I just bought a sinister coolant system and I want to know if I should completely drain the coolant and replace it with a better brand than what Ford uses. I hear Zerex is a better quality.

 

Umm....that's debatable here. As long as it's CAT 1 rated or the ford gold that's what is recommended. The Antifreeze with the best rating is Chevron Delo CAT 1 by a independent lab. I just got done doing the research yesterday and that's what I'm going to use when I change out my oil cooler

 

Zerex G-05 is the same as Ford Gold and both IMHO are good to use. Proper maint. is the key.

 

If its time to change it due to mileage - then yes flush and change. The filter will not prolong the life of the coolant. And your oil cooler will suffer from old coolant. (That's experience talking)

As far as changing types, a mechanic I have used recommends the Ford Gold if you still have an EGR cooler as there is something about the cooler that the Ford gold protects. Since my EGR cooler fell off, I don't use the Ford stuff anymore. I just changed to the Catapillar ELC. Just be prepared, it ain't cheap!

I don't know about the Zerex it some on the forum do use it.

The coolant filter is a very good mod

 

You aren't kidding that "it's not cheap". I bought 5 gallons at my Cat dealer and spent $140!

 

Holy moly you should only need 3.5 gals (4)...

To the OP: there is a Zerex ELC that is Cat EC-1 rated and I believe you can either get it or order it through your NAPA store. It looks to be the most reasonably priced of all of those "types" of HD coolant...

 

I use Delo ELC (concentrate) and the cost is $16 a gallon at my local distributer. Just look online for your closest Chevron lubrication distributer and they should have it.

 

Can I put the filter on without flushing the system? Is that a good idea? I have about 70,000 miles

 

Yes you can. The recommended flush is now at 50,000 miles so if it hasn't been done now is a good time. If your eot/ect deltas are good then a drain and fill will suffice.

 

I am gonna catch a lot of flak for this but here goes.

I think we are filtering at the wrong time and in the wrong place. We install filters after we flush and with a method that only treats 10% of the flow. Kinda like closeing the barn door after the horse has already bolted.

To me we should be filtering with a full flow sediment or particulate filter while we are flushing. Research has shown me that most of the filter systems on the market are chemical replenishment filters and will let sediment pass right thru the filter.

I have found that by sacrificeing a water hose and installing a common household water filter with sediment filter in line between the radiator and the thermostat houseing I catch nearly 3 times as much crud while chemical flushing as any of the other normally used methods.
The entire set up is less than $50.00 and can even be left in place as a permenant installation as lond as temps stay beow 212 deg. or so.

Comments pro or con will be appreciated.

 

A full flow filter on a centrifugal pump (any coolant system has this) is a bad idea. You will restrict the flow rate. So...you cannot keep the full flow filter in place after the flushing operation is complete.

Also, 212F as a limit is kind of a pipe dream. Coolant temperatures routinely exceed this temperature. Towing my trailer across Arizona yesterday (107F), I saw 231F on the ECT gauge. Normal but high temperature.

But...you have a good idea in terms of trying to catch everything while flushing the coolant. You just cannot leave this filter in place when running the engine to full warm.

Regarding filters, not all are chemical replacement types. I use Baldwin B5134, which are conventional pleated media the traps sediment particles. Note that if you do not restrict the pump, you will get about 5 - 10% of a lot of flow going through this filter every turnover of coolant. I do not know the flow rate through the 6.0L pump under normal conditions (say 2000 RPM), but I would guess >4 turnovers of coolant every minute (15 s). That means that all of the coolant would 'see' the filter within 150 - 300s (2.5 - 5.0 minutes). In a normal 8 hour cross-country trip, the coolant would be filtered at least 100 times.

 

Absolutely agree - no need to wait for a flush to install the filter. Any time is the right time!

 

None of these filter contain a SCA and fit a standard coolant filter housing.
Fleetguard WF-2077
Baldwin B5134
John Deere RE11992
Caterpillar 9Y4528
Cummins 3300721
Wix 24070
NAPA 4070
NAPA 4069 (one inch shorter)
AC-Delco WF-108
Fram PR3383
Donaldson P554685
Alliance (Freightliner) WF2077
CarQuest 89070
Hasting WC8
Purolator W54451

 

Wel I wass hopeing to get a few more views on this before discussing. Maybe a bump will help.

 

More views of what. A bypass filter is factory to avoid restriction in the cooling system. Esp.if the filter starts to plug up. My first two filters did in fact plug. If they had been in line I'd have been in deep s**t.