I'm fixing to do a coolant flush and refill on my '03 F-250 6.0 liter engine... The guy at the local parts store (CarQuest) gave me Zerex G-05 Phosphate Free Antifreeze Coolant... according to the back of the bottle, it's approved for model year '02 and newer Ford trucks and also approved for all heavy diesel engines (i.e., CAT, Cummins, Detroit, John Deere, Mack, etc.) Is this the right coolant for my engine? Do I need to mix it with water before I put it in, or can I dump a bottle, fill the bottle with water, dump that, move on to the next bottle, fill it with water and dump that, move on, etc? And I assume distilled water would be my best bet, right? The well water where I am is extremely hard with minerals and I definitely don't want to use it.

He also recommended I do a flush using Prestone's Super Radiator Flush and sold me one bottle of it... after reading the back of the bottle, I'm discovering I'll need two bottles to do it right. What do y'all think about doing a flush with something like that? Necessary? Optional? Not a good idea?

I'm about to jump over to the tech folder and look up the instructions for doing the flush... I've never done one before. Any tips and tricks beyond what's there are welcome!

Thanks!

 

Zerex GO-5 is the same stuff as the Ford Gold.

No matter which you decide to use, many have switched to an Cat EC-1 rated ELC, you need to make sure it is "concentrated". Not 50/50.

 

The new Cat EC1 rated ELC has to be concentrated, or the Ford Gold has to be concentrated? And what's the reason for switching to the other type?

 

You need to use concentrated after you flush. Doesn't matter which fluid.

See the thread on ELC below.