Trying to add some coolant to my 7.3. No idea what’s in it now (bought used). Is there a safe brand/type to use to get me by until I flush it? Probably need to add about a gallon. Thanks jed

 

Depends on how long before you plan to flush it. If you're going to be flushing it within the next week or two then just add water.

 

If you just need to get by add *DISTILLED* water. Do not use tap water. It takes a very short time before it will cause failure. I would not do this long or if you plan to tow or do anything where you'll be working the truck hard.

There are two colors of coolant Ford used. Green and Gold. If it's green it's the old stuff and needs to be flushed anyway. Gold is the current stuff, and there is not a "universal" coolant for this. Buy it from Ford or use Zerex G05 which meets the requirements.

When you do the flush, I recommend flushing it completely and then changing it to ELC. It's a heavy duty coolant for diesels. It's red in color. It's more expensive but a bit better for your truck. The Gold coolant requires maintain, the red is good for pretty much forever.

A coolant filter wouldn't be a bad idea eitherz especially if you plan on keeping the Gold coolant.

 

Good catch,

I should have elaborated a little bit more. Just adding water is very dependent on completing the flush in a timely manner. If you don't have the proper coolant, or the coolant is diluted, and you put off flushing and properly servicing the system things can get really bad.

 

Yep.. ask me how I know

I was on an FTE off road trip and I blew a coolant hose. Me and @wpnaes used almost an entire case of water bottles to get me home. Less than a week later my relatively new water pump started weeping.

 

Thanks guys. The gold stuff is in it now. The coolant is down to bottom of reservoir tank but still running cool. Maybe I will just park it and do the flush now.

 

Or add distilled water and drive it around until you figure out where the coolant is going. How does the oil look?

Do not trust the transmission temp gauge on the dash. It's biased to keep you happy and keep your local Ford dealership free of service returns. Get a real gauge to see real temps.

Start with a new radiator cap, preferably OEM.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's biased. It definitely does show changes. It just doesn't show exact temps, but rather "steps".

 

Oil looks very clean. No coolant in there. I just added 1/2 gal of distilled water which got me up to good level. Come to think of it, I bought this truck about 2 1/2 years ago and only have added about 1/2 of distilled water over that time. So, either that’s normal, or I have a leak somewhere. I may do a flush this afternoon and get some new stuff in there. Opinions? Usual leak spots ?

Thanks guys. JED

 

Check your hoses, they're probably fine. If you plan on doing a flush you might look into getting a wrap around upper coolant hose. In fact I've got one that I can send you pretty cheap. It eliminates having to take the hose off to change the serpentine belt.

the most common source of coolant leaks is the water pump and the thermostat housing. Just below the pulley on the water pump is a small weep hole, if there is coolant coming from here it means your water pump is failing. However these typically put out a good amount of coolant so you probably would have noticed it by now.

The thermostat housing is probably the most common culprit. It's a pretty thin stamped steel housing located on the top of the water pump. If this is leaking, go get a billet aluminum one from RiffRaff.

 

Thank you very much. I will check all that today. I will get with you later on hose. I will find leak today, I hope. Thanks ... you guys are great. Jed

 

Picked up some Fleet Charge SCA precharged from tractor supply to put in. I have 01 7.3. Ford dealer quite a drive and closed on weekends. Any known problems with this stuff?

jed

 

That's the stuff that requires maintenance. The SCA's deplete over time and have to be supplemented, but it is the right stuff. Alternatively the heavy duty ELC (Extended Life Coolant) is good for 500,000 miles, and does not require maintenance. Make sure you get the HEAVY DUTY with the pic of the big rig on it. There are other ELC coolants made for non-diesel engines.

 

Gooch's Radiator/Engine Backflush Procedure and Coolant Information

Took me a little while to find it but this will have pretty much all the information you need.
I apologize for not finding this for you last night.

 

Now I'm glad I found it and read through it to refresh myself. The engine that is about to go into my truck was built in 97. I had every intention of putting ELC in it. Now I know I need to swap the heads over. All the other gaskets are already getting replaced.