How much Coolant

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Feb 16, 2011 | 12:48 PM

north2south006

Thread Starter

Freshman User

Joined: Feb 2011

Posts: 33

Likes: 0

How much Coolant

I have a 2003 with the 6.0 How much coolant do I need. Local shop told me 27quarts or just under 7 gallons does this seem correct? I thought it was a little high.

Feb 16, 2011 | 01:23 PM

dchamberlain

Lead Driver

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 8,180

Likes: 669

From: Scio, OR

That's about right. If you're doing a flush, 3.5 gallons of concentrated coolant and add water gets you about 7 gallons of 50-50 mix.

Feb 16, 2011 | 01:23 PM

bismic

Fleet Owner

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 27,924

Likes: 3,649

They are correct as to the system capacity. Depending on what you are doing, you might not want to buy 7 gallons of 50/50. A lot of coolant stays in the block - even if you remove the block drain plugs. If you THOROUGHLY flush w/ DI water, you will leave quite a bit of DI water in the block. The best thing to do is buy 4 gallons of 100% coolant and add 3 1/2 gallons of it to a system that has ONLY DI water left in it. Then top off w/ DI water.

Fill the left-over 1/2 gallon w/ DI water so you have a gallon of 50/50 for times you might need to add a little.

edit ...............
Your are fast today David!!!

Mar 5, 2020 | 03:13 PM

Nlmb Dilo

New User

Joined: Jan 2020

Posts: 12

Likes: 0

ok one last thing when I changed the thermostat I added 2 gal of 100% coolant. Should I still flush?

[

QUOTE=bismic;9976656]They are correct as to the

system capacity. Depending on what you are doing, you might not want to buy 7 gallons of 50/50. A lot of coolant stays in the block - even if you remove the block drain plugs. If you THOROUGHLY flush w/ DI water, you will leave quite a bit of DI water in the block. The best thing to do is buy 4 gallons of 100% coolant and add 3 1/2 gallons of it to a system that has ONLY DI water left in it. Then top off w/ DI water.

Fill the left-over 1/2 gallon w/ DI water so you have a gallon of 50/50 for times you might need to add a little.

edit ...............
Your are fast today David!!![/QUOTE]

Mar 6, 2020 | 01:42 PM

FiveOJester

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Sep 2006

Posts: 1,491

Likes: 295

From: Fresno, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nlmb Dilo

ok one last thing when I changed the thermostat I added 2 gal of 100% coolant. Should I still flush?

You are likely very strong on your concentration now. I would get a coolant tester to determine where you are at and cut as needed. I use this one from Amazon, very accurate and reasonably priced.

$https://www.amazon.com/Antifreeze-Refractometer-Concentration-Propylene-Automobile/dp/B07XCNCCYM/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=coolant+tester&qid=1583523722&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExUEE5QUM0RExZQjFPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTA3MzY5MlNXS0NOUExWWU1OSSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTQ1MzkwMktJNjRaRUtSR1lKNyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=$ https://www.amazon.com/Antifreeze-Refractometer-Concentration-Propylene-Automobile/dp/B07XCNCCYM/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=coolant+tester&qid=1583523722&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExUEE5QUM0RExZQjFPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTA3MzY5MlNXS0NOUExWWU1OSSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTQ1MzkwMktJNjRaRUtSR1lKNyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Mar 7, 2020 | 09:30 AM

F350 1990

Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Feb 2007

Posts: 1,652

Likes: 79

From: Mooresville, NC

Excellent recommendation from FiveOJester (remember to keep one eye closed tightly or you won't see the colors, scale properly) and I'd also check electrolysis as diesels are vulnerable.............