What Kind Of Coolant?

[pitteach]

The coolant tube off of the water pump finally went on me today. I will be replacing tomorrow. What is the best way to flush the system and what flavor of coolant should I use? ('00 3.8L.)
Thanks.

[wiswind]

I am not sure if your vehicle came with traditional green or with yellow / gold G-05 coolant.
Ford says to put in what it came with.....however, they do say that if you add a long life coolant to the traditional green, that it will still have the service life of the non-long life coolant.
I converted my '96 3.8L, which came from the factory with traditional green to the G-05 coolant.
Motorcraft "Gold" is G-05, and Zerex makes a G-05.

Most coolant that you will find, including the Prestone yellow jug is a Dexcool type of coolant.....which has NO silicates.

I prefer the low silicate G-05 coolant, which costs more, but give you the instant protection that the silicates provide, and the long life properties of the coolant.
That said, I change the coolant far more often than the 5 years 150K miles that the long life coolants claim.

Dexcool, and other Non Silicate and Non Phosphate coolants are known as OAT (Organic Acid Technology) coolants.
They are long life and do not have the silicate fallout that the traditional high silicate coolants had.
The downside is that they take 1K miles or so to build up the protective layer on the metal surfaces. This protective layer is removed when hit with particles or air bubbles.
This is were the "cavitation damage" comes in to play.....as air bubbles in a system with a OAT type coolant can cause pitting of metal surfaces.....particularly the water pump impeller.

G-05 is a HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) type of coolant.
It has the advantages of the OAT coolant, plus a low level of silicates to provide instant protection.....but will not settle out of the solution.

Of course, all 3 types, Traditional High Silicate, OAT, and HOAT are elthyline Glycol base coolants.

I have found that the OAT coolants are the most common in stores.....some carry ONLY OAT coolants.

Traditional green and G-05 coolants are harder to find.
I have read that some stores are starting to carry the Zerex G-05 again.
I have had several different auto part store clerks try to sell me a OAT coolant as a G-05 coolant.......it is pretty clear......labeling states "Silicate Free"......then it is NOT G-05.

[steve_o]

I bought my '99 3.8L Windstar used in '02 and replaced the hoses, thermostat and back flushed the sytem only to replace the coolant with orange stuff because the manual said to replace it with the color of coolant that was already in it.

About a month ago I bought a Prestone "T" flush kit and flushed the system to clear water and put in the traditional green coolant. Primarily because of the built up gunk in the overflow caused by the Orange coolant.

Wiswind: I read your thread and am still confused. Other than the period between flushes, is there a problem with what I did using the green coolant?

Steve

[wiswind]

I would guess that you are fine.
From what I have read, the newer "traditional green" coolants are not as high in silicate content......
It should be fine for the 2 year interval.

You have to be careful about using the color of the coolant to determine what was in there.
Of course, if you put it in there....you can check back and find out what it was.
The problem is that different manufactures use different colors for the same coolant.
Motorcraft Orange (I think) is a Dexcool, OAT type, coolant
Motorcraft Gold is G-05 HOAT coolant
Motorcraft Green is "traditional" silicate coolant.

The MOST important thing is to change the coolant when it needs to be changed......and many people fail to do that.

The other thing worth taking note of......a 50/50 mix is what is to be used......
Going more than 70% coolant will actually lower the freeze point.
There will be a chart on the side of the container that shows the freeze and boil protection temperatures with various mixtures.

Take extra care to properly dispose of used coolant....and to NOT leave any spilled coolant on the driveway, etc......
Clean up any spilled coolant, and wash the area really well with water....
Any residue will be attractive to your pets......and is poisonous to them.
I keep my dog in the house when working with the cooling system......until I have it all cleaned up.

Many comunities have a antifreeze drum at the recycling drop off place.....and it is free to drop it off in many cases.