Thermostat Question

[Ramprat]

Thinking about taking the 97 F250 PSD in to have the radiator flushed really good & replace all the coolant with the orange Fleetrite antifreeze so I don't need to use the SCA additive any more.

Anywhoo, can I get a stock 203* thermostat instead of just replacing the old 195* one for the OBS 7.3?

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

yep through riley&riley
same tstat as a SD

 

[li'l tugger]

whats the benefit of a 203* t-stat? i've seen them quite a bit lately. any noticable gains in hp or mpg? is it worth doing just because??

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

with all the other mods I have done the 203 stat is on I have never done main reason is it is not a IH or ford part, and starting way back with the 6.9s an afermarket tstat was a big no no.

 

[h2odrx]

with all the other mods I have done the 203 stat is on I have never done main reason is it is not a IH or ford part, and starting way back with the 6.9s an afermarket tstat was a big no no.

True but diesel engines love heat, so a little more should help with efficiency!

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

true , but at 230 in an IH the engine depowers due to over heat, lots of people have insatlled the 203 and have good things to say. just as long as millions of people have installed aftermarket tstats in any brand,.
I have seen the difference between oem and aftermarket in many brands, and there is a difference.

 

[hheynow]

Thinking about taking the 97 F250 PSD in to have the radiator flushed really good & replace all the coolant with the orange Fleetrite antifreeze so I don't need to use the SCA additive any more.

Our coolant systems take the green coolant. What's the big deal with adding the SCAs? Heck, you rarely drive it. Oh, I forgot who the poster is. Yes Rampy go with the orange stuff.

 

[geonc]

Rampy, I have not had any bad issues with the 203 stat nor the CAT ELC I have been running for the past 5 years/180 k mi

I got the stat from I believe Bob Riley before he went hollywood

 

[Ramprat]

Our coolant systems take the green coolant. What's the big deal with adding the SCAs? Heck, you rarely drive it. Oh, I forgot who the poster is. Yes Rampy go with the orange stuff.

 

[Ramprat]

Rampy, I have not had any bad issues with the 203 stat nor the CAT ELC I have been running for the past 5 years/180 k mi

I got the stat from I believe Bob Riley before he went hollywood

Yeppers bob r is who I'm looking at getting one from along with a new housing.

Figure I'll just go with the Fleetrite cuz it's easier to get from a local dealer & way less controversy than the CAT ELC

 

[Mike]

Ramps,

The fleetrite is gooooood stuff. I ran it in my 95 for a couple years before I got rid of her and had zero problems with it.

 

[hheynow]

Cooling system maintenance
The cooling system on any diesel has special concerns. It's possible for the coolant to cavitate--produce tiny bubbles--that can with time cause pin holes throught the cylinder walls from the water jackets. For this there is an additive; Ford P/N FW-15 or FW-16, Fleetguard P/N DCA4; that needs to be maintained in the coolant. Generally this means installing 8 to 10 oz of the additive to the cooling system every 15000 miles. Another method is to monitor the cooling system with Fleetguard's DCA4 test kit P/N CC2602 or CC2602A. This measures the level of DCA4 in the system, then you add the amount of SCA/DCA as required to reach a nitrite level of 1.2-3.0 PPM. The cooling system should be drained (and flushed if you live in an area with especialy alkiline water) and refilled with a fresh 50/50 mix of coolant/distilled or demineralized water and one pint of the additive for every two gallons of coolant/water at 30,000 miles. Use only a ethylene glycol-based coolant, preferably low-silicate.
Antifreezes I can recommend:

* Ford or Motorcraft Premium Antifreeze
* Texaco Antifreeze/Coolant
* Texaco Antifreeze/Coolant Prediluted 50/50
* Zerex 5/100 (white bottle) Antifreeze/Coolant
* Zerex Ready To Use Antifreeze/Coolant (premixed 50/50 with demineralized water)
* Zerex Heavy Duty Precharged Formula
* Shellzone Premium Quality Antifreeze
* Prestone Heavy Duty (black bottle) Antifreeze/Coolant with SCA
* Fleetguard Compleat EG--precharged at 1.5 units/gallon DCA4
Also available premixed 50/50 with water with the same DCA4 level
* Pyroil Heavy-Duty Antifreeze/Coolant--Low Silicate
* Peak Full Force or Advance
* FleetCharge Antifreeze/Coolant--precharged with Pencool
* WalMart Super Tech

2002 model year trucks use any of the above if your truck came filled with green coolant. If it came from the factory with yellow coolant, only use Motorcraft Premium Gold Long Life Antifreeze, Zerex G05 (gold bottle), Peak Global Lifetime (gold bottle) or Peak Extended Life CF-EXL (silver bottle). These coolants are fully-formulated using hybrid organic acid technology (HOAT) and do not require SCA/DCA. Recommended service interval with the gold coolant is 5 years or 100,000 miles. Test the gold coolant periodically for pH balance and freeze protection.

Trucks originally filled with Gold coolant:
All 2002 F-Series built at the Kentucky Truck Plant (VIN 11th digit "E")
2002 F150-550 built in Cuautitlan (VIN "M") from 2-4-02
2002 F650/750 built in Cuautitlan from 1-28-02
All Econolines built from 7-15-02

Ford has approved using the gold HOAT coolants in their vehicles as far back as the 1999 model year, providing the cooling system has been thoroughly flushed to remove all traces of the green coolant. If regular tap water is used instead of distilled or demineralized water, the recommended service interval is only 50,000 miles.
Ford does not recommend using propylene glycol-based coolants in any of their vehicles, or "universal" coolants that claim to be a replacement for any color antifreeze. They also have not approved the use of any organic acid tecnology (OAT) extended life coolants (ELC) in the PowerStroke cooling system.

FROM HERE

 

[kawa]

I will add that another reason to use a chemical flush when servicing the cooling system is to remove the build up of the old SCA. It will build up on the inside of the block and this build up can cause over heating.

Rog

 

[7.3 powerstrok]

ok thanks