dejong1

Howdy,

I own a 2010 f150 fx4. It has 60,000 miles. Today I was replacing a fuse on my pickup and I noticed my radiator fluid tank has a brown color on top inside the tank and I opened it up and it is very brown and is thick and the build up feels like mud. I then opened my radiator and noticed that it had a lot of brown thick liquid in it. It appears to have some type of sediment in it and I am wondering how often people do a radiator flush? Or if I have a different problem.

Thanks,

Dan

A Roth

How does your engine oil look?

Brown sludge does not bode well...anywhere, except on the tires.

tcp2

very common and not an issue. Ford added stop leak pellets to the coolant on vehicles with the gold colored coolant at the factory (and dealers had a tendency to do it as well). It has a tendency to accumulate in the reservoir tank and on the neck of the radiator. If you clean it off and replace your coolant with the proper ratio of GOLD coolant and distilled water, it will not re-appear, but it doesn't cause any problems.

valvoline zerex G-05 is the same coolant and can be used as a direct substitute:

http://www.valvoline.com/products/br.../antifreeze/42

Here's a picture of my tank. you can see where I've wiped some of it off.

latandatt

Just a week ago I started a thread called "coolant flush" that you can search for if you want. I don't know about stop leak pellets as the manual say "Don't use them". But who knows. I know I had slime and gunk on my "RADIATOR CAP" you will realize why its in all caps if you read my thread. Any way it don't like the way it looks on my 2010 and I don't have 24k on mine yet. I have decided that I will flush it in a few weeks when my job is not so crazy. My plan is to pull the thermostat flush like crazy, then replace thermostat and gasket, and filler her back up. Some people said it was fine and not to worry till I hit 100k but my truck will be 16 years old by then, and well I won't wait that long. I do oil changes every 6 months or 3k happens about the same time.

Any way IMHO flush it what can it hurt, your wallet?
Keeping a engine properly lubed and cooled to proper temp are the best things you can do to keep it running for a long time and reliable.

dejong1

I read through the thread.... Wow... Limited information but a lot of arguing. Not at all what I like to see.

But from what I have found out this is normal... I just don't like it. It just doesn't seem right to me. No pickup I have seen or owned has had this. Good to know it isn't dust getting in my radiator.

And yes my oil is clean.

latandatt

Yea, I think that the new coolant they use may not be as good as advertised. And should be flushed more often the they suggest. If your a diy kind of guy no big deal.

dieselhunter44

Isn't it basically chemically similar to Dexcool? If so my coolant is definitely getting changed often

tcp2

My manual actually lists a ford part number for the pellets. It's right beside the coolant specs.

Masi1926

I need to confess a sin...I change my oil every 4,000 mi, rotate my tires every 5,000 and all the other little things, without fail.
With my previous 05 fx4, I went almost 9 yrs and 145,000 miles without touching my coolant.
That is NOT at all like me, but the level never moved...ever. The color never changed and it always smelled like new. The gauge never even flickered.
I know it supposed to be able to go 100,000, but I never wait as long as the manufacturer says to. Except for this one time. So in retrospect, it's either good coolant or I did a bad thing.
That's all, nothing helpful to anyone, (except if your over a 100, your coolant's probably still okay) but I feel better getting that off my chest.

latandatt

From page 374

Note: Do not use stop leak pellets or cooling system sealants/additives as they can cause damage to the engine cooling and/or heating systems. This damage would not be covered under your vehicle’s warranty.
• A large amount of water without engine coolant may be added, in case of emergency, to reach a vehicle service location. In this instance, the cooling system must be drained and refilled with a 50/50 mixture of engine coolant and distilled water as soon as possible. Water alone (without engine coolant) can cause engine damage from corrosion, overheating or freezing.


And on page 402 the chart on coolant says nothing about pellets. Only coolant. From the owner.ford.com web site. Owners manual 3rd printing.