coolant change?

[jjdelicious]

So i have a 2015 mustang gt and i wanted to top off my orange coolant.
I know ford changed to that “yellow” coolant and is backwards compatible with the current orange coolant.
Does anyone know if I should just mix it with the yellow coolant or just do a complete flush and put the yellow coolant?
Or even use the off-brand orange coolant.

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[Basspro302]

The motorcraft orange is dexcool, the new stuff is compatible like you said. Doesn’t really matter the most important thing is to use distilled water when mixing.

 

[WolfMxbee]

Correct what @Basspro302 said, its all compatible, we do it all the time at my shop especially since the Orange I believe has been discontinued do to the product update but if you really wanna be cautious then flush the whole system especially if you never done a flush if your past 100k, correct me if I'm wrong, also how low is it?

 

[jjdelicious]

Correct what @Basspro302 said, its all compatible, we do it all the time at my shop especially since the Orange I believe has been discontinued do to the product update but if you really wanna be cautious then flush the whole system especially if you never done a flush if your past 100k, correct me if I'm wrong, also how low is it?

It’s nothing crazy, it only has 7000 miles on it.
the coolant is on on MIN line, i’m assuming from factory. I just wanted to top it off, but I didnt like the idea of mixing two different colors of coolant.

 

[Basspro302]

I think flushing every 50k is the way to go, any cars i service that have dex cool (orange) seem to go through water pumps early. I have done a lot of water pumps on gen 1 coyote f150s and ls engines. Motorcraft orange is dexcool orange. I have looked into it and checked with my vendors.

 

[WolfMxbee]

But being a 2015 with 7k, shouldn't it be flush every 2 years or 5 years even being low mileage? And well it's okay to mix coolant, the properties will be close to the same as gold via orange, but if there is any film or residue floating around then highly recommend flush to prevent blockage

 

[glockholiday]

I wouldn't even bother with any kind of coolant, just top it off with distilled water.

 

[Basspro302]

At least every 5 years

 

[Sins550]

I had orange in mine. Coolant tank went to min line. I mixed distilled and yellow. Poured it in. No issues.

 

[jjdelicious]

But being a 2015 with 7k, shouldn't it be flush every 2 years or 5 years even being low mileage? And well it's okay to mix coolant, the properties will be close to the same as gold via orange, but if there is any film or residue floating around then highly recommend flush to prevent blockage

It was garage kept too, barely used. The coolant looks brand new in the reservoir. I just wasnt sure if mixing with the new yellow is okay. I’ll probably just do a complete flush.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

It was garage kept too, barely used. The coolant looks brand new in the reservoir. I just wasnt sure if mixing with the new yellow is okay. I’ll probably just do a complete flush.

I recommend a drain, flush, and refill. I worked 17 years for an oil marketer sold 100's of thousands of gallons of coolant. Many different brands and all types. None of them recommended mixing of coolant. Of course, mixing coolant is better than running the system low. The best coolant for cooling is water. However, plain water offers no protection from corrosion or freeze protection. It also offers no lubrication to the water pump.
The different types of coolant have been created to meet OEM specifications. So, there are differences between them performance wise as far as corrosion protection and/or environmental impact. I personally use ELC (Extended Life Coolant) in allof my vehicles when I change out the factory fill. I test it annually and to date (about 15 years) have had no cooling system failures. The coolant in my diesel truck has been in the system for more than 7 years and still tests serviceable. The inside of the radiator looks like the day I picked the truck up from the dealer (nearly 21 years ago).

Notice that I have not mentioned any brands. I will leave that to those susceptible to the marketing and advertising dollars that each manufacturer spends plenty of. I will tell you all that the coolant that I use is red and has a service lifer of 750,000 miles/8,000 hours/or 8 years. I dislike doing coolant service more than I dislike doing a rear axle or manual transmission. I find coolant nasty not only on my skin, but also to the environment. Do what you like, but for me this is my choice. I have never seen a coolant related failure unless the coolant had been mixed, contaminated, or there was not any or not enough in th system.

 

[Vlad Soare]

None of them recommended mixing of coolant.

Ford does, at least in this particular case.

 

[bonz50]

I will never willingly put Dexcool in a car I own, I've seen to many cars with Dex that end up with slimy ass sludge in the coolant system. last one I did took half a day to purge all the orange 'boogers' out of the coolant system, absolutely filthy crap, and I'm sure I wasn't able to get it all.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

Ford does, at least in this particular case.

In this case I am sure that Ford has done or has had done the necessary testing to ensure compatibility between the coolants listed. I still would not recommend using this as an approval on all coolants. It also is a tip off on coolant marketing.

Just as you can mix different brands, viscosities, and even specs of engine oils (in an emergency, any oil is better than none) it is not recommended by any of the producers. I, for one, do not understand the reason for wanting to mix coolants or lubricants. The things that these products protect are far more expensive than the fluids used to protect them.

But, then again, I don't mix gin or vodka with my whiskey and could never come up with a good reason to do so. I would do without before adulterating good whiskey.

Thanks for the Ford letter on this, though.

 

[Vlad Soare]

In this case I am sure that Ford has done or has had done the necessary testing to ensure compatibility between the coolants listed. I still would not recommend using this as an approval on all coolants.

No, definitely not on all coolants, that's for sure.
But the OP was just asking whether his existing Motorcraft orange coolant can be topped off with the new Motorcraft yellow one. The answer is yes.

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