There's a lot of confusion about coolants these days. If you are happy with the green then stay green and change it regularly and test it. If you want to run an ELC then be sure and flush the system really, really, really, good and you can run ELC just fine in the 95 and newer engines. I've been running Chevron ELC in all my trucks for years and would never go back to the green stuff.

 

Nope, ELC is absolutely not recommended or advised for the pre-99 trucks. Read through the thread again. Its been covered.

 

Yes, and that was later debunked. I'll try and find that info.

 

I had it in one of my trucks and it was only in there about 3 months. I took it out. Even dealer said don't do it.

 

If you find info that debunks it, please post it. But here's the deal. Why push so hard to use a coolant that's questionable when there are others readily available and plentiful that are not questionable? Do what you want. That's the great thing. No communists here that I see.

 

I did a quick search but couldn't locate where I read the info that it was ok. But I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Been running it in my sig truck for about 7 years now and aprox 47K miles. I'll be sure and post if I run into trouble with it.

 

So do I still do a 50/50 mix of the Fleetcharge and H2o? Or 100% Fleetcharge?

 

You can get it in 50/50 premix

 

^^^^^ Concentrate is the better deal. You can buy it either way, as concentrate or 50/50 pre-diluted. The pre-diluted is, of course, a ripoff. Only a few dollars less, and it's 50% distilled water. Compare the price of four gallons of the concentrate + four gallons of distilled water at the supermarket to EIGHT gallons of the 50/50. Concentrate + distilled is a LOT cheaper.

Plus, when you flush the system, you always leave a little water in there; you can't drain/flush every bit out. So if you then put 50/50 in on top of that, the final mix is a little less than 50/50. Probably not an issue in DFW. Still, if you put in a full four gallons of concentrate after flushing, and then top off with distilled, you know you have a good solid 50% mix.

 

Whale chit!..........this thread has clouded my mind with quandryness concerning the coolant in my '96 F250XL 7.3....Last year I had to change out the block heater, so I figured it was a good time to update the coolant since what was in there came with the truck and I hadn't a clue how old it was. Anyway, after the block heater change out, I filled the engine with 4 gallons of Preston green and 4 gallons of distilled water. I don't appear to have any troubles, but am I going to have troubles? Do I need to go find this additive and put it in the system? If a man's alone in a forest with no wife around and states his opinion, is he still wrong? So many questions and so few answers. Somebody help please!

 

You won't have done any damage by now, but you should add the SCA. IIRC, you'll need 1/2 gallon of either the Ford or Fleetguard SCA. Fleetguard plays games with numbers, too; the numbering is based on the size of the container, but indirectly. If memory serves, their pint bottle is DCA4 and their 1/2-gallon bottle is DCA50. Last I recall, Ryder Fleet Services had the best price. You might need to drain a quart or so from the radiator in order to add a full 1/2-gallon. Get the test strips along with, drive it a while to mix it up, let it cool (but not below 50F), and test; it should show a strong SCA factor.

 

I checked and can buy the Motorcraft VC8 and the test strips at my local O'Reiley's...I assume I can test what I have and add accordingly?

 

If all you have in it now is green EG anti-freeze and distilled water, there's no point in testing it first. The Nitrite and Moly pads on the test strip will show a big goose egg. (I believe Motorcraft has both Nitrite and Moly.)

 

...I've got whatever the all purpose everyday green Preston is....I'll go by O'Riely's on the way home and see what's up.

 

I went back through my receipts and found where I bought the coolant when I changed out the block heater. It turns out I bought the recommended coolant for the truck, not the regular green Prestone. So, I bought test strips from the local parts house and dipped the coolant. The PH was perfect, it's good to nearly -60°F (doubt I'll see that in Arkansas), and the nitrite level according to the chart was perfect. I even waited 30 minutes and checked it again with the same result. I rekon I'm OK!, or at least the truck is OK!