F-150 radiators

Toddupton wrote:

Trackrig wrote:
Have the engine flushed and of course you'll have new antifreeze.

Bill

X2

It is a 2012 unless he has over 100,000 miles the anti-freeze should be fine. You can buy the test strips at any automotive store and test the coolant. Then start the truck up (cap still off) let it get up to temp so the thermostat open and see if the radiator is flowing.

But if it has never done this before and you did say a hard climb I do not think you have any issues.

My Ram has a service schedule of 10 years or 150,000 miles for the anti-freeze. Isn't Ford the same?

Don

Prestone says 5 years 150,000 miles good on all vehicles.

https://www.prestone.com/products-antifreeze.html

BenK wrote:

time2roll wrote:
What is the huge benefit to this OAT/HOAT coolant vs the old multipurpose Prestone?
Sometimes I am glad to drive an older truck.

Benefit is 5yr/100K miles flush vs American Green's 2yr flush recommendation

Mid 90's American OEM's and dealer's were facing 5yr/100K mile warranty's from foreign OEMs and didn't want to deal with coolant flushing on the old 2 year cycle

So hatched OATs first, then HOATs later. Organic Acid Technology and Hybrid Organic Acid Technology.

Highly contentious and arguments lasting years to this day...

The acid is to etch any metal surface clean down to bare metal...then the organic coats with protective whatever organic matter they employ. That part has many not compatible between suppliers, but they all claim compatible...

American Green used a different method and you either had a new system with bare metal, or flushed with a mild or cleanser (with neutralizer and a rinse) before adding the American Green. It plated in the couple hundred miles or so.

OATs and HOATs takes a couple thousand miles to etch and plate.

Not all the acid is consumed during the initial etching phase, so floats in the mixture and reactive with O2 getting in there. That turns or makes acidic globules that then float around and sticks to the radiator tube insides. To both rot and reduce flow.

Why newer generations had the OEMs remove the radiator cap and move it to the now pressurized overflow tank. Check level just by looking at the level through the translucent tank bottle wall.

Not a fan of OATs/HOATs and converted my 1996 7.4L back to American Green after chasing clogging radiator, over heating, etc...worse was having the computer not allow power mode and always down into one of the limp modes.

Did find out that there is a severe duty fan clutch and love that thing. When it kicks in...it ROARS...and have had folks standing next to me on the sidewalk at a stop sign jump back when it kicks in

Anyway...my radiator guy retired early (went to high school with him and he took over his dad's AC/Radiator shop) because of the increased business form OATs/HOATs from dealers

New radiator guy says current gen and newer should NOT be converted to American Green. There is a chemistry that does not work. Voltage is even higher than with OATs and HOATs as it nears flush time.

Topic reminds me that the Suburban and Odyssey needs to have their coolant flushed this summer...

Fords ELC coolant does not have the same problems that Dex Cool (aka Death Cool) had.

Fordlover wrote:

RSD559 wrote:
Just looked at the radiator. About an inch thick. Looks like a single core. My truck was originally a rental, so it doesn't have any towing options on it. There isn't much room between the fans and the front of the engine, so I'd have to replace the fan assembly as well, I'd guess. Looks like loads of fun! I may put it off until fall. The heat has hit here. It is only a problem when towing up long steep hills. I can slow it down a bit and it's no longer a problem.

Rental truck? which means towing is limited to 5,000 lbs. if in fact it doesn't have any towing options.

You might want to consider adding all the towing options.
535 towing package included:
-7 wire towing harness
-Hitch receiver
-auxiliary auto transmission oil cooler
-radiator upgrade
-electronic trailer sway control

The 60P max tow included the above, plus:
-upgraded rear bumper
-trailer brake controller

Honestly, without the factory towing package, I'm not surprised it warmed up pulling heavy on a grade.

Finally, I think everyone missed the fact this truck does not have the tow package.

Have everything but the updated radiator, bumper and electronic sway control.

RSD559 wrote:
Just looked at the radiator. About an inch thick. Looks like a single core. My truck was originally a rental, so it doesn't have any towing options on it. There isn't much room between the fans and the front of the engine, so I'd have to replace the fan assembly as well, I'd guess. Looks like loads of fun! I may put it off until fall. The heat has hit here. It is only a problem when towing up long steep hills. I can slow it down a bit and it's no longer a problem.

Rental truck? which means towing is limited to 5,000 lbs. if in fact it doesn't have any towing options.

You might want to consider adding all the towing options.
535 towing package included:
-7 wire towing harness
-Hitch receiver
-auxiliary auto transmission oil cooler
-radiator upgrade
-electronic trailer sway control

The 60P max tow included the above, plus:
-upgraded rear bumper
-trailer brake controller

Honestly, without the factory towing package, I'm not surprised it warmed up pulling heavy on a grade.

Thank you BenK for the explanation. I'm thinking, since a new heavy duty radiator is under $150, about flushing the system and then installing the new radiator with the new coolant. Good for another 100k. By the way, I did search for 3.5 ecoboost overheat, as requested, and there are a ton of them. Most seemed to have the max tow package. Replacing the radiator seemed to correct the problem.

time2roll wrote:
What is the huge benefit to this OAT/HOAT coolant vs the old multipurpose Prestone?
Sometimes I am glad to drive an older truck.

Benefit is 5yr/100K miles flush vs American Green's 2yr flush recommendation

Mid 90's American OEM's and dealer's were facing 5yr/100K mile warranty's from foreign OEMs and didn't want to deal with coolant flushing on the old 2 year cycle

So hatched OATs first, then HOATs later. Organic Acid Technology and Hybrid Organic Acid Technology.

Highly contentious and arguments lasting years to this day...

The acid is to etch any metal surface clean down to bare metal...then the organic coats with protective whatever organic matter they employ. That part has many not compatible between suppliers, but they all claim compatible...

American Green used a different method and you either had a new system with bare metal, or flushed with a mild or cleanser (with neutralizer and a rinse) before adding the American Green. It plated in the couple hundred miles or so.

OATs and HOATs takes a couple thousand miles to etch and plate.

Not all the acid is consumed during the initial etching phase, so floats in the mixture and reactive with O2 getting in there. That turns or makes acidic globules that then float around and sticks to the radiator tube insides. To both rot and reduce flow.

Why newer generations had the OEMs remove the radiator cap and move it to the now pressurized overflow tank. Check level just by looking at the level through the translucent tank bottle wall.

Not a fan of OATs/HOATs and converted my 1996 7.4L back to American Green after chasing clogging radiator, over heating, etc...worse was having the computer not allow power mode and always down into one of the limp modes.

Did find out that there is a severe duty fan clutch and love that thing. When it kicks in...it ROARS...and have had folks standing next to me on the sidewalk at a stop sign jump back when it kicks in

Anyway...my radiator guy retired early (went to high school with him and he took over his dad's AC/Radiator shop) because of the increased business form OATs/HOATs from dealers

New radiator guy says current gen and newer should NOT be converted to American Green. There is a chemistry that does not work. Voltage is even higher than with OATs and HOATs as it nears flush time.

Topic reminds me that the Suburban and Odyssey needs to have their coolant flushed this summer...

What is the huge benefit to this OAT/HOAT coolant vs the old multipurpose Prestone?
Sometimes I am glad to drive an older truck.

Well there is a little more to it than just than.

High load at low rpm increases boost which increases the amount of fuel that needs to be added to keep a gasoline around the right air/fuel ratio. More fuel and air causes increased heat, and since the engine is turning at low rpms, it is not pumping out this heat out fast enough.

Dropping down a gear will increase rpms which will help the engine get rid of this heat faster. It will also help the engine rely a little more on gearing for its torque rather than boost.

So just because the powerful 3.5L Ecoboost can run in higher gears at lower rpms(which the transmission tuning forces it to), does mean it should in every instance when towing. If temps start to get a little high on a climb and you notice you are below 3,000 rpm, then drop it down a gear or two increase the rpms.

N/A engines don't have this problem because they cannot pump more air into the engine than what the atmospheric pressure and their displacement allows at low rpms which is also the reason why they have less horsepower/torque at lower rpms than a comparable turbocharged engine.