Ford diesel 7.3 coolant ???

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Sep 30, 2006
Messages
12
Location
Washington
I just did a waterpump and coolant flush change in my '00 ford 7.3 powerstroke. I re-filled with prestone extended life and distilled water 50/50 mix. I have been told this is not compatable with my diesel ?? true/false or thoughts ?? Most people recomend Delo,fleetrite or rotella ELC coolant. Any ideas on where to find this in the Tacoma, Wa area ???
 
True....way too much silicates for a diesel. You need a diesel low silicate antifreeze. I would buy a pre-mixed Cat brand diesel coolant or a low silicate antifreeze with Fleetguard diesel coolant additive.

Go to a LARGECAR dealer such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, or Freightliner...etc...etc.
 
you want the dieselstop.com, that's ford related.

go to http://www.imcool.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/index.html
and look up SCA's.

http://www.imcool.com/articles/antifreeze-coolant/SCA-Part1.php

i'm pretty sure for all the 7.3L powerstrokes that if you use traditional antifreeze that you need to mix an SCA to prevent cylinder liner cavitation/erosion. The ford type is either motorcraft FW-16 or Fleetguard dca-4, along with coolant ph test strips to monitor sca concentration. If you use an extended-life coolant specifically for diesels then they sometimes have the sca additive already in them, see imcool.com for the details. If you have to buy sca I found it was best to mail order it from one of the diesel aftermarket websites, much cheaper than fw-16 at a ford dealer who probably will tell you it don't exist (ford never really admitted the cavitation problem in the 7.3L).
 
Most of that information on the imcool site is pretty dated, no discussion of the newer OAT and HOAT formula antifreeze other than Dexcool (deathcool). If using conventional antifreeze the info on that site is accurate.
Navistar may or may have not admitted to the problems in the older 7.3's, but in my 2001 owner's manual they state to put in a new bottle of FW15 (changed to FW16 the following year) every 15K miles. Then they changed the name again and now you ask for VC-8. Parts guys usually seem to know what it is.
I always went by the test strips when I was using SCA's, and adding a bottle every 15,000 would have been way overkill in my engine which is not a good thing with SCA's, but now have changed to an OAT formula without the need for SCA's.
SCA = Sacrificial Coolant Additive
 
Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
True....way too much silicates for a diesel. You need a diesel low silicate antifreeze. I would buy a pre-mixed Cat brand diesel coolant or a low silicate antifreeze with Fleetguard diesel coolant additive.

Go to a LARGECAR dealer such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, or Freightliner...etc...etc.


I don't know why you say that, from here: http://www.prestone.com/carcare/faq.php
Prestone® Extended Life 5/150 Antifreeze/Coolant is phosphate, silicate, and borate free.

Same page says it meets all of the relevant Ford specifications,
M97B44-A , B, and D. Sounds like it pretty much is very similar to the Ford gold coolant, a G-05.

To the original poster, do not put an SCA in this coolant.
 
Originally Posted By: imaduner
I just did a waterpump and coolant flush change in my '00 ford 7.3 powerstroke. I re-filled with prestone extended life and distilled water 50/50 mix. I have been told this is not compatable with my diesel ?? true/false or thoughts ?? Most people recomend Delo,fleetrite or rotella ELC coolant. Any ideas on where to find this in the Tacoma, Wa area ???


To the original poster, this is a fully Organic Acid Technology type of antifreeze, OAT. Even though it is not a HD antifreeze it is at least as good as the Ford gold that your truck is backspec'd for, so I don't see why it should not be good for at least a year or two. You have a fully aluminum radiator so it is not going to damage your engine, and OAT has eliminated the need for cavitation inhibitors. Though it is not my favorite I don't think you have to worry about getting out right away.
 
jmac, if he's using the yellow bottle prestone extended life I don't think he has cavitation protection. That's the gray bottle prestone heavy-duty extended life is for I thought?
In any case, the word is not to add an SCA,
S = supplemental :D
to an ELC type antifreeze, it's only supposed to go in the traditional green antifreezes. So he should not add SCA if he used the yellow bottle prestone ELC. If he used prestone heavy-duty ELC then he does not need to add SCA and it provides cavitation protection.

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f67/coolant-sca-additives-203599/
http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f24/green-gold-antifreeze-211646/

Quote:
Another correction...Ford's Gold (G-05) coolant is nothing like a Heavy Duty ELC coolant. Thus is will not meet the more stricts specs of other Heavy Duty ELC coolants, or provide the higher level of protection. The Gold is simply a universal hybrid, one-size-fits-all coolant that Ford uses in its entire line up that, with the exception of the Powerstroke, are all gasoline engines. Ford simply uses the Gold in your diesel out of convenience, simplicity, cost, and uniformity throughout it's product line and dealerships.


going back to ford/IH never officially admitting to the cavitation problem, you cannot soley rely on spec numbers in a manual or you can use the wrong coolant and not have cavitation protection!
 
http://www.valvoline.com/products/zerexg05.pdf

zerex g05, which is the ford gold coolant, has nitrite additive in it for cavitation protection and meets astm-D6210.

on the prestone site it shows the yellow bottle and does not have astm-d6210, so it does not provide cavitation protection.
He should drain it and use either zerex G05 or the gray bottle Prestone heavy-duty extended life.

the prestone he is using meets astm-4985 meaning low silicate, but I don't know whether an SCA additive can be added to it and work properly since it's an ELC.
 
I'm personally a little confused & irritated by all these companies who state the "any make, any model, any color" B.S. like Prestone & Peak Long Life have on their bottles-if you use any of them on a diesel, you've messed up your coolant's makeup, they're definitely NOT the same as most products out there (conventional green, GO-5, etc.).
 
Any updates here . So it is my understanding that none of the long life antifreexe where I usually shop ( Supertech, Advance ) are to be used with SCA or DCA4 coolant additives (I usually buy NAPA Kool SCA). If must use strictly ethylene glycol AF , what product do I look for (at Autozone of Walmart ) - Thanks
 
I did a little more looking around....

It appears that the there are some OAT EL 5 year coolants that at ok (have anti-cavitation properties )-

http://www.eetcorp.com/antifreeze/Coolants_matrix.pdf

I guess that my options are to find a plain EG , non-EL coolant and and add SCA . I could by the diuluted premixed stuff (eg :peak Fleet Charge ).

Alternatively I could buy the heavy duty EL (eg Peak Final Charge )

I would do the latter but would like to but it in concentrated form (vs 50% )dl.utions
 
I decided to use some "plain" non-ECL (no mention of long life or 5/150 on the label) green Peak antifreeze at if found Advance Auto Parts since I already have almost a a full container of NAPA Kool SCA FL4058 . Next time around I may switch to diesel rated HD ELC . - Thanks
 
BTW - In my shopping around , I noticed that Advance Auto Parts AAP or the nearby NAPA store have Peak Final Charge or other
HD_ELC EC-1 rated coolant in stock. I thought the demand would be enough for them to stock it . The clerks at both places did not have clue what I was offering too . Both looked on there computer . Nothing at AAP. The NAPA guy found in the database and told me he could have it at the store later that day .
 
I've had a 6.0 PSD and only used Gold & G-05 since new with ZERO problems-but I've also changed it every 50-60K or so. IMHO, the (kind of confusing) info I've read on the subject seems to indicate that ELC coolants (NOT Dexcool) don't need SCAs, the All Makes shouldn't be used either, G-05 will work in a diesel (but don't have large amounts of nitrite-therefore SCAs CAN be used), and low silicate green + SCAs SHOULD be used in the old IDI 7.3s like my '89 because of potential compatibility issues with the o-rings on the oil cooler & front cover seals. From what I've read, the newer 7.3s & 6.0s don't have the THIN cylinder walls which contributed to the cavitation problems in the first place(mainly on the IDI motors).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top