6.0L Power Stroke Engine and DrivetrainDiscussion of the 6.0L Power Stroke diesel engine and drivetrain in the 2003-Up Super Duties and Excursions. No gas engine discussion allowed except on transmissions and drivetrain that pertain to all models. Please confine discussion of topics in this forum to those items that are specific to the 6.0L Power Stroke engine.
I hope my picture loads, and thank you in advance for any input. This is my first post, but I've been reading the site for a couple of weeks. Great stuff.
I just changed my thermostat because I was running too cool (177 degrees on the highway) in a "new to me" '06 250. I had picked up a motorcraft thermostat from the dealer and a gallon of 50/50 G-05 from Napa. I didn't think the coolant had looked this color in the degass bottle, so I went ahead and added 3 liters of the new coolant to the existing mixture. So my question is this - does the image I've uploaded represent what gold coolant might look like when you remove the thermostat, or has the someone added green coolant that will need to be completely flushed mow that I've added 3 liters of the G-05?
Good news is that the thermostat was obviously faulty upon inspection. My ECT/EOT are normal and within 6-8 degrees. I spoke to someone this morning about adding a coolant filter next weekend. Still plan to do so, just wondering if a full flush (time is precious) is in order.
AFTER FINALLY DROPPING A LITTLE IN TO A CUP, THE BELOW PICTURE IS GOLD COOLANT. Looked green in person and in the picture, but was clearly gold when isolated in a cup.
That doesn't look like Ford Gold to me. I'd say a flush is in order and I'd recommend coming back with a good ELC instead of the gold. You might as well do it at the same time you are doing the filter install, although having the thermostat out would be a great time to do a full flush.
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2003 F-250 XLT Crew Cab 7.3L, Chrome BigTex Grille Guard, Quad pillar - 3 ISSPRO gauges (trans, pyro, boost) and DP-Tuner F6; Roush fuel pressure / temperature / oil pressure gauges, Ford Severe Duty AIS, 31 row 6.0 transmission cooler, ScanGauge II, Marinco mod, Walker BTM
"IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM"
In my opinion you need a flush and refill. It looks like yellow/green extended life or a mixture of green and gold. CAT ELC 1 is the best to use but I personally have nothing against using very low or no silicate extended life green in a 6.0 if test strips are used to monitor it for proper PH. I had a problem with numerous leaks after flush and oil cooler replacement followed by the red stuff. After losing much of my red I changed back to no silicate extended life green until I could work out all the drips and seeps discovered by the slippery red. I had no leaks before I started the process.
pH isn't what you really need to test for with the strips - you're looking for nitrates which are there for cavitation protection. Something the green stuff isn't very good at.
What is the proper procedure - full flush and then add a coolant filter, or the reverse order? Am I correct that a flush and refill can cause oil cooler problems?
A full flush including Restore and Restore + could potentially knock enough crap loose to plug your oil cooler. A simple flush shouldn't cause a problem. Here's a 7.3 flush link that outlines the procedure - same concept - just locations of heater hoses changed. Coolant changing instructions...
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2003 F-250 XLT Crew Cab 7.3L, Chrome BigTex Grille Guard, Quad pillar - 3 ISSPRO gauges (trans, pyro, boost) and DP-Tuner F6; Roush fuel pressure / temperature / oil pressure gauges, Ford Severe Duty AIS, 31 row 6.0 transmission cooler, ScanGauge II, Marinco mod, Walker BTM
"IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM"
Use CAT ELC1 or use the strips. It finds the bad stuff before it becomes problematic. I saw many 7.3 IDI engines cavitate through the cylinders before IH figured out what caused it---the 6.9 wall was thicker as I recall and took longer to penetrate. My first experience with the issue was with 855 Cummins long ago, pulling liners with lots of ant holes on the water side. My 6.0 I bought used seems to have cavitation in the front cover that leaks about a teaspoon full after cooling down. After I repair that issue I will go back to CAT ELC.
put some in a white cup and see what the color actually is. The gold can look green in some situations plus if the previous owner added the nitrite additive, which is blue, that will turn the gold a green color. Since you are going to flush it also would be a good time for a coolant filter install. You can buy a pre-made kit or build one yourself for a couple dollars less.
Thought I would update this should anyone do a search and find it relevant. I should learn to take advice. I just went out and bought 45 gallons of distilled water, drove to the Cummins dealer to buy a gallon of restore, then to the Caterpillar dealer on the other side of town for 4 gallons of ELC concentrate - $150. Before I pulled the plug on everything, I opened the bottom of the radiator a little to grab some in a cup. Yup - the photo at the top is GOLD coolant, but it looks green in the pipe. Plan now is to keep running the gold until I can install a filter on the coolant, hopefully this week. Then I'll see where I'm standing after about 5 thousand miles.
Cool, there are tons of posts on how to build your own coolant filter setup. For my 6.0 i just bought it from dfuser because it was a good price, free shipping and they give you three filters.Ford Superduty Powerstroke 2003-2007 6.0L Coolant Filter Kit
With that kit i don't think you are saving that much to build it yourself.
also... I do like the fact you updated your post. We always have to remember our posts are available via a TDS search as well as a google search...
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