Jim Warman Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Anyone had that message yet? We had the 3 way test strips - I ordered those quite some time ago. But we didn't have the corrosion inhibitor test kit. Muddled through the first one in the driveway. This truck had (I imagine) over 600 hours since the odo was at only 16K kms or so. Now that we know what is entailed, this appears to be a service that is going to be a bit of a surprise to some customers. (as in "will that be cash or credit card" surprise). If you haven't got it all ready, order 328-00008, antifreeze coolant ELC contamination kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Yes Jim, I ran into this last week and like you I was caught without the corrosion test kit. We still use the three way test strips but only for the coolant strength however the nitrate pad is now used to detect the presence of nitrate contamination. Remember that the Specialty Orange is not compatible with Gold or Green coolant. This is the same truck that I found the loose block plug on and I had initially detected nitrate when I tested the coolant... remember, this guy came in with the "Check Coolant" light on and didn't bother to tell us that he had added 1 gallon of straight Gold antifreeze because the tank was low... so I spent an hour trying to figure out WHY I was about to flush both cooling systems. The twisted irony is that the customer went into our front parts counter and asked for coolant for his 2011 Super Duty Diesel so I can't totally blame him. Yeah I can. And yes we ordered our test kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 I ran across one statement in the exercise where Ford was sure to mention that Specialty Orange coolant has no nitrate content - unfortunately, I lacked the time to test other coolants that we currently offer/have. One thing we can be sure of, if somone is on a lease and they discover their coolant level is low - whatever goes in the pumpjack motor will find it's way into the trucks cooling system (John Deere coolant is a big seller up here). One other thing - did you notice how much VC12 they recommend adding if the corrosion inhibitor test fails? 48 oz.... IIRC, that is the size of a big can of Heinz tomato juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Ford's Premium Gold Coolant is loaded with nitrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted September 15, 2010 Author Share Posted September 15, 2010 Ford's Premium Gold Coolant is loaded with nitrate. Y'know... that doesn't really come as a big surprise... I'm thinking way back to when we weren't supposed to use gas coolant in a diesel (something about silicates?)... and then "they" started playing with shit. (If anyone has counted how many different types of driveline fluids we now have - remembering that at one point in time all we had was Type A, Type F and GX 80W90). But now we have several different coolant selections... to make matters better, some are "mix with distilled water" (yeah - right) and some are "do not dilute". All we have is a possible problem in the making. Used to be that the wrong fluid wasn't going to be the end of the world - but now...... the wrong fluid could adversely affect a bonding agent, or a gasket material, the frictional coefficient of band or clutch application, the action of a synchronizer blocking ring, the interaction of two or more elements in a cooling system. Even now it is getting hard to properly perform a repair operation - even the most mundane, simple, no-brain repair operation without referring to a manual for guidance in technique, torque values and/or lubes/coatings/sealers/bonding agents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Jim? You aren't telling me that this is the first time you have heard that he gold stuff has the nitrate additive already in it? This is why you never use the VC8 additive when refilling the system with new gold antifreeze otherwise you would have an overcharged system. Same is to be said with the Specialty Orange in that the additives are already in the coolant. I am sure you are aware of this... but I said it just to be sure it is added to the discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted September 16, 2010 Author Share Posted September 16, 2010 In all honesty, Kieth... I was unaware - another victim of flat rate reading. My only defence is that I often have to wear too many hats. FWIW, I am so very far behind the times on many of our current fluids and I need to do a vast amount of reading to catch up. Like dark green coolant and the umpteen varieties of ATF and other driveline fluids we have (did anyone miss that they sneaked/snuck 75W140 into Dana rear axles?). All I can ever do is refer to the WSM to be sure I am using the flavour of the week. Don't forget... you can put LV into a trans that uses SP but you can't put SP into a trans that uses LV. <shakes head and turns away from desk> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Anyone have a part number handy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpurvis Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 should be 328-00008, elc contamination kit. just as a note i have a bulletin #10-069 stating if coolant depleted you will have to flush out old coolant and refill with new. the vc-12 won't be available till december 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Okay, we just got our kit and it contains 10 tests. What a deal. Since the message center's tell the owners to check coolant I foresee testing coolant to be requested more than it currently is. Now, has anybody actually used this it yet? I don't want to opening up just to play with. According to the workshop manual it is to test for nitrite, concentration (freeze protection), corrosion additive (carboxylates) and contamination. What do you guys think is a fair labor charge to test and make adjustments like add coolant or VC-12 additive? We currently charge .2 to test and adjust as required... flush and refill is extra of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRAMZ Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 we are in a current debate as to when or if we should be checking and resetting the "check coolant additive" at every oil change as customers are phoning in just after they had there truck here for servicing , .any thoughts on this? thanks.service manager just got the kit though and he says it looks like some kinda chemistry set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsona19 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 i found this "6.7 operating and maintenance tips sheet" in the owner info the other day, accordding to it the coolant should be tested every 15,000 miles or 600 hrs, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Aside from that the instrument cluster will flash a message about it to the driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleyewarrior Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 i am wondering if someone can shed some light on this. I have both test kits, strips and contamination test. unless i am reading the test strips incorrectly ,every one i check needs to be recharged and according to the little instructions it says to use vc 8. and are both cooling systems being checked? I confuse easily thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshbuys Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 VC-8 is not used with the new ORANGE coolant, there is a new additive - VC-12 IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 You are checking the primary cooling system only... (though it might not hurt to check the coolant strength in the secondary cooling system with the first kind of test strip - this new coolant does not play well with conventional coolant hydrometers). Forget the instructions that come with the chemistry set and use the procedure in the WSM. It's in section 303-03B and you have to follow each step in turn. Each step decides what the next step will consist of... Get one step wrong - Do NOT tip the final test vial after you remove the top... there is a small amount of reactive substance (hey, I ain't a rocket scientist) in the vial - a small enough amount that some might not notice it... Everyone seems to have trouble with at least the first one... if you flat rate read too much...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSHTech Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I had one with the "check coolant additive" message. We have the 328-00001 test kit at our other dealer, but we don't at my shop, and niether shops have the newer kit. I'm going to have my manager order some, but I was wondering, does the 328-00008 include the same test strips as the older kit, along with the new test strips? Or will I need both kits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 You need both kits. The 328-00008 test kit contains 10 of the reserve alkalinity test strips and 10 of the corrosion inhibitor test strips..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I am curious as to what you guys charge to test the coolant? The test strips and kits cost money and there really is no "part" to charge out so now we charge and re-coup the cost through the labor. For now we decided to charge .3 to test and inspect the system and add the revitalizer if necessary... of course the fluid is extra. I have several of these under my belt now - not bad once you get used to it and realize what you are doing though I wish the terminology in the WSM matched the instructions in the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergy12 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Ive been doing these tests for free so far, i see the point of us having to charge something to re-coup our parts cost. I just think if we charge wouldn't the customer be obligated to just shut the light off and keep driving? Is it going to come down to whenever a 6.7L comes in for a coolant issue we are going to have to go back into history to ensure the customer has checked nitrite level at all the intervals necessary? If it is i better start making work orders on each one we do perform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 I feel it is vitally important to either charge for the service or somehoe record the fact that the test has been performed in accordance with procedures. Similar to needing oil and fule filter change receipts, I can see some failures requiring the owner to provide proof that coolant testing has been performed and any necessary actions taken. It would be a travesty if our integrity were to be called to task during some post repair inspection. So far, the only concerns I have seen personally is nitrite contamination from owners adding coolant in the field (usually plain green - not to be confused with dark green - or premium gold). If you encounter nitrites, might as well just stop testing and quote for a coolant flush. But, most definitely, I think recording the mileage and hours of cooling system testing is going to become a factor. FWIW, I am favouring testing coolant at each service (I have some customers insisting on it now) and adding a notation if the message was present or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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