Thank you for such an in depth video! The heater core always has water circulating, even with max ac on. People do a mod to shut off the heater core circulation with max ac.
Hey, Thanks Festering Uncle. Ya, it’s a ton of fun alright. So far I have about 3500 miles on the coolant. I just got back from pulling my 10,000 pound toy hauler to Sturgis and back for the rally. It was pretty warm at times over 100 in the SD/MT/WY states. I’m in Western WA. The 7.3 pulled like a couple of big locomotives from sea level up onto the high plains. All was trouble free both directions and temps never wavered. Thanks for checking in!
@@usethenoodle hey I'm in western WA too! Just picked up a 2003 f350 and the coolant looks like it's time for a swap. Great video. I downloaded it to use at the auto shop on Mcchord AFB.
@@dylanporras2655 Hi, Ya I did this and then towed my 10,000 lb fully loaded toy hauler with motorcycle inside to Sturgis and back. It was 101 on one of the drives and my truck stayed nice and cool going over and then back over the many steep mountain passes here and in the Rockys. So far, so good! You'll love your new truck!!!!! The 7.3 is just a pulling machine and near indestructible if maintained accordingly. Thanks for checking in!
@@usethenoodle I actually picked this up to tow a 5th wheel for a move to Missouri and for all future towing. I was making out my 14 Silverado with my travel trailer and was always interested in diesels. Almost made the mistake of buying a 6.4.
Hey there Dylan, one more thing... I just added a transmission service video to the channel. This is a fully DIY job where you can get ALL the old fluid out and replace it. The torque converter on your and my truck doesn't have a drain plug so this is the only way to get it all out. That's if you have the automatic transmission which is a 4R100. If you have the stick, disregard. But today I plan on shooting a transfer case fluid change which is really easy. I should have that up in a few days. Craig
I have been using Triax 5w-40 synthetic fleet oil in my diesels ( TDI vw, Chev Cruiz, Colorado 2.8 Duramax, Ford 6.7 & 7.3 Powerstroke etc) with excellent results from the samples I have sent to blackstone. I have also used Triax global synthetic ATF with great results in curing the torque converter shudder in my Diesel Colorado.
Yes. It's a coolant filtration kit. It filters your coolant in hopes it catches any circulating debris. Watch Wes Work says it's for wet sleeve liner engines if Im not mistaken. The 7.3 does not have wet sleeves. But is is basically an agriculture adapted engine platform from International Harvester and as such was equipped for coolant filtration. So I decided to put one on ans see what happened after running it for a time. What it caught was about a tea spoon of fine casting sand. My engine probably had around 120,000 on it when I installed the kit. The sand I believe was left over from the casting process. The next filter showed less sand but still traces. I don't suppose it's really needed in my application but it doesn't hurt. It's a simple installation process. There is a threaded hole with a plug in the left side of the water pump. A barb hose fitting screws into that hole. Coolant will rush out when you do it so be ready. That hose goes to one side of the filter base. The other side of th filter base tees into the Degas bottle/coolant recovery tank. There are a couple quarter turn valves in the kit so you can isolate the filter to swap it. That's all there is to it. I use Baldwin filters for everything. So buy the coolant filter without the SCA additive chemical pellet. If you are using an extended life coolant like I did, you won't need the SCA chemical anymore to prevent foaming. I ordered the kit on Amazon. Here a link to the most expensive kit www.amazon.com/Sinister-Diesel-SD-COOLFIL-6-0-W-Coolant-Filtration/dp/B005DM0OC4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1LACG04OGKL5G&keywords=coolant+filter+kit+7.3&qid=1696347430&sprefix=coolant+filter+kit+%2Caps%2C284&sr=8-2-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 which oddly doesn't have the two little valves included. It's from Sinister Diesel and is Blue so $$$. But there are kits on there at 1/4 of the cost. My actual kit was a lesser priced unit of ~$70.00. It's still catching lesser amounts of sand each change. I'm on my 2nd water pump at 160,000 miles. #1 failed on a trip to Florida from WA where I live at ~110,000. miles in Casa Grand, AZ towing my 10,000 pound toy hauler. I was en-route to Daytona Beach for Bike Week with my big Indian Chieftain motorcycle. Cost me a day at the Ford Dealership. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. Thanks for watching my video! I hope you will subscribe. Check out my Battery Cable video. My battery cables were shot at the terminal ends so I installed all new bigger cables. th-cam.com/video/4oJfsfqf-Ao/w-d-xo.html Warmest Regards Shane, Craig
Good God what a process. Thermostat went out in my OBS 7.3. In the process of research I realized I have coolant in my truck that I should not. Problem is it’s wintertime In ND with no shop… Going to have to make a cold mess or call a shop. Darn it anyway lol. Great tutorial tho
Well, most tap water does have minerals in it. I've moved since I made that video but my water at the old house was very soft. Here at the new place I have my own well and I have a water softener. We have high iron here so I have several filters and a softener. But you need a lot of volume to get the green all the way out. I used distilled for my secondary flushes to clear out the tap water and the minerals That's the point of secondary distilled water flushing in the procedure, if I get your question. Drain the green, tap water flush to clear, secondary distilled flushing to clear the tap water and then mix and add the new coolant. This procedure wasn't my design. I got it off of one of the online Diesel forums and used it as it looked pretty fool proof and thorough. My red ELC seems to be doing fine and I love not having to deal with the nitrate testing and additives. I keep a gallon of the 50/50 mixed on hand to add as needed.
Oh, It's a piece of red para-cord that goes through a short length of vinyl tubing, tied between the pickup points on the battery I had rigged as a handle to lift up the battery to remove it. The Interstate brand batteries don't have a grab handle on them to lift them in and out. I took those off as the battery environment over a couple years rots the cord and you could drop your battery. So I use the correct battery pick up strap to lift them now days. I had one fail during a lift and thankfully no harm was done. But, I don't trust them anymore. Cheers!
Yes. Just put them in lightly snug so they are easy to remove after each distilled flush. Then tighten them up good when installing them before adding coolant. Good luck!
Usually a landfill has a hazmat recycling center. You can take it there for free in most cases. They will see it gets handled properly. They will take old gasoline and solvents too.
I assume this will be the same process for my 99 f250 7.3 (motor build date 4/99). Will this same process work with the newer Motorcraft yellow coolant?
Yes, it will work with any coolant when switching from the traditional green coolant. The other coolants in the Extended life category known as ELCs don't mix with the green which is an every two years change out that has to have the Ford Coolant Additive. The nitrate additive is a de-foaming chemical to prevent cavitation and must be added over the coolant life as required by a periodic color-metric test strip. The ELC type doesn't need it. The procedure in my video is just a really complete flush of the whole system in preparation of installing an ELC. I went with Triax Red ELC because it is specifically all Diesel rated. I'm not an authority on which coolant you should use, gold, red or whatever. I wanted an extended long life coolant not requiring a defoamer chemical. So, I looked for a generic diesel rated fleet coolant which just happened to be a RED product. You can choose what ever you want. The only thing is you may in reading find some who warn against certain types of coolant in the 7.3. Powerstroke Help's channel has an older episode from a reported "expert" who gives a chalkboard talk on red, orange, yellow, gold and the green. He recommends the green with the additive for the 7.3 but that is basically the factory recommendation regurgitated. I read the Triax specs and they said it will do the job in any diesel, so I went with it. That was ~2 years ago or less. I have not had to add any since. My engine runs cool even towing a 10,000 lb toy hauler on hot days mid summer. I have no complaints so far. Good luck, and thanks for watching!
Thanks Travis. It's really not that bad. The kiddie pool idea is a great option to catch 99% of the green for recycle. Also, if in the future you need to drain the system for maintenance, you can easily catch the red for further use. I keep one on hand just incase.The pools are available on Amazon.com for ~$6.00.
Best engine ever made by International for ford Trucks. They got rid of it because it lasted way too many miles. California said it was too noisy and outlawed it. Of course.
Yep. I guess it couldn't meet the newest emission standards of the day either. Mine is still going strong. The body is strong as well. It's a great truck and tows like a locomotive. I plan on keeping it the duration. Ot's super clean too. A classic going on 23 years old now. Thanks for watching and commenting!
A point well taken, I guess old habits are hard to break. There are even some people claiming ELC in a 7.3 will cause serious damage. I can't see how that could be unless it was not cooling properly. I've been running the same Red ELC I installed when I made this video 3 years ago and everything is just fine. I pull a 30 foot toy hauler and several other trailers and it runs beautifully. Thanks for watching and commenting.
The buzzing sound is actually your vacuum pump, not your fuel pump. I thought the same thing at one point. Informative procedural video, but you should not be thanking Jesus in your video. Instead, you should be thanking God-the One who created you.
Thank you for such an in depth video! The heater core always has water circulating, even with max ac on. People do a mod to shut off the heater core circulation with max ac.
Thanks for watching! I hope it helps.
Will be doing this job this weekend. Great video, step by step.
Thanks again - I didn't know about the arrow on the front of the thermostat.
Thank you for the video, about to do this next week along with a water pump. Great looking rig!
Thanks much Will. I appreciate your kind words. Thanks and good luck on your project!
This is the best video on how to do this - I can't wait to have this much fun on my 7.3 this fall.
Hey, Thanks Festering Uncle. Ya, it’s a ton of fun alright. So far I have about 3500 miles on the coolant. I just got back from pulling my 10,000 pound toy hauler to Sturgis and back for the rally. It was pretty warm at times over 100 in the SD/MT/WY states. I’m in Western WA. The 7.3 pulled like a couple of big locomotives from sea level up onto the high plains. All was trouble free both directions and temps never wavered. Thanks for checking in!
@@usethenoodle hey I'm in western WA too! Just picked up a 2003 f350 and the coolant looks like it's time for a swap. Great video. I downloaded it to use at the auto shop on Mcchord AFB.
@@dylanporras2655 Hi, Ya I did this and then towed my 10,000 lb fully loaded toy hauler with motorcycle inside to Sturgis and back. It was 101 on one of the drives and my truck stayed nice and cool going over and then back over the many steep mountain passes here and in the Rockys. So far, so good! You'll love your new truck!!!!! The 7.3 is just a pulling machine and near indestructible if maintained accordingly. Thanks for checking in!
@@usethenoodle I actually picked this up to tow a 5th wheel for a move to Missouri and for all future towing. I was making out my 14 Silverado with my travel trailer and was always interested in diesels. Almost made the mistake of buying a 6.4.
Hey there Dylan, one more thing... I just added a transmission service video to the channel. This is a fully DIY job where you can get ALL the old fluid out and replace it. The torque converter on your and my truck doesn't have a drain plug so this is the only way to get it all out. That's if you have the automatic transmission which is a 4R100. If you have the stick, disregard. But today I plan on shooting a transfer case fluid change which is really easy. I should have that up in a few days. Craig
Very helpful video, thank you! I'll be doing this on my 2003 F250 SD 7.3 this weekend!
Awesome.
I have been using Triax 5w-40 synthetic fleet oil in my diesels ( TDI vw, Chev Cruiz, Colorado 2.8 Duramax, Ford 6.7 & 7.3 Powerstroke etc) with excellent results from the samples I have sent to blackstone. I have also used Triax global synthetic ATF with great results in curing the torque converter shudder in my Diesel Colorado.
great video craig
Thanks!
If ypu need to coolant flush your ford 7.3 first time for any reason, this is a very detailed great how to.
Thanks!
Great video, could you tell me what setup you have there for the water filter at 7:43?
Yes. It's a coolant filtration kit. It filters your coolant in hopes it catches any circulating debris. Watch Wes Work says it's for wet sleeve liner engines if Im not mistaken. The 7.3 does not have wet sleeves. But is is basically an agriculture adapted engine platform from International Harvester and as such was equipped for coolant filtration. So I decided to put one on ans see what happened after running it for a time. What it caught was about a tea spoon of fine casting sand. My engine probably had around 120,000 on it when I installed the kit.
The sand I believe was left over from the casting process. The next filter showed less sand but still traces. I don't suppose it's really needed in my application but it doesn't hurt. It's a simple installation process. There is a threaded hole with a plug in the left side of the water pump. A barb hose fitting screws into that hole. Coolant will rush out when you do it so be ready. That hose goes to one side of the filter base. The other side of th filter base tees into the Degas bottle/coolant recovery tank. There are a couple quarter turn valves in the kit so you can isolate the filter to swap it. That's all there is to it.
I use Baldwin filters for everything. So buy the coolant filter without the SCA additive chemical pellet. If you are using an extended life coolant like I did, you won't need the SCA chemical anymore to prevent foaming. I ordered the kit on Amazon. Here a link to the most expensive kit
www.amazon.com/Sinister-Diesel-SD-COOLFIL-6-0-W-Coolant-Filtration/dp/B005DM0OC4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1LACG04OGKL5G&keywords=coolant+filter+kit+7.3&qid=1696347430&sprefix=coolant+filter+kit+%2Caps%2C284&sr=8-2-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
which oddly doesn't have the two little valves included. It's from Sinister Diesel and is Blue so $$$. But there are kits on there at 1/4 of the cost. My actual kit was a lesser priced unit of ~$70.00. It's still catching lesser amounts of sand each change. I'm on my 2nd water pump at 160,000 miles. #1 failed on a trip to Florida from WA where I live at ~110,000. miles in Casa Grand, AZ towing my 10,000 pound toy hauler. I was en-route to Daytona Beach for Bike Week with my big Indian Chieftain motorcycle. Cost me a day at the Ford Dealership.
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. Thanks for watching my video! I hope you will subscribe. Check out my Battery Cable video. My battery cables were shot at the terminal ends so I installed all new bigger cables. th-cam.com/video/4oJfsfqf-Ao/w-d-xo.html Warmest Regards Shane, Craig
Thank you.
Any Time !
Very well done video sir.
HEY, Thanks Mark!
Good God what a process. Thermostat went out in my OBS 7.3. In the process of research I realized I have coolant in my truck that I should not. Problem is it’s wintertime In ND with no shop… Going to have to make a cold mess or call a shop. Darn it anyway lol. Great tutorial tho
Good Luck! ya, it's a dirty job.
Got it done. Went pretty well. Thanks for the video, helped lots.
So this newer coolant won't affect the injector cup sealant?
what about those who say running tap water through adds minerals?
Well, most tap water does have minerals in it. I've moved since I made that video but my water at the old house was very soft. Here at the new place I have my own well and I have a water softener. We have high iron here so I have several filters and a softener. But you need a lot of volume to get the green all the way out. I used distilled for my secondary flushes to clear out the tap water and the minerals That's the point of secondary distilled water flushing in the procedure, if I get your question. Drain the green, tap water flush to clear, secondary distilled flushing to clear the tap water and then mix and add the new coolant. This procedure wasn't my design. I got it off of one of the online Diesel forums and used it as it looked pretty fool proof and thorough. My red ELC seems to be doing fine and I love not having to deal with the nitrate testing and additives. I keep a gallon of the 50/50 mixed on hand to add as needed.
Craig, what is the red string / wire runnig through clear plastic tubing over passenger side battery?
Oh, It's a piece of red para-cord that goes through a short length of vinyl tubing, tied between the pickup points on the battery I had rigged as a handle to lift up the battery to remove it. The Interstate brand batteries don't have a grab handle on them to lift them in and out. I took those off as the battery environment over a couple years rots the cord and you could drop your battery. So I use the correct battery pick up strap to lift them now days. I had one fail during a lift and thankfully no harm was done. But, I don't trust them anymore. Cheers!
Did u take plugs out each time you drained it before the final step
Yes. Just put them in lightly snug so they are easy to remove after each distilled flush. Then tighten them up good when installing them before adding coolant. Good luck!
Any regrets on changing over to the red coolant?
I switched my 2001 7.3 to the Peak Final Charge Global coolant.
None. It’s been great. Runs cool and I don’t have to check the nitrates. Great stuff.
Out of curiosity, where can we dispose of all of that coolant? I want to do a full flush on my 99, but don’t know what to do with it afterwards.
Usually a landfill has a hazmat recycling center. You can take it there for free in most cases. They will see it gets handled properly. They will take old gasoline and solvents too.
I assume this will be the same process for my 99 f250 7.3 (motor build date 4/99).
Will this same process work with the newer Motorcraft yellow coolant?
Yes, it will work with any coolant when switching from the traditional green coolant. The other coolants in the Extended life category known as ELCs don't mix with the green which is an every two years change out that has to have the Ford Coolant Additive. The nitrate additive is a de-foaming chemical to prevent cavitation and must be added over the coolant life as required by a periodic color-metric test strip. The ELC type doesn't need it. The procedure in my video is just a really complete flush of the whole system in preparation of installing an ELC.
I went with Triax Red ELC because it is specifically all Diesel rated. I'm not an authority on which coolant you should use, gold, red or whatever. I wanted an extended long life coolant not requiring a defoamer chemical. So, I looked for a generic diesel rated fleet coolant which just happened to be a RED product. You can choose what ever you want. The only thing is you may in reading find some who warn against certain types of coolant in the 7.3.
Powerstroke Help's channel has an older episode from a reported "expert" who gives a chalkboard talk on red, orange, yellow, gold and the green. He recommends the green with the additive for the 7.3 but that is basically the factory recommendation regurgitated. I read the Triax specs and they said it will do the job in any diesel, so I went with it. That was ~2 years ago or less. I have not had to add any since. My engine runs cool even towing a 10,000 lb toy hauler on hot days mid summer. I have no complaints so far. Good luck, and thanks for watching!
Good job, a pain for sure, but does great job and only have to do it once
Thanks Travis. It's really not that bad. The kiddie pool idea is a great option to catch 99% of the green for recycle. Also, if in the future you need to drain the system for maintenance, you can easily catch the red for further use. I keep one on hand just incase.The pools are available on Amazon.com for ~$6.00.
I can't find the link for the web site . Thank you for doing this video?
Which web site?
@@usethenoodle . I found it .
solid video thank you
Thanks!
I will put an oring in the thermostat housing
The o-ring is part of the thermostat.
Best engine ever made by International for ford Trucks. They got rid of it because it lasted way too many miles. California said it was too noisy and outlawed it. Of course.
Yep. I guess it couldn't meet the newest emission standards of the day either. Mine is still going strong. The body is strong as well. It's a great truck and tows like a locomotive. I plan on keeping it the duration. Ot's super clean too. A classic going on 23 years old now. Thanks for watching and commenting!
It was because of emissions not noise lmao
Yep because Californian is always the commie turd in the USA punch bowl.
@IMTHATKIDJIT No, it was the noise of the engine, the emissions didn't happen for a few more years later. Look it up.
So odd to me that people have crap green. Ive owned a 97 f350 7.3 since its birth, and it never has had a lick of green... still kinda baffles me
A point well taken, I guess old habits are hard to break. There are even some people claiming ELC in a 7.3 will cause serious damage. I can't see how that could be unless it was not cooling properly. I've been running the same Red ELC I installed when I made this video 3 years ago and everything is just fine. I pull a 30 foot toy hauler and several other trailers and it runs beautifully. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Drink everytime Craig says deegas bottle
LOL! Thanks for watching!
The buzzing sound is actually your vacuum pump, not your fuel pump. I thought the same thing at one point. Informative procedural video, but you should not be thanking Jesus in your video. Instead, you should be thanking God-the One who created you.
Switching to red coolant is pointless! Literally no point.
Also, the thermostat can be put in any direction on a 7.3.
Don't do it then.
@@usethenoodleNice video Sir. If some people only thought before they posted…
Your water pump is going to leak! Not a good idea to change coolant to red
I thought elc works for all ford diesels that are mid 99 and newer?
Why will it make it leak?