coolant surprise .03 [barely pink]

[muntu]

i have owned this truck for 2 yrs [new] and has 12000 miles on it....decided to check nitrites.... i was surprised to see almost total depletion of nitrites on the original factory coolant with such little usage.going to dealer for flush monday.

[Antonm]

Ok, I'll bite, what do the nitrites do?? If I remember chemistry class that would make/ keep the coolant on the alkaline side of PH and possibily inhibit corrosion.

Am I close??

And how did you go about testing for them? I've never seen a commerically available test strip for coolant before.

[muntu]

TEST STRIPS


1-800-ROTUNDA (768-8632) ....$5.67 for a pack of 4....includes mail.sold by ACUSTRIP denville nj....very clear instructions....these things have a shelf life so you dont need too many.

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you own a ford diesel ???....check out the manual in the glove compartment.
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[08F250TX]

Originally Posted by muntu

i have owned this truck for 2 yrs [new] and has 12000 miles on it....decided to check nitrites.... i was surprised to see almost total depletion of nitrites on the original factory coolant with such little usage.going to dealer for flush monday.

For so few miles after 2 years of owning the truck I'm guessing the truck sees mostly around town usage? Low miles, but high hours could have caused it. I've also heard that checking the nitrates when the coolant is hot can skew the reading low, I'm not sure if that was the case here or not.

Originally Posted by Antonm

And how did you go about testing for them? I've never seen a commerically available test strip for coolant before.

Try NAPA.

[04hdfatboy]

when it comes time to flush the system and change the coolant i am going with a cat ec-1 rated coolant.

[muntu]

i asked the diesel tech if i provided the cat elc for replacement would it be o.k. ...his reply as long as it is gold in color no probs....and the cat coolant is not gold. my mondays appointment was cancelled for an emergancy...so i still have time to think this out....home flushing isn't as good as having a flushing machine....my opinion.

[08F250TX]

Originally Posted by muntu

i asked the diesel tech if i provided the cat elc for replacement would it be o.k. ...his reply as long as it is gold in color no probs....and the cat coolant is not gold. my mondays appointment was cancelled for an emergancy...so i still have time to think this out....home flushing isn't as good as having a flushing machine....my opinion.

Tell him that International made this engine and they use the same type of ELC in all of their trucks. For some reason Ford uses this gold coolant.