Coolant change procedure check for a newbie (or a newfie!)

[JJT]

I'm a little ****, I even do the flush with distilled water. For under $1/gallon, why not? And I change the coolant every 2 years.

 

[DieselPower]

JJT - Didn't you know. There's no such thing as being "to ****" when it comes to preventative maintenance.

 

[hsdfcu]

een doing the vinegar and Ro/DI water for years (for a flush). I hope you use more then distilled water to flush since the water will not get scale, rust, etc out. I just stated using RMI-25 in the coolant since it is pimped like crazy on the world famous oil site. So far, like 99.99% of the items on that site, more hype then anything.

 

[Doc_Bob]

Even those that aren't ignition keys ?

Nope, just the one that fits the ignition !
Bob

 

[dmccarty]

My dealer told me to test my coolent rather than just change it. You can get cheap test strips from the dealer. Dip them in the coolent, wait per the instructions, and compare to a chart on the test strip packages. I think I was at least year over the suggested time limit to change the coolent and the test was still fine. But I changed anyway.

According to what I have read on one of the Ford Diesel Sites, the JD Cool Guard is the same coolent used by Ford in my Truck. Ford says my truck can go five years before changing and then it should be changed every three years.

Use only distilled water to flush and/or fill.

The JD coolent I used already was mixed with water which made things easier.

There are lots of different coolents out there,some are ok and some are really good. I can't decided if I'll stay with the Ford/JD coolent in my truck or upgrade to something else. Just tempted to use the JD coolent in the Ford since its so easy to get from the JD dealer.

Changing the coolent was somewhat easy. But it was a PITA getting to the drain peacock. I got lucky when I changed the coolent. There was a recall on the tractor and the dealer sent out a mechanic to install an upgraded battery/starter cable and shield. That thing is going to make changing the coolent much harder since its right in the way of the peacock. I got lucky since I had just changed the coolent.

Later,
Dan