I have an 89 F250 with a 7.3 IDI. I just got the truck last week and have been getting a feel for it and findi g what it needs. Well i know it needs its coolant replaced and give it the SCA's it needs. After somewhat of an ordeal trying to find a conventional green coolant that was "low silicate" around me. I have read and reread several articles on here about cavitation, SCA's, ELC, SCA's in normal coolant, etc. Well i am ready to do the flush on the old girl and fill her up right.

I got valvoline Zerex Original formula "low silicate" and some Napakool 4056 and 4 gal distilled water.

Just so im completely clear that im not gonna create that sludge or anything else bad my steps are as follows please tell me if im doing something wrong. Havent doneit yet figured id check first.

1. Warm up engine or not? (Its kinda warm from earlier trip to the dump)
2. Drain old coolant
3. Fill with water from hose
4. Run truck with heater on with hose in flushing the radiator while still draining from petcock, let water drain
5. Refill with 4 gal proper low silicate green Zerex, 4 gal distilled water
6. Add Napakool

If i am missing something or something i shouldnt do please let me know. I have read alot about this just want to be sure im doing right. Thanks

 

 

I flushed my 91 by removing the block drains on both side of the engine and running it with a hose in the radiator. When I filled everything back up I used fleet charge antifreeze(precharged with SCA) and distilled water. Got the fleet charge from oriellys. Its almost pink in color

 

Ive been told the early diesels werent made for the Extended Life Coolant because it breaks down seals and gaskets and what not. I know people use it and are probably fine i just didnt wanna take any chances cuz i just got the truck and it doesnt leak anything haha. Alot of longtime techs and owners of IDI's say you should just use the conventional green "low silicate" and maintain SCA's yourself. Thats what im opting for until i replace all major seals and gaskets with Vitons. Then i will probably run fleetcharge or something comparable

 

Fleetcharge is nothing more than the same type of coolant you bought with the SCAs pre-mixed in. There are two families of SCA types, DCA-2 and DCA-4. My understanding is that either works with our trucks, but should not be mixed. I BELIEVE Fleetcharge and NAPAKool are both DCA-2, so they're compatible. Ford (Motorcraft) sells an additive (VC8), but it's DCA-4, so that gives you an idea what Ford thinks you should run. But again, plenty of folks run DCA-2 SCAs with no ill effects.

Don't bother having the truck warm when you dump the old stuff. It's not like oil; you'll get it all out even when the truck is ice cold (and have less of a risk of burning yourself while you do it). Do pull the block drain plugs to get ALL the coolant out, though. Some recommend replacing these with pet***** to make future coolant work a little easier to manage.

The only things I did differently was that I went ahead and closed the system up and filled with tap water and some Simple Green to act as a cleaning agent. I let it idle with that for a bit, then drained it again and added the distilled water/coolant. I also mixed the coolant and water 50/50 in buckets before putting it in the truck to ensure I'd get the right mix.



**********EDIT*********
OK, so this thread kinda reminded me that I have yet to test my SCA levels after having put in new Fleetcharge coolant a little over a year ago when I replaced my radiator. So, I went hunting for info on what kind of SCA to add to Fleetcharge, which test strips to use, etc. My head's still spinning, but hopefully this helps someone....

Fleetcharge's site doesn't specifically tell you if the SCA is DCA-2 or DCA-4. But, they DO have a FAQ section (http://www.peakhd.com/product-lines/fleet-charge/faq/) that tells you to use Penray products to both maintain and check SCA levels. I have yet to install a coolant filter, so I went hunting on Penray's site for the right additive. This page on their site specifically mentions using their test strips to test Fleetcharge: http://penray.com/coolant-chart/. So, after clicking on the 'Typical OTR Cooling System' link, I see they recommend using their universal 3-way test strips and Pencool 3000 as an additive. This is confirmed by an e-mail a member on OB got from Fleetcharge folks, found here (post #45): http://www.oilburners.net/forums/sho...t-to-use/page3. NOTE: The author of the post confuses 'Fleetcharge' with 'Fleetguard'. These are two ENTIRELY different brands, though! Fleetguard DOES make a SCA-loaded coolant as well, but I'm pretty sure theirs is DCA-4, not DCA-2 like I believe Fleetcharge to be.

So, in conclusion, Fleetcharge and Penray products are compatible. I'm not positive, but I'm FAIRLY sure they're both DCA-2 based on most the research I have found. On the plus side, Amazon Prime carries Pencool 3000! I had to go with their heavy-duty 2-way strips (TS-102) because the 3-ways would take 3-5 weeks (yikes!), but I'm pretty sure the only difference is the ability to test ELCs, which Fleetcharge isn't.
*****************************

Mike

 

Well i was going to drain the coolant out and apparently the drainplug is clogged or rusted or something. I turned it all the way both directions and it never started draining. I felt a couple drops on my hand while turning it but no stream or even drip. When i did a coolant flush on my 76 f250 which has the same style drain it shot out with some motivation. Any suggestions?

 

i normally just remove the lower rad hose because the pet***** usually plug up like you found.

 

Ok thank you. That was my plan. I have been reading up a little more and it seems its not just a good idea but necessary to remove the drain plugs in the block to get a full drain. Also people seem to say installing pet***** in the block is a good idea so its easier the next time

 

I wouldn't bother with pet*****, how often are you planning on changing coolant? I see a potential leak.

 

Yeah thats what i thought as well as i have had pet***** fail before. What should i put on the bolts before i retighten them? Just thread tape or something like loctite?

 

 

Awesome thank you. Pretty sure they have that at my local walmart. I know they carry Permatex brand because thats where i buy their gasket maker

 

What happens if you mix VC8 with Fleetcharge?

 

I sent an e-mail to Fleetcharge asking if their coolant was compatible with Fleetguard and they told me it was. I haven't had the grapes to try it yet though.

Are you familiar with hummus? It's a tasty, diarrhea like substance. Your coolant will gain the same consistency.


The one problem I have with Fleetguard is that apparently it is an ELC type coolant. This fact is not stated on the front of the bottle, but rather on the back in the fine print. It hasn't been a problem until recently when I installed a coolant filter. While it hasn't hurt any of the gaskets on the truck, it's eating all the teflon tape in my pipe fittings pretty quickly.

 

Anyone got a pic or drawing of where the block drains are located?