Fordfan104 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hello, I bought a 2008 Ford Fusion S 2.3L last week with 57,350 miles on it. When I was given the maintenance record from the dealer, nowhere was it listed that a coolant change had been done. Upon opening the hood and checking the fluid levels when I got home I noticed orange coolant in the car as opposed to the standard yellow/gold that is used in Fusions. The coolant is low and I need to top it off...any suggestions on what to do? Orange or yellow? Thanks in advance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) Hello, I bought a 2008 Ford Fusion S 2.3L last week with 57,350 miles on it. When I was given the maintenance record from the dealer, nowhere was it listed that a coolant change had been done. Upon opening the hood and checking the fluid levels when I got home I noticed orange coolant in the car as opposed to the standard yellow/gold that is used in Fusions. The coolant is low and I need to top it off...any suggestions on what to do? Orange or yellow? Thanks in advance. Hi Fordfan. :D The Fusion/MKZ/Milan have used several different coolant types over the years (I believe 4). You need to fill your cooling system with the correct coolant, so your best course of action would be to check your Owners Manual for the correct coolant type for your particular vehicle/model year. When you do, you will find the Ford part name for the 2008 Fusion to be "Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant with bittering agent (yellow-colored)" and the Ford Part Number / Ford Specification to be "VC-7-B / WSS-M97B51-A1". Don't take my word for it though, look in the Owners Manual at the "Maintenance and Specifications" charts. However, here would be my recommendation for your particular situation: At this point, you have no idea what is in the system or when it was last flushed/filled. For all we know, the previous owner could have filled with an incorrect coolant, mixed coolants etc and any of these possibilities could cause issues with compromised protection, corrosion etc... Therefore, ask the Dealer if they did a flush/fill. If they did they should be able to tell you what to top-off with. If they did not, then you have no idea if or when the system was flushed or what is currently in there, so your best bet would be to do a complete flush/fill and be able to rest easy knowing the proper maintenance was performed. For what it's worth, that is what I would do in your situation. Let us know how you make out and good luck. :beerchug: Edited January 4, 2012 by bbf2530 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The factory coolant in your car is rated for 5 years or 105,000 miles, whichever comes first. Feel free to change it if you like, but I just wanted you to know that the newer coolants last longer than the older green types. 2008 Fusions take Premium Gold coolant like BBF said. In my experience, it does actually look a little gold/orange or amber in the coolant bottle, but it's the yellow/gold stuff. Orange (DEX-COOL) coolant is much brighter and looks like orange soda. Zerex G-05 will work as well if you don't have access to the Motorcraft stuff. Avoid Prestone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf2530 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) The factory coolant in your car is rated for 5 years or 105,000 miles, whichever comes first. Feel free to change it if you like, but I just wanted you to know that the newer coolants last longer than the older green types. 2008 Fusions take Premium Gold coolant like BBF said. In my experience, it does actually look a little gold/orange or amber in the coolant bottle, but it's the yellow/gold stuff. Orange (DEX-COOL) coolant is much brighter and looks like orange soda. Zerex G-05 will work as well if you don't have access to the Motorcraft stuff. Avoid Prestone. Hi FD. :D You are correct and I did forget to mention the factory coolant change recommendations (as you stated, 5 years/105,000 miles whichever comes first). However, just to clarify the point I was trying to make (nothing here is meant to contradict what you stated, only elaborate on some points I left out earlier): Since Fordfan104 purchased used a week ago and currently has absolutely no idea what, if anything, was done with/to the coolant by the previous owner/owners (i.e. nothing at all, flushed/filled correctly, flushed/filled incorrectly, incorrect coolant added etc.) or the selling Dealer, I was recommending he flush and fill the system to play it safe. Unless the Dealer can confirm anything and assuming the car is in the ~4 year old range anyway, it could be considered cheap insurance. And although I am sure you know the following, many people don't and I neglected to mention it earlier so here goes: In many cases, if an incorrect/incompatible coolant is added to top off the factory long-life coolant, it can eliminate the long-life properties, returning the coolants protection properties (especially corrosion) to the "old days" when coolant was a ~once a year maintenance item. Many people get confused by this when they go to their local auto-parts store and see a jug of coolant which states something to the effect of "Compatible with all types of coolants". Yes, it is "compatible" (a tricky marketing/advertising description), but that does not mean it will maintain the long-life properties of the factory recommended coolant. In other words, yes it can be used (i.e. "is compatible"), but mixing it with the factory filled, long-life coolant can shorten the coolant lifespan. This is why it is so important to fill/top-off with the correct coolant (as per our Owners Manual). Now, some coolants can be mixed with others with little to no ill effects, while others can't, so for the average vehicle owner playing it safe is usually the best bet (in my opinion anyway). And in the case of a used car, this is why I consider it cheap insurance to flush-fill when maintenance by previous owners is in doubt or unknown. But you are 100% correct that the factory-filled coolant and equivalent replacements are good for 5 years/105,000 miles otherwise. Good luck. :beerchug: Edited January 5, 2012 by bbf2530 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordfan104 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 The factory coolant in your car is rated for 5 years or 105,000 miles, whichever comes first. Feel free to change it if you like, but I just wanted you to know that the newer coolants last longer than the older green types. 2008 Fusions take Premium Gold coolant like BBF said. In my experience, it does actually look a little gold/orange or amber in the coolant bottle, but it's the yellow/gold stuff. Orange (DEX-COOL) coolant is much brighter and looks like orange soda. Zerex G-05 will work as well if you don't have access to the Motorcraft stuff. Avoid Prestone. FD...this must be the gold stuff then...it's definitely a pale orange/amber in the coolant bottle. Upon popping the cap off and looking it appears gold in color...definitely factory coolant. DEX-COOL has eaten gaskets on me in the past and I agree Prestone is evil stuff. Hi FD. :D You are correct and I did forget to mention the factory coolant change recommendations (as you stated, 5 years/105,000 miles whichever comes first). However, just to clarify the point I was trying to make (nothing here is meant to contradict what you stated, only elaborate on some points I left out earlier): Since Fordfan104 purchased used a week ago and currently has absolutely no idea what, if anything, was done with/to the coolant by the previous owner/owners (i.e. nothing at all, flushed/filled correctly, flushed/filled incorrectly, incorrect coolant added etc.) or the selling Dealer, I was recommending he flush and fill the system to play it safe. Unless the Dealer can confirm anything and assuming the car is in the ~4 year old range anyway, it could be considered cheap insurance. And although I am sure you know the following, many people don't and I neglected to mention it earlier so here goes: In many cases, if an incorrect/incompatible coolant is added to top off the factory long-life coolant, it can eliminate the long-life properties, returning the coolants protection properties (especially corrosion) to the "old days" when coolant was a ~once a year maintenance item. Many people get confused by this when they go to their local auto-parts store and see a jug of coolant which states something to the effect of "Compatible with all types of coolants". Yes, it is "compatible" (a tricky marketing/advertising description), but that does not mean it will maintain the long-life properties of the factory recommended coolant. In other words, yes it can be used (i.e. "is compatible"), but mixing it with the factory filled, long-life coolant can shorten the coolant lifespan. This is why it is so important to fill/top-off with the correct coolant (as per our Owners Manual). Now, some coolants can be mixed with others with little to no ill effects, while others can't, so for the average vehicle owner playing it safe is usually the best bet (in my opinion anyway). And in the case of a used car, this is why I consider it cheap insurance to flush-fill when maintenance by previous owners is in doubt or unknown. But you are 100% correct that the factory-filled coolant and equivalent replacements are good for 5 years/105,000 miles otherwise. Good luck. :beerchug: bbf-- Thank you for your initial reply and the followup to FD's response. Both extremely informative! I appreciate the excellent advice from both of you! :beerchug: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyoct Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 57K huh? You can probably just wait until your engine light comes on within the next month or so and it turns out it is time for the thermostat replacement to change the coolant then. :-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 57K huh? You can probably just wait until your engine light comes on within the next month or so and it turns out it is time for the thermostat replacement to change the coolant then. :-) If it does, then he can just follow your write-up and everything will be hunky-dory! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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