Originally Posted by Painted Horse

Maybe we should explain what is happening with the Check Coolant and Fords Specialty Orange coolant. This is the first engine that Ford has used this coolant in. It is NOT backward compatible with Fords other engines. Apparently it can eat seals. So don't take any of your left over coolant and put it in your wife's Taurus.

The coolant should be close to room or ambient temp. You can't check it while its hot. So plan on leaving it at the dealer long enough to cool off.

There are two test strips that you use. The first test strip checks for:

1st. Nitrite Contamination. Previous versions of Ford Coolant all were Nitrite Based. So the test strips were looking to make sure you had enough Nitrite in your coolant. The Specialty Orange coolant in the 6.7L is one of the First Ford Coolants that has NO NITRITES. So we are looking for just opposite of what we looked for in previous coolant test. Same test strip, just different results. We want to make sure that no nitrites were added. This typically happens when somebody adds the WRONG coolant to your system. If nothing has been added to your coolant systems, the chances of testing positive for Nitrites is almost non-existant.

2nd. Check for percent Glycol for Freeze point protection. The coolant when new will protect down to -50°C. Unless the coolant is old or has been diluted, This should not be a problem

3rd. Check for Coolant Reserve Alkalinity

The second test strip is used for the 4th test. This is a new test strip not used on previous coolants.

4th Check the Corrosion Inhibitor ( Contamination ) Level.
The Specialty Orange coolant uses Carboxylates as the main corrosion inhibitor. The carboxylates slowly coat the metal of the engine block and provide a protective coating that inhibits corrosion of the block. Some of the information I've read indicates this takes 3-5 weeks to happen. Dumping in a bottle of Coolant Revitalizer does not immediately fix this. It's takes the 3-5 weeks for the revitalizer to circulate enough to provide the added coating. The revitalizer (Motorcraft VC-12) can be added twice during the coolants life.

For those of you worried about getting in the day the message appears and having the test done. Think about whether there is ANY possibility that somebody added the wrong fluid to your cooling system. If you are confident that nobody has added the wrong coolant to your cooling system. Then it's not going to make a big difference if you wait until the next oil change to have the test done.

If you fail the Nitrite test. You need to flush and refill.
The freeze point isn't a pass or fail test. But rather gives you confidence that you operate your truck in cold weather. If it doesn't protect to temp colder than the avg cold temps in your area, you need to flush and replace.

The Corrosion Inhibitor wears off slowly and takes time to recoat the metal parts inside the engine block. Chances are it will not cause a failure over night, but is part of the coolant to provide long term protection.

Remember that you have TWO separate cooling systems. So you need to perform each of the test twice. If you need to add the revitalizer, It needs to be added to which ever system that failed the Corrosion Inhibitor test. The Primary cooling systems needs 48oz of VC-12. The product is sold in quart bottles, ( 32 oz) So you will need to buy at least two bottles if you are adding it. I don't remember how much you need to add to the secondary cooling system. I think 22oz. So if you need to add to both systems, You are buying three bottles.

I frequently see post that the coolant failed the test and they added one bottle of VC-12. So the question becomes, Did they add it to one or both coolant systems? How much did they add to each? Why didn't they add the recommended dose? Since you can only add it twice, Which system did get it and which system did not get it? So that I can track which system can not get additional doses in the future.

So if you go in for a test, ask
Did you wait for the coolant to cool to room temp.
Which coolant system failed, Primary, secondary or both?
How much VC-12 was added and to which system?

Make sure they do not use VC-8 which was the coolant additive for the older Specialty GOLD coolant used in the 6.0L and 6.4L it adds Nitrites which are bad for the 6.7L engine. Or FW-16 which was the additive to prevent cavitation in the 7.3L engines.

Originally Posted by Painted Horse

Ford says you can add the VC-12 to revitilze the corrosion inhibitor twice during the coolants 105,000 mile life. It's almost easier to skip the test and just add the VC-12 every 35,000 miles