coolant question

[coondog491]

hey guys this is my first post here.
alright i just bought a 2002 F-350 2 months ago it has 90k miles
anyway did my first oil change on it since i bought it and noticed the coolant was a bit low, can i just add distilled water to top it off or do i have to add coolant. its only about a quart low. and is there anything i should worry about as far as maintenance goes?
thanks

 

[melmount]

When adding coolant add the right kind. I believe some 2002's had the old school green and some the extended life. Dont mix them. Also with the powerstroke, especially the powerstroke, check the nitrate levels. Ford sells test strips and additive. Napa does too.
These engines have wet lined cylinders. The nitrates keep extreme high pressure bubbles from boring holes in the cylinders.(takes a long time) but does happen to wet lined engines. Lots of reading on it. Get test strips and check it. This subject can get confusing. If you dont feel like studying it, just check the coolant color. Get some antifreeze from ford. But also get strips to test and see if you need the additive to raise the nitrate levels.
I got my stuff from
www.kensperformancesolutions.com
I would just get 2 bottles of dca-4 conditioner and 2 (4) packs of test strips.
Supposedly the extended life coolant does not need additive but I have found that it sometimes does. This is not that expensive of stuff. I ordered the extra pack of strips so i could test it a couple times til I understood what was happening.

 

[early 99 stroker]

if its clean and test well then yes just add the water.. you may find after a couple of day's she be a little low again... not sure why but i have added over a gal to my truck because it was about qrt low and it still reads low after a couple day's...no leaks no nothing..i have added nothing in the last year and it is still a qrt or so low...i have asked many times why this happens..no one has an answer and many have the same thing going on..
so in the end if turns out a qrt low again..dont add any thing...just keep an eye on it..it shouldnt loose any more then a qrt..unless of corse you do have a leak..if thats the case..you will be more then a qrt low..

 

[HighwayPrisoner]

How about a good cooling system flush, and use Cat or other ELC coolant, and forget about test srips etc. The lowest cost per mile, and best for the PSD.

 

[drmjf]

There is another way. You can use Evans NPG+. It's not cheap but you never have to replace it. No more SCA's no worries about cavitation. I have been using it for 5 years. I love it. I put electric fans on my truck and had them stop working while in the mountains towing a 10' trailer filled with junk. The temps went over 270 degrees. No boiling.
Check out the website.


http://www.evanscooling.com/assets/pdfs/HighPerformanceCoolantFlyer.pdf

 

[coondog491]

thanks alot guys, i just added distilled water and then went on a 800 mile trip, got back and was low again not as much though but ill keep an eye on it. whats the best way to do a coolant flush if im going to change the type of coolant?

and what is the benefit of a coolant filter and where can i get one?

 

[DaveBen]

The coolant filter will take out all of the sand and other junk that is circulating around in the block. You will be amazed at how much junk is in the block, I was. One of our sponsors, The DieselSite, has them. Look above for the sponsors banner.

Dave