'99 Mercury Villager w/universal coolant?

[oilmaven]

I recently purchased a 1999 Mercury Villager. Although the previous owner was good about oil and filter changes (also 1 trans flush), it was pretty obvious that the vehicle had the ORIGINAL antifreeze (at best very old...looked like sludge). I took the van to a shop I'm familiar with and they did a flush of the system and filled it with their "universal" coolant (no idea what brand) which appears yellow in color.

Ford recommends using ONLY green coolant in these vans which I mentioned but the shop said they didn't have it in the flush machine and the universal stuff would be fine (the coolant in there was so bad that they recommended a second flush in a few months to a year...coolant temps on the gauge were reading fine prior to the flush...heater worked great).

Since it was a complete flush, will there be any compatibility issues with this coolant? The green stuff isn't being used by a lot of the shops anymore. My concern is a Ford bulletin from a few years back recommending only the green coolant for these vans. I don't want to risk any damage or compatibility issues and am not sure where I'd go to have the system flushed and filled with the green coolant (which I could buy but it would have to be added to a flush machine...I would prefer not to tackle it myself).

I'm pretty savvy regarding most things automotive but am totally clueless regarding antifreeze compatibility options and don't know if this "universal" stuff is truly "universal".

Since they haven't made these vans since 2002 it's getting harder to get good information from dealerships...they don't care anymore.

Appreciate any help or advice...thanks in advance.

 

[Sayjac]

If the shop used a flush machine and extracted the majority of the old original green, their should be no 'coolant' compatibility issues. The universal coolant could work quite well. Not seeing the specific referenced tsb though, it's difficult to know what possible coolant issue it was talking about.

Biggest risk imo, would be that the 2eha in the replacement coolant might not be compatible with the engine's gaskets, causing them to fail/leak at some point. Then again, might not be any issue at all. The linked thread has some thought and information on universal coolants. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2471312

As for original green, while it is becoming more difficult to find, the preferred low silicate original green formulas are available from makers like Zerex, Havoline and some others.

 

[doitmyself]

Sayjac, this is probably the "position paper" oilmaven is referring to: http://www.paulmachenry.com/documents/CoolantFAQs.pdf

It seems to be a cya type of document. Since I tend to be a "by the book" type of guy, I would heed the warnings just for peace of mind.

Especially the the very last line of the bulletin:
"All pre-1999 vehicles, as well as all model years of Mercury Villager, must be serviced with the green-colored engine coolant."

Peak coolant in the blue bottle is low silicate conventional green and I have also seen house brands in the farm stores (TSC, etc.). WW Graingers can also get Zerex green if you are desperate (couple dollars more).

oilmaven, if you are very patient, you can do multiple radiator drain and flushes (about 6 or more) to get a near complete drain of the existing fluid. You have to run the engine to let the thermostat open....very time consuming, but easy (no wrenching on the engine). Use distilled water.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
As for original green, while it is becoming more difficult to find, the preferred low silicate original green formulas are available from makers like Zerex, Havoline and some others.


[censored] excuse for a shop, dealers stock green and most likely the suppliers that sell to independent shops for less than they sell to the dealers will make awesome deals on green coolant.

 

[oilmaven]

I really don't want to do a bunch of drain and fills...would prefer to just have it flushed again with the green stuff. Now to find a local shop that can do it for less than the value of my house.

 

[Donald]

Why not go for G-05. I have put it in 2 older vehicles (94 Camry & 93 Suburban) and they were fine.

The shop uses whats easiest for them in their flush machine and 99% of the customers will accept their recommendation.

Similar problem with a trans flush.

 

[oilmaven]

The local radiator shop said they'd do a complete flush and install the green stuff if I supply it. Since another flush was recommended I'm going to go ahead with it.

 

[Bgallagher]

Go to NAPA and buy 2 gallons of their green and bring it to a local shop for a flush. Most places wont mind using the machine and labor minus the fluids

 

[artificialist]

Sometimes I wonder what difference what it will make when the van is a combination of a Nissan engine with stuff from Fomoco.

 

[Donald]

It is a 1999 so does it need to be perfect in the coolant it has in it? You have gotten a least have the life out of it. Wait 2 years and then flush and change to G-05.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

Most places have "Global" or Universal coolants.... The ones I've had around here were Green...

Here's the 50$ Question to ask the shop before going into panic mode and wasting money.

What is the Product you actually used. Manufacturer name, and product name.......

Then just look the stuff up and see what Specs it meets. See what specs your owner's manual calls for. If they line up, stop worrying about the color.

I'd use Purple coolant in my car if it met the car's specs.

 

[oilmaven]

There's obviously a reason that Ford is so adamant about green antifreeze ONLY in the Villager. I picked up 3 gallons of Peak green coolant (sprung for the premix...it's amazing how many radiator shops will just use tap water). I'm going to have it flushed out and put in the green next week.

 

[otis24]

It was probably Service Pro universal coolant. It works in all vehicles, foreign and domestic and mixes with all coolant types. That's one of the reasons that dealers use it. It allows them to take care of all makes and models with coolant needs.

 

[thrace]

Hard to know without knowing exactly what coolant was put in. I do not know how concerned an owner should be about 2EHA.

If it is Service Pro, MSDS shows 2EHA in SERVICE PRO ALL MAKES ALL MODELS PREDILUTED UNIVERAL FORMULA
ANTIFREEZE/COOLANT 50/50
PRODUCT NUMBER: 16706
FORMULA NUMBER: YA956G, YA956GB

"NONHAZARDOUS
INGREDIENTS
>1%
Water
2Ethyl
Hexanoic
Acid, Sodium Salt
CAS#
7732185
19766893 "

see url:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=service%20pro%20universal%20coolant&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CGwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.service-pro.com%2Fdocuments%2FMSDS%2Fanti%2FAllMakesAllModels5050.pdf&ei=2FIuULPCMM72sgaV9YGYAg&usg=AFQjCNGu-eCMY1i6_7K_pHzMygNITSJenw