Engine Coolant - What type is everyone using
8/20/06, 07:09 AM
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Engine Coolant - What type is everyone using
The time has come to refill the engine coolant. What type is everyone using? I found out yesterday that the recommended MotorCraft Premium Gold is a pain to find. Are they any other options?
8/22/06, 12:46 PM
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Ok, I went to the dealer and picked up the Premium Gold (I'll go with the Prestone Green 50/50 next time since its already mixed). Now my (silly?) question is... to top off the coolant, do I need to do a 50/50 mixture or can I just top it off with the coolant? This is the first car that I am doing all of the maintenance myself with.
8/23/06, 03:32 PM
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My just as silly question: how often does one need to worry about the coolant? I mean, I understand keeping it topped off, but how often do you need to replace it all, and is this something I should/could also do myself?
8/24/06, 07:39 AM
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According to the maintenance section your premium gold is good for 100K miles or 5 years...after the initial flush they recommend doing it every 3 years or 50K miles...so you shouldn't have to worry about it for awhile
(I changed the Dex-Cool Long Life coolant on my '01 Vette at 4 years instead of 5 years and I only had about 12K miles on it at the time...time is the critical factor, not mileage)
(I changed the Dex-Cool Long Life coolant on my '01 Vette at 4 years instead of 5 years and I only had about 12K miles on it at the time...time is the critical factor, not mileage)
8/26/06, 06:38 AM
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well i will stick with the yellow stuff purely because i dont like the color change. but yeahn100k is the new fluid inerval for fords i'll probably do it a little earlier. the best thing to do is get the hydrometer or whatever they use to check coolant
8/26/06, 10:02 PM
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The coolant checker device will tell you the temperature the coolant will protect from freezing. This should not change regardless of time/miles as long as the coolant remains 50/50. The checker will NOT tell you the lubrication factor of the coolant, which is what goes away with time. Over time the lubricity of the coolant goes away and that is why you have to change the coolant. Your water pump depends on lubrication in the coolant. Also the corrosion resistance of the coolant goes away over time.
8/27/06, 08:48 PM
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Originally Posted by pittperson
anyone?
8/28/06, 01:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark S.
According to the maintenance section your premium gold is good for 100K miles or 5 years...after the initial flush they recommend doing it every 3 years or 50K miles...so you shouldn't have to worry about it for awhile
(I changed the Dex-Cool Long Life coolant on my '01 Vette at 4 years instead of 5 years and I only had about 12K miles on it at the time...time is the critical factor, not mileage)
(I changed the Dex-Cool Long Life coolant on my '01 Vette at 4 years instead of 5 years and I only had about 12K miles on it at the time...time is the critical factor, not mileage)
8/31/06, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by pittperson
Ok, I went to the dealer and picked up the Premium Gold (I'll go with the Prestone Green 50/50 next time since its already mixed). Now my (silly?) question is... to top off the coolant, do I need to do a 50/50 mixture or can I just top it off with the coolant? This is the first car that I am doing all of the maintenance myself with.
