2008 F150 SC 4.6L - 75K
Looking to do some preventative maintenance on SC.

Looking in the Maintenance Schedule ( Normal Duty) the first mention I see of Coolant change is 105K (page 24), it notes to see page 47 and 48. - Page 47 titled " Exceptions" says nothing about coolant.

Page 48 - "Premium Gold Coolant Change Record"
indicates (paraphrasing) change every 3 years or each +45K miles

Is pg 48 just for severe duty - ?

When should I change coolant under normal duty...

Thanks for your help

 

100K. If you were to change it now, I wouldn't say it was unnecessary, but you can push it out a bit further if you'd like.

 

I'm at 95K and changing mine tomorrow. FYI, did some money math before I ordered my supplies. I'm using Zerex ZXC01 for the flush and Zerex G-05 fluid (cheapest from Amazon) and a new thermostat and O-ring (cheapest from RockAuto). Hitting WallyWorld on the way home today to get jugs of distilled water. Good luck!

 

I went with regular old green ethylene glycol and distilled water.

 

105k is fine for coolant

 

Popped the hood during a gasoline fill and opened the radiator overflow.

There is an accumulation of something on the sides of the reservoir - looks a bit like mud - very fine. Not sure of the color - poor lighting - but I am definitely going to flush the cooling system now - I will not wait for the mileage to come up.

What are the opinions on using a bottle of the flush stuff - is that prestone compatible with Gold Coolant?

It seem the Ford Gold Coolant has phosphate and silicates ( that could be the source of the sediment in the reservoir) but it appears the Zerek G05 does not have phosphate/silicates...

any comment on which coolant?

 

Just for a data point for you guys, I had mine done at the dealer a few months ago. Believe it was $100 or so for them to flush and fill the coolant.


The dealer told me that they use a "special" machine that actually flushes the whole coolant system with pressure and I can't do it as well at home, because it gets all the coolant out and flushes all the passageways. True or not, I wasn't there watching but I paid the money, mainly because I didn't want to have all these bottles of used coolant to dispose of.


And yeah, I did mine at 100k miles, along with the plugs.

 

did you have any build up type sediment?

 

Not that I could see, I just changed for preventative maintenance. I mean the fluid looked "dirty" as far as the color but I didn't see anything floating around.

 

I flushed my system 2 weeks ago using the Zerex product I mentioned above. My first drain, after having circulated the flush product, left a dark, gritty sediment in the bottom of the bucket. After a few distilled water rinses, there was no more sediment. I know the Zerex flush has some effect, because my initial drain of coolant left no residue in the bottom of the bucket.