OEM Anti-Freeze

[MM2004]

Question for the group, . .

What type anti-freeze came in our MM's and what temp. (below freezing) is it rated for?
Winter storm caught us unexpectantly with temps hitting 0 deg. F and colder.

Currently sporting about 7 inches of snow/ice on my MM (not driving). :alone:

[RF Overlord]

Just look in the reservoir and see whether it's honey-coloured or green...if it's honey-coloured, then you have Motorcraft Premium Gold (Glysantin), which is also available as Zerex G-05 at AutoZone (I believe all '04s came with this)...if it's green, then you have conventional ethylene glycol coolant. BEWARE: they are not interchangable.

Per the owner's manual, the car is shipped with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water good for -34°F...if you're concerned, get one of those inexpensive antifreeze testers from AZ or Wally World...

[EbonyMarauder03]

The color of your antifreeze depends on the build date of your car. Your Ford,Lincoln or Mercury dealer can tell you which one you should have. As mentioned they are NOT interchangable. As for 0 degree weather you are plenty safe. Unless you live in the northern reaches of Alaska you need not worry. You should however flush your cooling system every 2 or 3 years since the additives in the coolant/antifreeze will breakdown and lose effectiveness.

Also....do NOT pour warm or hot water on your ice covered windshield. You will be replacing it. :bigcry:

Keep warm.

[Svashtar]

The color of your antifreeze depends on the build date of your car. Your Ford,Lincoln or Mercury dealer can tell you which one you should have. As mentioned they are NOT interchangable...

Damn. QUESTION PLEASE!: When I installed the 180 degree therm I slopped about a half-gallon of the coolant onto the ground before I could get a bucket all the way underneath it. What I had stock was the honey colored stuff. I checked and in the back of my shop I had an old (7 or 8 years old, still unopened) quart of Chevron Perma-Gard coolant. It was a bluish color as I recall, and I'm pretty sure it was regular glycol based being that old.

I mixed this quart with a quart of water and added the 50/50 mix to the car. Since then the car has been driven about 400 miles, and everything seems OK. Overall coolant color seems to have stayed the same.

Do I have a problem? What is the reason these coolant types should not be mixed?

Thanks very much for any information.

Regards,

Norm

[RF Overlord]

Norm:

Glysantin is an ethylene glycol-based HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolant, so the small quantity of green you added will most likely not cause any issues. Initial laboratory testing indicated G 05 is compatible with traditional green product, but mixing with too much green may lower the coolant life. Ford was supposed to be fleet-testing this, but I haven't heard the results. If it was MY car, I'd flush it out and refill with 50/50 Motorcraft Premium Gold or Zerex G05, using only DISTILLED water.

The interchangability issue is due to the incompatibility of the various new technologies. Used to be coolant was coolant and was all green. Then GM muddied the waters in '95 by introducing DEX-COOL (made by Texaco), which is an OAT (Organic Acid Technology) designed for longer life. OAT is NOT compatible with any other coolant. Glysantin, developed by BASF, is a HOAT (Hybrid OAT) that "may" be compatible with the original green, but long-term testing is either not complete, or not released yet.

[Svashtar]

RF, thanks for all the great information. I think there is a flush & fill kit at autozone that will allow me to do the work myself; I just have to figure out which hose to cut into!

Regards,

Norm

[JACook]

RF, thanks for all the great information. I think there is a flush & fill kit at autozone that will allow me to do the work myself; I just have to figure out which hose to cut into! Don't.

Those flush and fill kits are designed to allow you to hook a garden hose to your cooling system to rinse it out.
This may have been fine back when engines were cast iron, (though depending on how hard your water is, I'm
not sure it really was ever a good idea) but definitely not such a good idea today.

I'm with RF on this- Nothing but _distilled_ water should be used in your MM's cooling system.

The other problem with using those flush and fill kits is, unless you can drain the block, you never know exactly
how much water was left in the system. Kinda makes it tough to be sure you have a proper 50/50 coolant mix.
And you do want to be sure. Improper coolant concentration leads to expensive repairs. You should never add
pure coolant or pure water to top off a modern cooling system. Always pre-mix your antifreeze with distilled
water before pouring it into your cooling system.

Also, you may want to search back through the board, for information on proper filling and bleeding of the MM's
cooling system. Air trapped in the system is not a Good Thing.

[Svashtar]

Don't.

Those flush and fill kits are designed to allow you to hook a garden hose to your cooling system to rinse it out.
This may have been fine back when engines were cast iron, (though depending on how hard your water is, I'm
not sure it really was ever a good idea) but definitely not such a good idea today.

I'm with RF on this- Nothing but _distilled_ water should be used in your MM's cooling system.

The other problem with using those flush and fill kits is, unless you can drain the block, you never know exactly
how much water was left in the system. Kinda makes it tough to be sure you have a proper 50/50 coolant mix.
And you do want to be sure. Improper coolant concentration leads to expensive repairs. You should never add
pure coolant or pure water to top off a modern cooling system. Always pre-mix your antifreeze with distilled
water before pouring it into your cooling system.

Also, you may want to search back through the board, for information on proper filling and bleeding of the MM's
cooling system. Air trapped in the system is not a Good Thing.
Thanks for the good advice. Glad I saw this. My main concern is not in _refilling_ the system, I presume I do it the same way I did after I installed the thermostat thru the 1 1/4" metal plug on top of the black pipe above the radiator, but in completely draining it.

Seems like unless I backflush with a hose, there is still going to be a lot of coolant left in the block itself. Any tips on how to get ALL the old coolant out of the system?

Thanks again,

Norm

[fastblackmerc]

If you use the flush-n-fill kit just don't get caught dumping the antifreeze on the ground!!! Also will kill any animals, imcluding pets, that like the sweet taste. Find a good shop that will power flush the system and refill with the correct fluid (bring the correct stuff if they don't have it). It's usually pretty cheap to get done. Same with the transmission fluid change. The new power flusher will get all the old fluids out and they will be disposed of properly.