So I have about 45k mi in my 12 SD with a 6.7 l. As much as I don't like to admit it the last 30k mi have not been checked.

The only gallon of mc coolant I have purchased was $25 per gallon.

The other day I came across a gallon jug of Havoline dexcool (oat) that had ford spec ESE-M97B44D on the jug and it was $14 per gallon of concentrate.

I'm thinking of possibly changing the coolant rather than buying a $35 test strip kit.
My fear is that I buy the kit and then have buy the revitalizer, or have to replace all the coolant any way.

Anyone using a non mc coolant in their 6.7 that meets spec?

 

subscribing.


I would be interested in any coolant that meets the spec for the 6.7 without having to buy it from Ford.

 

I just looked at a Prestone product that has the same ford spec on it at Walmart for $14 a gallon of concentrate.

 

Orange too?

 

Sure looks like it.

 

Just went thru that yesterday. My daughters escape needed a top off. The Dex-Cool meets the specs across the brands I checked out online. Zerex, prestone, valvoline.

 

will look them up as an alternate source.

 

http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Chemicals-EngineProducts-Coolants.aspx

There is a link on this page showing the changes in coolants over the last few years.

 

I just figured out that I can buy the prestone dexcool which meets the ford spec listed in my owners manual for a little bit over $10 a gallon of concentrate with an online coupon from advance auto parts. I figure I need six gallons of concentrate to fill both systems on my truck.

I'm starting to think that changing every 50k mi makes way more sense than purchasing the test strips and the revitalizer. Any thoughts?

 

Seems like a waste but I don't know what the best answer is either.

My coolant systems were flushed two weeks ago after failed tests at 65,000.
My opinion is coolant should last longer than the now recommended 45,000 replacement but I'm not a Ford engineer.
I'm thinking I'll just push mine another 60k and throw in the revitalizer at 30k because I don't have a better idea yet.

15,000 mile coolant checks are a pain for me to deal with when the dealer is a 30 minute one way drive, they work when I need to be at work and they keep it all day which means two people are involved in two hours of driving. Personal problems I know.

 

I wonder how many 6.7s on the road today have ever had their coolant checked ever? I wonder how many are over 100k mi without coolant checks on the factory fill?

I don't have a dealer close by that will do the test at no charge. If I do it my self a test kit with 10 strips is $85, or $8.50 per test.

I just don't see the value of test strips and adding revitalizer with the cost coolant now down to $10 to $14 per gallon of concentrate.

If I had a dealer that would test the coolant free of charge or if I did not want to work on my own vehicle it would be a different story.

 

All the more reason to find a less expensive fluid and change it out every two years in your driveway whenever the time suits you!

I think a post in the tech folder is urgently needed.

1. Approved coolant options
2. Flush/fill procedures and required amount of coolant needed.

 

Dexcool meets the ford spec and that is what I have been using for a while now, lots less $$$ than the motorcraft vc-3-b.

Posted this a while back.

 

I thought the Motorcraft coolant was a bit different from the Dex Kill coolant that has created so many problems.

 

The only think I know about dex-cool is that it has created a lot of problems with GM vehicles. I don't know much about the diesel pickups, but in gas engines it created sludge eventually that plugged everything up. It also ate away at gaskets.
It also sludged up and formed particles quickly if mixed with any other coolant.

Maybe they improved it since the dex cool I know about, but I would never run it after the damage I've seen on several vehicles that ran it. A close family member has a sonoma truck running it, and every 3-6 months for the last 2 years the dealership has flushed it and refilled it, only to have the heater core and rad plugged up in several months. So far no gaskets have failed that we know about though, so thats a bonus.