New to the site and new to my diesel

[tucker0104]

I just joined the site and have read for a couple days. There is a lot of great information. I recently bought a 97 F-250 diesel with 157K miles. I am wanting to change out all the fluids (coolant, oil, trans fluid, diff fluid) and am wondering wear I can find information on quantities and how to guides. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Nitro41]

If you just do a drain and fill of the radiator, you will use about 5 gallons. Oil, you need 14 quarts. rear end you need 3 qts.

I always like to have extra left over. what trans is in it?

[pjwoolw]

Welcome aboard!

You need to be careful in your choice of coolant. I'm still confused on that subject.

Use a good synthetic in the pumpkin. 75-140. If its a limited slip make sure it contains the friction modifier.

[madpogue]

Automatic or 5-speed? 5-speed REQUIRES synthetic fluid; not sure about the autotragic.

Get an owner's manual on eBay. Look for one with the PSD supplement. Has all the capacities, etc.

[tucker0104]

It is a automatic. I wanted a manual but couldn't find any for a decent price. Thanks for all the help. Are there any Haynes or Chilton manuals out there? Does anyone recommend these?

[tucker0104]

Pumpkin? Why is coolant choice so important?

[ridiculously_necessary]

Coolant - SCA's. i forget what it stands for, silicate something. its reduces cavitation. you just want a diesel coolant that is EC-1 rated. i used CAT ELC EC-1 from the local CAT dealer. bit more pricey but not too bad. drain the radiator, pull the two pipe plugs, one by the oil filter and the other by the starter somewhere, (get repalcements since they are cheap), fill with distilled water (distilled for flush is my preference, some use tap, if you dont have good quality tap dont use it), run the truck til the t-stat opens. then drain again, then fill with your 50/50 coolant or if you make a 50/50 mix only use distilled water. run the truck till the stat opens, top off.

[pjwoolw]

If your doing the coolant change you might as well put a new thermostat and housing / cover / pipe on it. I suggest the Motorcraft / Ford stat. Also getting some allen head bolts for the cover makes it allot easier on the R&R. Anyway with the stat out fill the block with coolant until its up into the water pump where the stat is installed then install the stat. Fill until the level is up to the top of the radiator (hose form the radiator to the stat off) then install the hose. The SCA additive is a must. If you have to use water at all distilled is best. Think about installing a coolant filter too.

Not sure about the ELC in these rigs. Always thought a low silicate green coolant was best. I'm not sure of course.

[ridiculously_necessary]

from what i have heard, if you get EC-1 rated, no SCA additives are needed.

[pjwoolw]

Thats true for sure. The Cat coolant is what I'll be running in the 05.