coolant / ford 7.3 ( wet liner? )

[fieldserviceengineer]

OK.. did some more research and have a few questions.

Looks like my 7.3 PSD from 99 would have taken the coolant addative FW15 ( back then ).. and that is a SCA2 type addative. The addative I was thinking of using, the napa kool 4056 also appears to be a SCA2 addative.

At some point Fw15 was updated to Fw16.. not sure the difference.

Nowadays the spec is VC8 it looks like.. and that is a DCA4 adative ( nitrate and moybdate?? )

So.. question.. still ok to add the napa kool 4056 to my 99 PSD.. or do I need to pick up the VC8

whats the verdict from ye learned diesel owners?

soundguy

Ford FW16 is our Fleetguard DCA4. Older FW15 is the same but different part number based on packaging as I recall. Even if you use supplemental coolant additives (SCA) of a different chemical base such as Fleetguard DCA2 (nitrite only) or our DCA4 (nitrite, molybdate) and all the competitors out there, they are all compatible. No issues at all in mixing. If you use test strips to measure the DCA4 content, be certain to use strips that measure both nitrite and molybdate. There are test strips that only measure nitrite, thus they would indicate that there is less active additive in your coolant than reality. Use either Fleetgurard 3-Way test strips, CC2602, Donaldson same kit but different part number, Baldwin has same kit but different reference chart "look".

The use of the Ford SCA products was never based on whether the coolant was a conventional chemistry (non-OAT) and their present use of an OAT hybrid, Motorcraft Premium Gold. While Ford states that it is not necessary to add SCA to that coolant, it certainly does not hurt to add a pint on yearly basis as a maintenance dose. The chemical is consumed in protecting against cavitation corrosion (pitting). The PowerStroke (D444E) and earlier versions from International plus the 6.0 liter are all parent bore (cast-in cylinder block) designs, no liners. The new 6.7L Ford diesel, also called PowerStroke is a parent bore design. The International engines have all shown the ability to fail from cavitation. Use a supplemental coolant additive. A one time dose is not sufficient, regardless of the claims that Premium Gold does not need additives for a specified period of time. Better to err on the side of overly cautious than to learn how much it costs to have the block bored and sleeved to fix pitting damage.

 

[Soundguy]

well, I I got the napa kool 4056 sca2 bottles to treat my 99 7.3, and I hit the ford dealer and got the vc8 dca4 that was called for for my newer '94 6.0

( my NH diesels tractors are all using CNH branded fw15 )

soundguy

 

[Highbeam]

So where did you get the test strips? The NAPA ones didn't seem to do the job. Also, they are often expired before you buy them. Must not have much of a shelf life.

I need to maintain my 2000 7.3 PSD's coolant system but haven't gotten over the technical hurdles.

 

[rec]

the 7.3 is not a sleave block

 

[fieldserviceengineer]

So where did you get the test strips? The NAPA ones didn't seem to do the job. Also, they are often expired before you buy them. Must not have much of a shelf life.

I need to maintain my 2000 7.3 PSD's coolant system but haven't gotten over the technical hurdles.

You are correct, test strips have expiration dates. The date on bottle products from Fleetguard, Baldwin and Donaldson have two year shelf life. If the bottle is marked with an expiry date of 11/2010. The product is good until the last day of that month. That product would have been manufactured two years earlier by that date code. If you are buying test strips packed in foil wrappers, there has been a problem with shelf life on these. The manufacturer has now recognized that their efforts at "cost reduction" have created a major problem. Even foil wrapped product that has not expired is showing up as bad. The way to tell is to open a foil wrap strip and examine the "nitrite" pad. That one is the top pad with the bottom pad being the glycol test. The middle pad is the "molybdate" pad. If the nitrite pad appears to have a slight tan to very brown coloration, the strips are bad. Testing coolant with bad test strips yields an answer that the coolant has more additive than is actually in it. This could lead you to do nothing.

While on the topic of test strips, if your manufacturer's operation and maintenance manual calls for adding a liquid DCA or similar produt or changing the coolant filter (with chemical) at a specified interval then do that. Do not use test strips to decide "should I or should I not". Test strips are to keep you informed that your maintenance and the amount you use for a maintenance dose is correct. The O&M manual is the rule in treating a cooling system. If your equipment does not have a coolant chemical maintenance schedule, it may mean that your engine does not require additional chemical protection. If you elect to use chemical additives anyway, then do not add any more than what is sufficient to produce 3.0 units on the test strip reference card assuming you use the Fleetguard, Baldwin or Donaldson test strips. If you use a nitrite only test kit from Penray sometimes called a 2-Way test kit (freeze point and nitrite) then keep the nitrite level at no more than 3200 PPM.

One last thought, the test strips that are working best regarding the shelf life issue are bottled product. But a bottle of 50 strips is expensive, especially when you only need to test once a year or even if you do 4 times per year. The bottle will go out of date before you can use it up. If you have doubts about your DCA level then add liquid DCA4 (FW15) at the rate of one pint bottle treats two gallons of capacity as a precharge (2.5 units per gallon). If your cooling system is 6 gallons, that will require 3 pints. Then a yearly maintenance of one pint providing your are not flogging the PowerStroke by pulling a heavily loaded cattle trailer frequently or towning an RV at high speed frequently. The harder an engine runs (high load) the faster it will consume additives. They are sacrificial in protecting the coolant cylinder walls from pitting damage.

 

[Soundguy]

i was under the impression fw15 was an sca2 addative and fw16/vc8 was the dca4 addative?

soundguy

 

[fieldserviceengineer]

A Short History of DCA4 and Ford Part Numbers

Ford has always been a customer of Fleetguard for DCA4. Ford did not ever buy DCA2. The first product Ford bought from us was DCA4 packaged by us with Ford labeling, FW15. Later, Ford bought the liquid in bulk and had another company (Excelda) package it for them, part changed to FW16. Then Ford changed to their own part numbering system to conform to their processes, VC8. Now the VC9 product has a pale yellow dye. Formerly it was blue. The yellow dye per Ford's request was to make additions of it to systems and not affect the color. Unofficially, I would guess that current VC8 is being used with Ford Motorcraft Premium Gold Antifreeze at the customer level and perhaps at the dealership level. No color change would happen.

 

[dmccarty]

So where did you get the test strips? The NAPA ones didn't seem to do the job. Also, they are often expired before you buy them. Must not have much of a shelf life.

I need to maintain my 2000 7.3 PSD's coolant system but haven't gotten over the technical hurdles.

I get my test strips at my JD dealer.

When I replaced my coolant in the truck and tractor a few years back I ended up using JD Cool Guard for both. I think there is a new JD Cool Guard but I have not looked at it yet. I think this fall I am due to change coolant again in both engines. I suppose it will be with Cool Guard again.

Later,
Dan

 

[3Bladz]

Some of 7.3's had yellow coolant some had green, I'm not sure which additive goes with which but I do know that Ford sells test strips so you can check to see if and when the additive is needed. I also have been told by a Navistar Engineer at a fleet presentation Ford did that you should NOT mix yellow and green coolant, they are not compatible. On the later 6 liters this slimes up the EGR cooler causing them to overheat and crack.

 

[Soundguy]

wow.. seems like you need a ooigie board to figure out what you have and need.

shame on the manufactures of all involved for making the procedure so shrouded in mystery for the end user..

soundguy