coolant questions

[bigrigdom]

So I looked into my coolant overflow tank today and its filled with some bad lookin brown nastyness. I am going to attempt to flush the system later this afternoon. my question is, what exactly is the additive that I am supposed to be adding to it. something to do with the cavitation issue. im gonna get everything from autozone or carquest, will they carry the stuff, will they know what the heck im talkin about, and how much im supposed to add to it. first time thing with this truck and It runs great so i dont wanna mess it up. any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Dom

 

[FordGuy100]

Good question about the additive, cause I have the same question. Is it an additive, or is it just a SCA approved Coolant?

 

[Mr_Roboto]

The big box stores will have no idea what you are talking about.

The best place to get the SCA's and test strips is your local International dealer. As an alternative you can get pre-charged coolant from a truck dealer or farm / fleet type store.

Coolant must be low silicate.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Good question about the additive, cause I have the same question. Is it an additive, or is it just a SCA approved Coolant?

SCA stands for "Supplemental Coolant Additive" it's an item not a standard.

 

[bigrigdom]

thank you for the quick response Mr. Roboto. If I get the pre charged coolant do I need to add anything to that or am I good to go? also, if I put new coolant in do I still need to test it or is that just to know if you need new stuff or not? thanks again.

 

[BROWNIEBOY525]

if you put precharged coolant in thenn you dont have to put sca in it. but you should still test it regulary. if you put antifreeze in it with out sca you will need to add some. napa carries it its called napa kool (i think thats the name). i think you can get precharged coolant at napa to.

 

[sle2115]

This is what I have been using with good results.

 

[typ4]

If you go to autozone and read the zerex gold it is the only one that is approved for use by the big diesel engines, Mack.Cat, JD. I put it in mine because none of the others said anything about diesel use.
The fleet stuff posted above is also good, had it the first time around.
Just more info

 

[OkieGringo]

This is what I have been using with good results.

Fleet Charge is what I'm now using. I got it at O'reilley's but had to ask for it because they keep it back in the stock shelves for some reason. Prestone also makes Pre-Charged A/F, comes in Black bottle with purple field. Pre-charged A/F has been "standardized" and it purple in color, NOT green. Prestone's pre-charged orginally was green, and can be used with the new purple color. Okiegringo

 

[-=DeanstuD=-]

I have a coolant question too. I was thinking that when looking at used trucks, it might be a good idea to use some test strips on the coolant. I have read that there are two different types of SCAs and that they are incompatible.

So, my question is, are these "strips" compatible or are there different strips for each brand?

 

[typ4]

As far as i know there is just one strip kit. someone will chime in I am sure. You are pretty close to me dean, when things slow down we can gtg.

 

[dwaymar]

go to a truck stop and they will have just what you need i run shell zone green concentrate in all of mine his comes precharged and ready to pour in

 

[-=DeanstuD=-]

You are pretty close to me dean, when things slow down we can gtg.

Yah, that'd be gr8. Several of us in the PDX area...

 

[Diesel JD]

Yes there are indeed two types of SCA.... The one that Ford and IH use is VC8, but they used to call it FW16 and before that something else. IH and fleetguard called this stuff DCA4. It is nitrite and molydbate coolant additive. The other stuff is nitrite only coolant additive such as the napakool and caterpillar stuff and maybe the DCA2 although I have not done the research to confirm this. You should not mix the nitrite only coolants and the molydbate and nitrite DCA. As to the strips...if you use the DCA4 style you want the 3-way strips from fleetguard because they have a pad which checks for both additives as well as ph. They are proud of them and they are expensive so if you are using the Napa or CAT style nitrite only additive, get the napakool test strips since they are a bit cheaper in fact mine went out of date before I used them all.