Intercooler fluid

[testorossa1989]

Alright

Let me first say ive read many posts about this. The Ford "GOLD" intercooler fluid that can only be purchased from ford.

Ive recently installed a 2.3 and had to drain the coolant and intercooler. Everywhere i read i see that you need to use the "Golden Ford I/C" Fluid. I also saw that its the same mixture that the old 80s 5.0's used. Ive also seen people using 50/50 coolant for it depending if the I/C fluid is yellow or green. In my case the I/C fluid is YELLOW. What i drained out looks alot more delooted than what is in the I/C fluid reservoir. My problem is this, Everyone says to clearly use the FORD GOLDEN I/C fluid found at your local dealership (Anywhere else i can find this btw?) but my Ford service tech workshop manual clearly says use 50/50 coolant with distilled water. I know i should probably use the golden I/C fluid, many say its costly and i personally want my car running this weekend and knowing ford, they wont stock it (no surprise there), BUT my Ford service tech workshop manual says otherwise. Its like comparing whats clearly right with whats practice by the certified techs. I dont know which i should do or practice

 

[cobracide]

There is no "intercooler fluid" per se.. it is just antifreeze and water. Use distilled. Gold is my choice for the radiator and next in line for the intercooler/heat exchanger system.

Green was first, Gold is a better choice - longer lasting. There is also an orange. Don't mix colors without a flush. Fill by way of the crossover tube.

Motorcraft® Engine Cooling System Products and Engine Coolants

 

[01cobravortech]

My car came with the yellow in both systems. I refilled my systems with the Prestone green. Prestone is a cheaper alternative than the Ford coolant.

 

[timspony]

I also use the Prestone "All Makes" antifreeze .... 50/50 mix

 

[P49Y-CY]

yes green and yellow(gold) are pretty much the same (ethylene glycol). the orange is propylene glycol. or vice versa i can't remember lol

you do not want to mix the yellow/green with the orange!

 

[testorossa1989]

Thats what i got and was going to use for both systems(prestone). I just wanted to double check to see what everyone is using/suggests.

 

[Ukfox89]

i use a 2/3 water and 1/3 anitfreeze mixture with distilled water and a little water wetter.

 

[SlowSVT]

:nono:

Do not mix or use green anti-freeze in Ford mod motors as they are incompatible and will inhibit the anti-corrosion properties of the coolant with the alloy used in our engines. Only use the gold Ford anti-freeze as they specify to minimize corrosion. I don't recall the exact technical reasons but I do remember they were very explicit about adhering to their recommendations.

Water wetter (surficent) is worthless in the presents of anti-freeze and will do nothing to increase the heat transfer properties of the coolant.

Do not second guess the factory engineers as they know the effects of doing so way more than we do.

I know one guy who ran straight water in his 5.0 to maximize heat transfer which is correct and swore by it. One day he needed to change out his water pump only to find out the water jacket was so corroded the threads disintegrated to the point the block and heads were completely wasted (but at least it ran cooler while it lasted :dw.

If you are trying to save a few bucks on anti-freeze you should not be playing around modifying this engine. Stick with what the factory recommends with regard to anti-freeze.

 

[P49Y-CY]

:nono:

Do not mix or use green anti-freeze in Ford mod motors as they are incompatible and will inhibit the anti-corrosion properties of the coolant with the alloy used in our engines. Only use the gold Ford anti-freeze as they specify to minimize corrosion. I don't recall the exact technical reasons but I do remember they were very explicit about adhering to their recommendations.

but that wouldn't make sense since the first run of terminators came with green, they didn't switch to the gold in our cars until the second production run.

motorcraft gold is a "long life" coolant that allows for 100k changes (not that anyone should let it go that long anyway imo), but really the only difference between the gold and green is the long life additive. essentially they are the same. i agree with you that it would be better to flush all if possible rather than mixing however or you would minimize the effectiveness.

i remember when i first got this car i was all about cooling system maintenance and i was trying to learn all the tech i could about it. i probably couldn't produce any links or anything if you asked me to tho, it's been a long time

 

[jrgoffin]

Don't people ever bother to read the SVT Supplement that came with the car? It tells you in there exactly what the "fluid" is

 

[SlowSVT]

but that wouldn't make sense since the first run of terminators came with green, they didn't switch to the gold in our cars until the second production run.

motorcraft gold is a "long life" coolant that allows for 100k changes (not that anyone should let it go that long anyway imo), but really the only difference between the gold and green is the long life additive. essentially they are the same. i agree with you that it would be better to flush all if possible rather than mixing however or you would minimize the effectiveness.

i remember when i first got this car i was all about cooling system maintenance and i was trying to learn all the tech i could about it. i probably couldn't produce any links or anything if you asked me to tho, it's been a long time

This is what I lifted off the Fordparts web site:

Use only when specified ◦Use when Ford Specification ESE-M97B44-A is specified
◦Do not mix different colors or types of coolant in your vehicle. Make sure the correct coolant is used. Mixing of engine coolants may harm your engine’s cooling system. The use of an improper coolant may harm engine and cooling system components and may void the warranty.
◦Do not use this product in systems originally equipped with the orange-colored Motorcraft® Orange Antifreeze/Coolant, meeting Ford Specifications WSS-M97B44-D or -D2, or with
the yellow-colored Motorcraft® Gold Antifreeze/Coolant, meeting Ford Specification WSS-M97B51-A1, or with the dark green-colored Motorcraft® Specialty Green Engine Coolant, meeting Ford Specification WSS-M97B55-A

Not sure when Ford switched over to the gold anti-freeze. As I stated I read a third party very in-depth article on anti-freeze which was very explicit about not mixing different grades of anti-freeze due to an unfavorable chemical reaction.

Did all the 03 come from the factory using the glycol based (green) anti-freeze?

 

[03cobra#694]

My 03 came with the green stuff.

 

[P49Y-CY]

Did all the 03 come from the factory using the glycol based (green) anti-freeze?

from what i understand the first production run '03s came with green, the second run '03s came with gold. then the third run ('04s) all came with gold.

 

[SlowSVT]

from what i understand the first production run '03s came with green, the second run '03s came with gold. then the third run ('04s) all came with gold.

Never knew that.

Thanks for clearing that one up for me.

Russ :beer:

 

[mach1033]

Some of you guys put way to much thought into this lol. Like slowsvt stated just use what Ford recommends and you will be fine.

 

[P49Y-CY]

Never knew that.

Thanks for clearing that one up for me.

Russ :beer:

you bet russ! thank you too, as i have learned alot from your insightful posts over the years :beer:

 

[jrgoffin]

Some of you guys put way to much thought into this lol

No kidding there. It is pretty tough to dig the information right out of the Ford literature though...

 

[rider4life350]

Anything wrong with distiller water and water wetter? I'm just looking for maximum cooling because I will be moving to Texas in a few weeks and the kenne bell gets super hot up here in pa in 75-80 degree weather.

Also gonna do the Killer Chiller most likely

 

[SlowSVT]

Anything wrong with distiller water and water wetter? I'm just looking for maximum cooling because I will be moving to Texas in a few weeks and the kenne bell gets super hot up here in pa in 75-80 degree weather.

Also gonna do the Killer Chiller most likely

Not something I would do. Road race motorcycle riders use it because they don't allow anti-freeze on the track for fear of making the track slippery in the event the radiator bursts open in a crash. The ratio of surfactant to water is much lower than a 50/50 coolant mix which makes for a very slippery mixture that will lubricate the water pump bearing and seal. Hot water is very corrosive and I don't think Watter Wetter will protect the engine as well long term. That is just speculation on my part but I don't think the factory would advocate taking this route.

Mach1033 and jrgoffin summed this up perfectly!

 

[testorossa1989]

Great i sparked a debate, Those rarely happen here -__-. Anyways i think ill probably use prestone for the engine coolant and Gold for the intercooler fluid.