Maintenance questions
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Maintenance questions
So my one specific question is in regards to the coolant. I read that an anti-foaming agent needs to be added every so often I guess, however any mechanic I ask has no clue wtf I am talking about. Anyone?
And besides oil and maintaining fluids, are there other special DIESEL maintenance habits I should get into?
Oh, and I have someone who has the same truck. I did what he said for the oil and put Full synthetic 5-40 in. He told me since I don't do much heavy hauling I can get away with once a year on the oil changes. Anyone agree or not? It seems a little too good to be true, but at 15 quarts I hope it is.
And besides oil and maintaining fluids, are there other special DIESEL maintenance habits I should get into?
Oh, and I have someone who has the same truck. I did what he said for the oil and put Full synthetic 5-40 in. He told me since I don't do much heavy hauling I can get away with once a year on the oil changes. Anyone agree or not? It seems a little too good to be true, but at 15 quarts I hope it is.
Last edited by Ford_Six; Aug 24, 2010 at 10:13 PM. Reason: removed advertisement
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From: Central Coast of CA
What year is your rig? What color coolant do you have?
If you have the green coolant, it's not an anti-foaming agent that's added. The additive replenishes the silicate level in the coolant (green coolant only) which prevents cavitation, but you need to check your SCA levels with a test strip first to determine if you need the additive.
As for your oil changes, just like a gasser, it all depends on how many miles you drive, but I wouldn't leave oil in my truck for a year unless I drove less than 5k miles a year.
Stewart
If you have the green coolant, it's not an anti-foaming agent that's added. The additive replenishes the silicate level in the coolant (green coolant only) which prevents cavitation, but you need to check your SCA levels with a test strip first to determine if you need the additive.
As for your oil changes, just like a gasser, it all depends on how many miles you drive, but I wouldn't leave oil in my truck for a year unless I drove less than 5k miles a year.
Stewart
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From: Glen Rose,Texas
What year is your rig? What color coolant do you have?
If you have the green coolant, it's not an anti-foaming agent that's added. The additive replenishes the silicate level in the coolant (green coolant only) which prevents cavitation, but you need to check your SCA levels with a test strip first to determine if you need the additive.
As for your oil changes, just like a gasser, it all depends on how many miles you drive, but I wouldn't leave oil in my truck for a year unless I drove less than 5k miles a year.
Stewart
If you have the green coolant, it's not an anti-foaming agent that's added. The additive replenishes the silicate level in the coolant (green coolant only) which prevents cavitation, but you need to check your SCA levels with a test strip first to determine if you need the additive.
As for your oil changes, just like a gasser, it all depends on how many miles you drive, but I wouldn't leave oil in my truck for a year unless I drove less than 5k miles a year.
Stewart
Changing ATF: 7.3L PowerStroke Engine and 4R100 Automatic Transmission. - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com
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So even with the full syn Shell rotella T primo oil, you all agree that annual is much too risky? I tend to agree. I am still learning this engine so I may seem ignorant, and it's because I am =) My cousin, who I regard highly in his knowledge, said yes 5000 miles on regular oil but he is going to try 20,000 on the rotella and test it to see how it did.
I did some further reading on the coolant today. I found the part number for the test strips 328-00001 and for the additive VC-8. I still haven't quite tracked them down yet, but I have only looked for about 10 minutes.
So now I want to know; they recomend a charged coolant. So does that coolant come pretty much ready to go out of the bottle or do you still need to put additive in? I thought maybe you could use EITHER reg coolant with additive OR the precharged stuff. I have 110K on the truck, bought it 8 months ago. Tranny and oil got changed in spring, I don't know what maintenace has been done on the cooling system, but I know it runs like a top and stays plenty cool and I would like to keep it that way.
I did some further reading on the coolant today. I found the part number for the test strips 328-00001 and for the additive VC-8. I still haven't quite tracked them down yet, but I have only looked for about 10 minutes.
So now I want to know; they recomend a charged coolant. So does that coolant come pretty much ready to go out of the bottle or do you still need to put additive in? I thought maybe you could use EITHER reg coolant with additive OR the precharged stuff. I have 110K on the truck, bought it 8 months ago. Tranny and oil got changed in spring, I don't know what maintenace has been done on the cooling system, but I know it runs like a top and stays plenty cool and I would like to keep it that way.
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From: Central Coast of CA
If you're flushing your system and replacing the coolant, using the pre-charged coolant is fine.
If your coolant doesn't need to be replaced, and you're just doing routine maintenance, then check the SCA's with a strip (can be bought at Napa autoparts, etc) and if necessary, put in the required additive, also available at Napa or your local dealership.
Make sure, if you're gonna flush your system and replace the coolant with a coolant that isn't pre-charged, that you use the required diesel coolant for your truck (not just any old green stuff), then add the necessary amount of additive.
Then again, if you are going to backflush your engine and replace the coolant, I'd recommend you upgrade to the Ford Gold G-05 coolant. I'd recommend an Extended Life Coolant (ELC), but I don't know if you have an E99 (ELC not recommended) or a L99, in which case you can safely use an ELC.
Stewart
If your coolant doesn't need to be replaced, and you're just doing routine maintenance, then check the SCA's with a strip (can be bought at Napa autoparts, etc) and if necessary, put in the required additive, also available at Napa or your local dealership.
Make sure, if you're gonna flush your system and replace the coolant with a coolant that isn't pre-charged, that you use the required diesel coolant for your truck (not just any old green stuff), then add the necessary amount of additive.
Then again, if you are going to backflush your engine and replace the coolant, I'd recommend you upgrade to the Ford Gold G-05 coolant. I'd recommend an Extended Life Coolant (ELC), but I don't know if you have an E99 (ELC not recommended) or a L99, in which case you can safely use an ELC.
- Conventional coolant (usually green) with the addition of SCA at initial fill. Frequent SCA testing and maintenance there after.
- Pre-charged coolant (usually purple or pink). Comes with an initial dose of SCA. Frequent SCA testing and maintenance required thereafter.
- G-05 coolants. Comes pre-charged with SCA package. Fush required at 50K miles. Semi-annual SCA testing and maintenance recommended.
- Heavy Duty Extended Life Coolants. Come pre-charged with carboxylate inhibitors. No testing or maintenance. Super protection. Super long life.
Stewart
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