What is the difference between Motorcraft Gold and Motorcraft Premium Gold? Which one should I be using? I just finished with a oil coolant filter and EGR bullet proof repairs, and dont want to goof up the repairs. Ron

 

I have seen this question a few times and just figured it was a mix-up on the name of the coolant. Answers were a bit different sometimes. Thought I'd go online and check for myself. First thing I noticed if you google it, you can find pictures of a white bottle with a black/yello lable sayin "Premium Gold" and a red bottle labeled just "Gold". So nope, not a mix up on what people are calling it.

Next, at the ford site here: https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubrican...%20Products%5D is a list of recommended (and available) coolants. They list a Gold(p/nVC-7B) and a Premium(p/n VC-5) but not a Premium Gold, what the heck, I just saw a picture?!

After a bunch more searching, it appears the product labeled Premium Gold was p/n VC-7 is a discontinued product that didn't have the bittering agent and was not legal in certain parts of the country so AFAICT, originally there was Gold(VC-7B) for California, Oregon... And Premium Gold(VC-7) for the rest of us. Apparently restrictions on the bittering agent changed (it keeps kids and animals from drinking the stuff, the B in the part number indicates it has it) and now we ALL use "Ford Gold" (p/n VC-7B).

Just to confuse things a bit more, ford changed to the red jugs with a new lable, dropping the word premium, and also have a separate type of coolant called "Premium". Makes perfect sense no?

So if you find some Premium Gold coolant it's likely been on a shelf somewhere for a while. The Gold (p/n VC-7B) meets Ford WSS-M97B51-A1 and is what Ford wants you to put in your truck.

As a side note the Premium (p/n VC-5) meets Ford ESE-M97B44-A, is green in color, and is not for a 6.0 and is incompatable with VC-7B.

And after all that, I would still recommend using the CAT-1 rated ELC. The Gold will be ok but if you have it washed out well it's a good time to change and the lack of any silicates makes the CAT-1 a better choice.
NAPAs sell ZEREX ELC CAT1 concentrate coolant for $15 a jug. Part number is ZXED1.

 

I agree with Rusty. Switch over to the ELC EC-1 Rated coolant. I just flushed mine and replaced with the Zerex ELC (red) from NAPA (~64 bucks for 4 gallons).

 

Thanks for the replies. I had an old jug un-openned of the white jug labeled premium gold, tried to buy some more but could only get the red jug. That is what started the quetion. Thanks again Ron

 

i second the use of the ELC. i'm running shell rotella ELC. so far so good. the coolant temps are noticeably better than before, and when i come to a stop, within a couple of minutes, it drops the temp on the EOT side. much quicker than before.

 

I've read about better heat transfer, but not with just an ELC: but with an OAT based coolant which Cat EC-1 (and the rest) are. I wish I could have found the Zerex stuff but no NAPA place around here carried it, so I went with the Peak Final Charge.

Suggy's advice still holds and you should switch and not look back....

 

thanks for the compliment, diesel_dan. yeah, i think benny (blade35) also uses that final charge ELC. i could be wrong. he'll correct me if i am. lol.

there is also a chevron delo ELC that seems to run good too. or u can go online and order them.

there is also the other option of using an ultra ELC. i've read where they are also cat ec-1 rated as well. it's just that they use a different chemical but work on the same principle like our regular ELCs. our known ELCs are red in color, while the ultra ELC is yellow in color.

 

Stay away from that Ford Gold crap.

Ford Gold coolant is one of the small number of root causes behind the whole 6.0 fiasco. International built and tested the VT365 engine using International coolants, which (being non-crap) do not use silicates for corrosion control. Ford then bought the engines, dumped their silicate-based (i.e. crap) Gold coolant in, and sold them to every sucker to walk through the door. Later we found out that the 6.0's EGR cooler runs too hot for silicates -- it turns them to gel, which clogs everything up, ruptures the oil cooler, and so on, you know the story.

The sad thing is that you can walk up to a Ford parts counter even today, ask what kind of coolant to put in your 6.0, and they have to answer "Ford Gold coolant, sir". They have to say that lest they admit culpability in the 6.0 fiasco. It's now 2013 and so culpability would instantly bankrupt the Ford Motor Corporation, seeing as how there are millions of 6.0s out in the world, each with years of very serious problems.

Zerex G-05 also contains silicates; it says OAT but it is a hybrid containing OAT and silicates. Go with a pure OAT. Plenty of recommendations here for that. I use Fleetguard OAT (red), but they're all good.

 

Wow, good read!! Very good information!