Stupid questions.

[Selahdoor]

No. I'm not complaining about them.

I'm asking them!!

89 f250 7.3idi no turbo.

I've heard about the antifreeze being a special kind. Or maybe some kind of additive? And then testing, to see if it is correct?

Can someone explain that to me?



Next... My heater is always on. Means it gets pretty hot in the truck, when the outside temp gets above 40. Especially bad to go through a summer like that.

Instead of digging around under the dash, and pulling it all out to R&R... I think for now, I want to just put a shutoff in the hose going to the heater core.

I bought a brass/bronze/stainless ball valve that I think will fit in the hose pretty nicely. There is already a 'flush kit' adapter in one hose. The thing you connect a garden hose to, to do a flush of the cooling system. For the moment I am just going to assume that that was put into the correct hose.

My question is, if I remove that adapter, and put the ball valve in it's place. Then close the valve to turn off the flow of water...

Am I taking any chances with breaking something?

Thank you.

 

[VandalS]

1) buy the additives at a auto store. DCA or add a coolant filter with DCA's inside.
2) Just loop the flow back into the other hose or just make a loop out of it and no worries about breaking anything.

 

[snicklas]

If you do want to just valve it off, the hose coming from the passenger side head, down near the exhaust manifold, is the supply. The return from the heater core goes to the top of the water pump. It doesn't matter which hose goes to which side of the heater core, as it's just a a loop with fins on it..... I think most, just to keep things neat, it put the supply in the port on the engine side port, and the return on the fender side port.

I understand wanting a valve instead of just looping the hose. Where I am in Central Indiana, this time of year, it's not uncommon to need the heat in the morning, to defog the windows and warm the cabin, and the A/C on the way home from work.......

 

[Selahdoor]

1) buy the additives at a auto store. DCA or add a coolant filter with DCA's inside.
2) Just loop the flow back into the other hose or just make a loop out of it and no worries about breaking anything.

Maybe I asked my stupid question in too stupid of a way.

I need to know more about this coolant thing.

I THINK I am not supposed to just dump regular old green coolant into my system.

Some mysterious thing called cavitation has been offered as the reason for this.

I know absolutely nothing beyond that point. Saying to buy DCA at an auto parts store, in response, is rather like asking how to care for furniture, and being told to buy sandpaper at Lowes. Good info. And thank you for that. But I need more than that.

If you do want to just valve it off, the hose coming from the passenger side head, down near the exhaust manifold, is the supply. The return from the heater core goes to the top of the water pump. It doesn't matter which hose goes to which side of the heater core, as it's just a a loop with fins on it..... I think most, just to keep things neat, it put the supply in the port on the engine side port, and the return on the fender side port.

I understand wanting a valve instead of just looping the hose. Where I am in Central Indiana, this time of year, it's not uncommon to need the heat in the morning, to defog the windows and warm the cabin, and the A/C on the way home from work.......

Exactly. It's the same way here, until about the end of july.

I want to be able to turn it on when needed, and off, when it's a problem. Thank you.

I think I'll make sure the ball valve is in the supply line. And thank you for that info!!!

 

[VandalS]

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TWRX007099
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/FIL4106

or

https://www.amazon.com/Fleetguard-Coolant-Analysis-Test-CC2602A/dp/B002TQD2KI
https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Ford...rd_wg=NvSp6&psc=1&refRID=A662JENMXRZ5S3YCXCQ1

 

[austin92]

I use the napa test strips but the coolant filter with 8 units of dca keeps it pretty much dead on 1200ppm

P/N's
4019 filter head kit. I made a bracket to mount mine to the fuel filter housing

After running 2 4070 filters to clean all the crap out I switched to the 4073

This is all with conventional green coolant


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[MtnHaul]

For coolant just buy Fleetcharge as it comes precharged with the necessary additives--about $16-$20 per gallon. It comes in a gray bottle with a pink cap and the coolant is a reddish color.

I also would just loop the heater line instead of plugging it.

 

[IDIoit]

if the heater always blows hot air, you may want to look into vacuum leaks.
if it has a leak, the blend doors wont work. that's where I would start.
if I had AC I would install a valve.
hell my 71 F250 CS has a factory valve to shut off coolant to the heater core.

I only use fleet charge. easy and you don't have to think about it.

 

[madpogue]

Best deal on FleetCharge - find a nearby Advance Auto that carries it (or arrange for a store-to-store transfer), then order it online for in-store pickup. Look up retailmenot.com for a discount code, there's usu. a 30% or 40% discount code available. Takes it down to aprx. $12/gallon, which is cheaper than buying plain green and the SCA separately.

Does your truck have A/C? A heat-only truck would not have any vacuum controls.

 

[crash-harris]

Small white vacuum line that actuates the valve on top of the heater box under hood (tucked next to passenger fender) has probably rotted through.

However, if switching the temp control to cold still blows hot air, you have a different problem. The temp control is cable actuated and the vent selection is what is vacuum controlled.

If the blower runs all the time, I bet the blower switch has melted (usually due to the resister unit in the underside of the duct, under the dash has blown or gone bad).

 

[hoodshauler]

Go to the frequently asked question section your answer to your question of why the special coolant is there


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[Selahdoor]

Excellent excellent excellent! I'm glad I asked.

Thank you to everyone who posted!

FWIW:
*No AC on this truck.
*I have turned it from hot to cold, and it made a difference. Still hot, though. So I'll still put in the valve.
*I will look for the vacuum hose. It wouldn't be the first problem this truck had, that I think is caused by lack of vacuum.

Seriously folks, thank you very much!

 

[Grady J]

Anyone have any opinions on Hyper-lube diesel additive? It claims 100% cavitation protection. Thats what I used recently because none of the auto parts stores in my area had the DCA in stock.

 

[madpogue]

They claim anti-cavitation, but have ZERO information about testing it, initially or in service down the road. Doesn't pass my sniff test.

 

[Macrobb]

You *need* a cavitation-protecting *coolant*. Because it's the cylinder walls that are flexing(slightly) under the high compression, resulting in micro-bubbles in the coolant.

Fleet charge, or a regular green coolant with Napakool or something like that will work. You will need to test it every 6 months or so.

I personally believe in using Zerex HD ELC coolant. It's a diesel-rated coolant that doesn't require any additives or checking.
You can pick it up at Napa, part number ZXED1. Usually $20/gallon for concentrate.

I have heard concern about it not being 'recommended' as a coolant(there won't be any recommendations to use an ELC/OAT coolant on our engines, because ELC/OAT coolants weren't in common use at the time). Really, the only concern is seals/O-rings

Personally, I've had it in all my rigs for a few years with no issues, so that's what I will recommend.