Be sure to use thread sealant when replacing the plugs.

[Wrenchtraveller]

Many of the Ford trucks with diesel engines and the green antifreeze were shipped out with not enough additive to prevent cavitation damage. This might not show up until over 200,000 miles but it will show up. Both my 95 and 2000 powerstrokes were low on additive and I have always used the fleetguard dip strips to keep the additive in the correct range. I believe the orange antifreeze in the newer Powerstrokes addressed this problem.
Cavitation is really small explosions happening and some engine models are more prone to it.
The Cummins in the Dodge pickups is not even effected by cavitation and does not need to be checked like the older Powerstrokes. The dipstrips are cheap insurance and all the owner operators keep an eye on their coolant additives. The additive has to be in a certain range to work. Too much is as harmful as too little and that is why you need the dipstrips. The instructions explain how to use them and Navistar and Ford did a poor job of passing this info onto the Ford truck buyer. I have met many Navistar owners who were never made aware of this weakness in the 7.3 Navistar engines but it really did not matter if you trade every 5 years.
If you want to see your 7.3 still alive at 400 K, you must look after this cavitation problem.

[clutch]

quote:Originally posted by Trailer Trash 2

I do believe the radiator is aluminum with plastic top and bottom,

I am sure you are correct about the aluminum in the Ford radiator. There hasn't been a Ford in my driveway since 1983. So with that information I would use distilled water in the Ford.

I learned to use distilled water because I raced motorcycles for 17 years and every owners manual pointed out that with an aluminum cylinder and radiator distilled water was necessary. It seems that when you spend $5k for a motorcycle you as an owner are better informed than if you spend $40k for a truck.

[pud2]

Diesel guy
Couldn't you just pull the bottom radiator hose and let it drain out that way? And also do you put the hose in the coolant reservoir and start engine because i didn't see a radiator cap. also do you start and let the engine run as you would a gas burner after you put bottom hose back on and unhook the top hose?