Getting to the point In my build where I'm starting to put fluids back in the motor. Truck is a 1995 F350 7.3 Powerstroke. After doing a bunch of reading I think I'm just going to put the conventional green coolant (which came out of the truck anyways) back in and not worry about possibly screwing up my injector cups with some of the fancy ELC coolant. That being said I'm pretty much deciding between 3 coolants and what SCA to use and want to know what you guys like/don't like.

For the coolant I'm leaning towards Zerex ZX001 due to the good deal they have on Amazon. It's a ethylene glycol-based coolant with low-silicate chemistry which from what I read is what 7.3's like. Anyone have any complaints about this coolant?

For the SCA I was going to use the Ford VC8. Anyone have any complaints or suggestions on the SCA?

Things to know about the truck is that it has a Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator, a Coolant Filter, and stock injectors. Not sure if that would affect the choice in coolant.

Also on a side note I do plan on upgrading the injectors in the future and came across someone claiming I can put Stainless Steel Injector Cups on and be ok to run an ELC. I also read that the reason we OBS 7.3 guys can't run an ELC safely is because the acids in the ELC Coolant eat whatever material our injector cups are made out of and I guess wouldn't eat a stainless injector cup? Does anyone know any truth to this? Is it really as simple as changing the injector cups to a different material to run the ELC or are there other internal components that can't handle the ELC Coolant as well?

 

A good conventional precharged with SCA similar/identical to VC8 is Fleet Charge. That is what I decided on after researching the issues years ago.

 

Green is perfect and you choice of SCA treatment is fine

 

Cool! About what ratio do you guys mix at? 50/50? 60/40? or will the strip tests tell me? Never had to do this testing and SCA stuff with coolant before on any of my vehicles so it's all brand new to me. Also the truck is BONE DRY. Every cooling system part has been replaced (even heater core). I heard 3 bottles of the VC8 is a good place to start, would this be true for a bond dry coolant system?

 

50/50 But on a dry system I would put a bottle of the SCA additive in 1st

 

I thought the item that was attacked by the wrong coolant is the O rings, not the injector cups?

Stainless cups...haven't heard of them?

 

50/50 is always the standard unless extreme arctic cold.

Fleet charge is the same stuff as green with the VC8 type chemical already in it and the color is pink but otherwise identical.

 

So you're saying just start with only one botttle of the SCA or pour the three bottles of the SCA in first then mix in the coolant/distilled water?

 

I'm just going off another site, I don't know whats fact and whats not on this subject and the coolant in the 7.3's and what exactly gets torn up by the ELC coolants. The reasoning off the other sites was that some of the later 99-03 7.3's had the gold coolant which is the ELC so they must have changed something mid year to make those 7.3s accept the ELC coolant and it was the general consensus on the other site that it was the injector cups...again I know nothing to be fact on this subject just relaying some information I came across on another site.

 

Go by their mixture chart. But last I check One bottle(16 oz) covers 4 gallons of coolant. And IIRC these trucks holds 11 gallons of coolant

 

gotcha ok cool thanks! I'll order 4 bottles of the SCA to be safe then.