First I'd be sure you actually have that "green stuff"...

By '02 ELC was more commonly used when assembled.

 

That makes sense. I took a sample and I can't tell. Is there a way to test the fluid?

 

When old, it may not be so obvious as Green or Gold. In my '02 I wasn't so sure either, I saw kinda "brown"...

It turned out to have been Gold (and gold is pretty crappy right out of the bottle) as I remember I was able to confirm it was by finding the truck was made at the KY plant (in your VIN). Trucks from there had stopped using Green by '02.

 

if the fluid is green, almost fresh cut green grass its ford green premium. if its almost a golden color its Ford gold premium.

Ford green requires the additive I think its two bottles (generally) speaking for a full 8 gallon 7.3l system. The gold is supposed to be pre charged but many have found it to be not enough so they have to add a bottle anyways.

hence the pain in the butt with the two above coolants, most 7.3l owners for the 99 and above got to the red colored ELC coolant by either BY Zerex brand at NAPA parts stores, the Rotella brand at Tractor supply store, caterpillar brand at most heavy equipment stores.

 

Good read on Coolant Filtration

Coolant filter installation video for 7.3...

 

Just to clarify and watch out for in color:

As Noralph mentioned the conventional green will remain green unless contaminated by oil or fuel or mixture of the both/other. and As mentioned again Gold will basically change to light/dark brown if not changed regularly. so you have the following choices.

regular green: check every quarter basically for SCA additive level and flush around 50-100k miles depending on how you use/how often etc. if you don't use the additive the coolant will erode your front cover and other parts. not might not it WILL without the additive.

Ford gold: the bottle says you don't need the SCA additive but most had to use a bottle. you'll probably drain and refill every 50k it brakes down quickly for some reason.

ELC coolant no additive needed and bottle says 500k miles or 300 hrs of use but i'll change at 100k MAXIUM.

 

Thanks for all of the responses. I went down to the Ford dealer and showed the diesel mechanic and he said it looks like the gold stuff, but said it was tough to tell. Since my truck was made in Kentucky, I'm thinking it is gold. Attached is a pic of the fluid.

Assuming it is Gold, I am thinking of just sticking with the gold for now until my next change and then installing the filter and switching to ELC. If I drain the radiator and then add back what I took out in new coolant, is that sufficient?

I ordered the Fleetguard strips and 16 oz bottle of VC-8. Am I correct that you test the coolant with the strips and then add the additive accordingly?

Finally, the manual states Motorcraft Premium Gold VC-7-A. What alternatives are there besides the Motorcraft brand? And is VC-7-B compatible?

 

Looks like good to me. Yes dip the test strip in and check against the little guide if you need to add more. If your over 100k. I would just drain and refill your system. Get 4gallons of coolant, 8 gallons of distilled water.


Fill and drain with just garden hose water a water times then drain and drain and fill with 4 gall of distilled water then add 4 gallons of concentrate.

I would replace the thermostat with only motorcraft. Don't waste money on the hotter thermostat from aftermarket Places