Does "green" coolant have to be green?

[Tx_Atty]

ok, I stopped by the shop this morning under the ruse of buying the bottle of additive they had and asked about the coolant. The owner assured me it is "green" coolant and not ELC. He said "if you pull some out of the bottle it is green even though it doesnt look like it in the bottle." Im not sure I believe that but have no reason to doubt him so will accept it.

I guess I will get a test strip and see what it says about SCA levels and go from there.

Thanks for the input again.

 

[roosterdiesel]

I would still ask to see what spec the coolant is! But most people call me anal. Also you need to make sure you don't mix SCA's there are 2 different kinds. Becareful, overdosing is as bad as not using additive. Water pumps don't like overdosed fluid.

 

[Tx_Atty]

They did not put any SCAs in at all so unless this is ELC there shouldnt be any?

Am I correct in my understanding of test strips? ie, if there are no SCAs the test strip will indicate as much? What would a strip show if dipped into ELC?

 

[roosterdiesel]

on the ELC. You can test it but I don't know what the Fleetguard strips would do. Colors would change but I don't know how they would compare to the comparison chart.

 

[powerboatr]

read below


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 as required. 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/water and one pint of the additive for every two gallons of coolant/water at 30,000 miles. Use only a low-silicate ethylene glycol-based coolant. Ford does not recommend using propylene glycol coolants in any of their vehicles.
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 Antifreeze, Zerex G05 (gold bottle), Peak Global Lifetime (gold bottle) or Peak Extended Life CF-EXL (silver bottle). These coolants do not require SCA/DCA. Do not use "universal" products that claim to be replacement for any color antifreeze.

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
Do not use extended life coolants (ELC) as they can cause water pump seal and injector sleeve deterioration


this is from the intellidog site,

 

[Tx_Atty]

well I think Im satisfied, I guess. They said it is Federated by TExaco of which there are two kinds, ELC and not. Not getting into a pissing match second guessing them so I left it at that. Internet didnt offer much when I searched on Federated.

Thanks guys. I think Im done. I'll do the test strips and add additive as needed.

 

[Bolthead]

Do you only use the additive upon changing the coolant? Thanks

 

[Tx_Atty]

no. You should use test strips periodically to determine the SCA level and add if necessary. I cant remember the interval but 15000 miles seems to come to mind. I may be off though. I found the cheapest test strips (Fleetguard) at my local IH dealer. That is where I got my SCA too.