:ORG welcome:

the best coolant for any Late build and up 99 superduty is caterpillar ELC. its red and sweet smelling. you can typically buy the rotella elc at tractor supply store, zerex elc at napa or pay premium for caterpillars brand.

for your transmission temps its very VERY common for people to install a tru cool aftermarket transmission cooler or the transmission cooler for a 6.0 powerstroke. it typically lowers the trans temp 20+ degrees on average...

for quick reference on coolant:

Shell Rotella ELC Antifreeze, 1 gal. - For Life Out Here

for the cheaper but just as effective trans upgrade

http://www.dieselsite.com/specialordertru-cool4739transmissioncooler.aspx


I would replave the thermostat with an oem for not the aftermarket higher temp (no one needs hotter engine oil), also replace the thermostat housing its typically warped and not re useable.


as far as gauges for monitoring I would get an edge cts from corey@cncfab.com and if you ever dive into programming get the hydra 17pos chip from him as well.... very very best programmer for the 7.3l hands down and your going to here the same thing from everyone else.

a better torq converter is a common trans upgrade as well. others will chime in with brands and types etc.



for your braking needs I would try powerstop heavy duty rotar and pad kit from rock auto. I got their medium powerstop kit for my truck when I picked it up in march, very very happy with price, fit and stopping so far 5k miles great. only towed some uhaul trailers 400ish miles on it.

 

just dont mix ELCs....... rotella and zerex don't like each other(creates a black sludge)......trust me i used zerex to top off my rotella because i couldn't get any anywhere on a Saturday close to home.(before we got a tractor supply)


just my 2 cents... make sure what ever elc you choose use that its easy to get in your area...

tried to even get rotella at the truck stop and they have there new ultra ELC, not even sure if its compatible with the regular ELC.

 

Justin pretty much covered it, for your 7.3 needs/wants @Corey@CNCFAB is a good choice. He's a site sponsor, has pretty good prices, and he knows the 7.3

 

Any kind.
The 7.3 engine doesn't care

 

That is not right to tell anyone. The wrong coolant can damage the 7.3 really easily...

1. If you run the original green you need the anti cavitation additive or it will eat the front cover up. or lead to combustion chamber damage.

2. Plus if you run the ELC coolant in a pre late 99 it will eat the sealant used on the injector cups leading to a nice $$$ repair bill and possibly even more damage....

3. some people have used the newer ford gold premium because it has the additive in it already but testing a bottle right off the shelf showed me the additive was not concentrated enough so what was the point?


the 7.3 is a much stouter engine no doubt about it but it does not just take any coolant.

 

Is this the stuff for pre 99?

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Ford...e/dp/B000NU3LPS/ref=pd_bxgy_263_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=E5FQBGRQECHEKJ9AG8F9

 

Yes Patriot that or I believe wix cool is available at other autoparts stores but I'm not 100% on its ratings etc. the pre 99 just can't use the ELC becuase of an embitterment agent and the glue uses for the injector cups will be eaten away slowly by it.

 

Collectively over 1 million miles on our farm 7.3s, we've yet to have any issues by using less superior coolant.

 

That is great to hear.
However, my concern was using the ELC type coolant a FAR SUPERIOR coolant in the earlier models and just provided the reason why.

I have never used dex cool by gm or the orange coolant by dodge. But buying generic green has always worked for others, but I have seen the damage it can cause when you don't use the anti cavitation additive.

 

The OP possibly has a bad fan clutch. Or out-of-range temperature gauge.

My 99 never runs hotter than about 1/3. Whatever thermostat Ford put in it in 99 is still in it. I hear the fan come on, look at the gauge, and it's right where I expect it to be. I ran to Colorado River and back last weekend in 114deg F ambient pulling the boat at 65 and it ran at the temp it does in the Winter. I definitely heard the fan come on at times. If you aren't hearing it, it isn't coming on.

High temp indications need to be verified that the engine is really that hot. And if valid, high temps are caused by a basic "problem": Inadequate transfer of heat in the coolant to the air going through the radiator. My 50+ years of experience has been that abnormal engine temps are usually associated with inadequate airflow through the radiator. (Fan Clutch !) The second place to look is inadequate heat transfer within the radiator, ie it's plugged or contaminated. The coolant itself is very unlikely to be the cause in itself.

``````````````````````````````````````````
I love watching the "Coolant Wars" on here. Some individuals that are posting on this subject don't really understand it. When I began coming here after I bought my truck, the coolant and SCA discussions had me alarmed. So I did my own research, and formulated my strategy. 7.3's DO require SCA to prevent liner pitting when used in severe service. Personally, I don't believe $350 of ELC is superior to $100 of "green' with $15 of Ford Supplemental Additive, then check the SCA at each oil change.

Part of my strategy is based on this: I can buy green anywhere. ELC, not so much. What happens if I have a problem on the road, and loose a bunch of coolant, and refill with water to get to safety? With ELC, I have to dump the whole thing and reload the ELC for another $350. With green, I test, and adjust concentrations accordingly. Maybe $75 tops. I like my coolant strategy, because its flexible, inexpensive, and with monitoring I know the engine is properly protected from cavitation issues.

 

While I agree that green with SCA is fine for a 7.3, I'm curious where you got $350 to switch to ELC? At $15 a gallon it would cost $60 for the coolant + $4 for distilled water. That's about the same price as green and no SCA needed. The one and only benefit for staying green is availability. IMO

 

At $15 a gallon it would cost $60 for the coolant + $4 for distilled water.

Where did you get that the cooling system is 4 gallons? The accepted capacity is 16, although it only holds 14. I work on large marine diesels. I use ELC in some of them. Mostly Cats. My price for Cat ELC is $19 a gallon at my supplier. 19X14 = $266. So I was off a bit. (Your numbers and math work out correctly for green, though.

These trucks are OLD! **** goes wrong with them all the time now. Blow a hose, or the inlet pipe on the water pump rots out, and you will suffer a coolant loss. Dealing with green is a lot easier and less expensive than dealing with ELC.

IMO, these old POS's aren't worth the expense of ELC either. Plus they aren't driven enough to benefit from the main advantage of ELC which is the EXTENDED change intervals. ELC was developed for Heavy Duty diesels that are run at heavy output for hours, days, weeks on end. Like generators, work boats, excavation equipment, etc where hours and mileage pile on quickly, and coolant maintaince may be overlooked or not performed on a timely basis. I posit that the COST of the engines ELC is intended for use in are worth more than any 10 7.3 pick-ups combined.

I'm not going to get sucked into the Coolant Wars. I'm happy with, and CONFIDENT in my adopted coolant management strategy. Green with Ford SCA, checked with the strips at each oil change which is about once a year and 12-15K miles.

 

The capacity is 8 gallons. Then you get 4 gallons of concentrate and poor that all in and top off with distilled water. Then your at a 50/50 mix. I paid $70 at tractor supply.

 

I never said it held 4 gallons, I said 4 gallons of coolant plus 4 gallons of water = the 8 gallons that these trucks use, I just checked the book, 32.75 qts with 4 pints of FW15 (replaced with VC8?) or 8 gallons. But $56 worth of SCA on a coolant change, now it makes even more sense to switch. Justin posted the link to TSC for Rotella ELC for $15 gal. so again $60 + $4 is going to be cheaper with no maintenance needed.
Whatever, I agree to not getting involved in the coolant wars, almost as bad as oil or additives

 

OK, I'm gonna Jump-In.... :wink[3]:

Green coolant, been around forever, countless engines & miles on this stuff. It WORKS! Works just great. If the engine came with it as the coolant ~ Why change? Yes it takes more maintenance, but it's not like it's a tremendous amount. I guess if you drove 30-50K/yr it would become a pain to measure the SCA level and put in the additive all the time, but for most of us, every year or two would be enough.

Then there's the danger of doing a bad job in converting. Improperly flushed, you're creating more trouble that it's worth in converting to ELC. If you don't get all that Silica Based coolant out it can react with the ELC and form a sludge that can clog-up stuff (worth the effort for those who are driving a Lot of miles because of the lower maintenance, but the time it takes to do a through flush you could have tested & corrected the SCA levels a dz times).

So my feeling on this is,,, stick with what you've got now unless you just like the idea of having the newest technology and are willing to spend the time & money it takes to do the conversion right and realize you'll not ever get any significant benefit from it...

 

Green in my OBS that only runs in the winter and ELC in my 10,000 pound 6.0 that I drive hard everyday. Coolant war? I'm in!

 

It's not a coolant war. It's about informing someone of a proven and most people would say better alternative to green coolant.

Just becuase something has been around forever doesn't mean it's the best thing still.

Carbureted engines are now longer mass produced in the assembly line.

We no longer use a rotory type phone

We no longer have to let people die of most disease because of medical advances.

Green maybe OK for 99% of people with a 7.3L. However if something is cheaper in the long run, readily available, and superior in many ways. (Not all but ALOT). I will tell someone about it. I was going to keep running green in my 7.3L but it was $12 a gallon for green and $8 a bottle for the sca/cavitation addative (my truck took three to bring back).

So $64 for green and three sca bottles or $60 for the ELC.

I bought two extra gallons just in case for add $25

Convince people all you want that green is OK but it is not the best available for our trucks by far.

I tow regularly, drive in 100+ degree weather, lots stop in go in some places and I drive in below zero temps four times a year so the ELC just made more sense for the everyday driver.

 

We no longer use a rotory type phone

Can't get the ORG on a rotary. But seriously, I've read a lot about troubles with ELC in the OBS. Not sure yet. Until then...... @Corey@CNCFAB

 

Yes there are a lot of differences with the OBS. But the OP is looking for the CORRECT and BEST coolant for his truck the superduty.

The correct is the green with the sca but it's not the best for HIS application. The Ford dealer close to me swears up and down the ford gold isn't bad for the 6.0s either...

The BEST for the late build date 1999 and up superdutys up the 6.4 (I'm not to familiar with the scorpion 6.7) is the caterpillar branded ELC also available from zerex, rotella and I believe a few others.

So when the correct and best are different fluids I should of done a lot of clarification so coolant war thread THIS IS NOT just people sharing what expereince they have had.

Disclaimer there are a couple of early 99s running ELC for over 3 years in Bay Area that haven't had issues but it seems to be far and few between.

 

Yup, OBS and E99 you dont want ELC. It reacts with the retaining compound on the injector sleeves/cups. Unless you know the cups have been changed.