MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN5

F-SERIES COOLANT LIGHTS
that primarily is useful for protecting cast iron.
Naturally Ford has its own house brand, but
when it sources the antifreeze from producers, we
were told, if the antifreeze meets the General Motors Dex-Cool performance spec, it's okay, and reportedly some suppliers merely re-label their DexCool validated antifreeze for Ford. Just to repeat:
Dex-Cool is a performance spec, not a composition
spec, but it can't be met unless the antifreeze is free
of silicates and phosphate.
The test for corrosion inhibitor concentration is
"by the book," but unless the system has leaked a
fair amount of antifreeze, the real world situation
is this: if it's only been topped up with 50/50 DexCool and purified water (distilled is recommended)
and the concentration is within the 40-60% range,
there is nothing to indicate that the use of a test
strip or the addition of the "revitalizer" is needed.
Organic acids easily last the recommended service
life of the coolant fill; 105,000 miles or six years.
However, antifreeze coolant does accumulate dirt
and normal degradation debris, and in fact, even
the best heat exchanger may leave deposits, including from the engine and hoses. You can't easily
flush out everything, including more than 80-90%

www.motorcraftservice.com

Ford switched to an organic acid antifreeze,
starting on the F-250 in the 2011 model year, and
it seems to continue causing confusion. MACS Service Reports has covered the subject twice, first in
the September 2010 issue (which focused on the anti-freeze itself), second in the July 2012 issue, which
talked about the 6.7-liter diesel model with its twin
cooling systems (Figures 8, 9). If you haven't saved
your back issues of MACS Service Reports, you can
find them online at www.macsw.org in the membersonly section of the archives.
The confusion centers around the "Check Coolant
Additive" light, which comes on at 15,000 mile intervals. Ford has a three part procedure: 1) check antifreeze concentration using a refractometer (40-60%
is specified). Unless you have a hydrometer calibrated for Dex-Cool, you'll only get accurate readings with the refractometer; 2) using a test strip, see
if the additive (corrosion inhibitor) concentration is
adequate; 3) add a container of "revitalizer" if the
corrosion inhibitor concentration is low.
The antifreeze itself can be a Dex-Cool formula;
that is, organic acid inhibitors, a triazole (inhibitor
for any copper/brass part that may have been installed) and in some cases, molybdate (an inhibitor

Figure 8: Ford F-250 diesel has two cooling systems and radiators (horizontally divided single assembly), this one for the engine. Key parts are: (1)
engine cooling reservoir; (8) engine oil cooler; (13) radiator.

January 2016

5

MACS Service Reports



http://www.macsw.org http://www.motorcraftservice.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Service Reports - 2016

MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JAN8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - FEB8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAR8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - APR8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - MAY8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUN8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - JUL8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - AUG8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - SEP8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - OCT8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - NOV8
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC1
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC2
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC3
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC4
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC5
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC6
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC7
MACS Service Reports - 2016 - DEC8
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