ok so im kinda running low on coolant, its on the cold line, when its hot, (maybe a little over, but still low) and will be doing a flush at 100k. so for now, would i have to buy motorcraft gold coolant to top it off, or would water do the trick?

oh and same with the power steering and brake fluids.

 

are you on the cold line when cold, or on the cold line when hot? there is a difference...

 

Doh!! lol
fixed

 

a little bit of evaporation is normal. I'd add a little bit of distilled water to it and keep an eye of it. don't use tap water, the minerals in it can clog the radiator and cause scaling in the water jackets.

 

where do i find distilled water?
so no motorcraft gold needed?

 

Slight evaporation of coolant is normal, but where is your brake and power steering fluid going?

 

idk.. it aint that bad tho, i just wanna make sure.. and since im taking a two day trip, i wanna make sure its ready and safe

 

You can get distilled water at any grocery store, and usually most convienent stores also.

 

You can find distilled water at Wal-Mart for about 70-75 cents a gallon.
When you do change the coolant, I believe you can also buy the gold Zerex at Wal-Mart. That's who makes it for Ford, it just has a slightly darker gold color , but the exact same thing as Ford Gold Long (or is it Extra-Long) Life coolant.

 

i was lost on what kind of water that was lol
its just like bottled water right? haha
i was at walmart last night and did not find anything, all there was, was prestone

 

Not exactly. Distilling water means to boil and transferring the steam (water) to another container where it condenses back to a liquid form from a gas. Since the minerals don't transfer with the steam, they are left behind. The distilled water, here, comes in 1 gallon jugs like they use for milk. Sometimes it's over in the baby aisle, sometimes it's with the other water products. It will say distilled water right on the label, though.

Distilled Water

 

cool.. thanks

 

how sure are you on the zerex thing, cause MC gold costs like 25 bucks and zerex is like 12... if its the same thing id rather get that... someone else chime in too!!

 

Distilled water is used for many purposes, so don't be looking for it in the automotive section, but where you'd typically find bottled water. If it's in the baby section, it may say purified water.

Brake fluid levels should go down over time as pads wear and fluid is displaced in the caliper, but not to the extent it would run the reservior dry. Fluid can also leak from seals in the calipers and the master cylinder, so if the reservior is running real low, you should explore where it's going.

Any jug of anti-freeze should tell what manufacturers specifications it is compatible with. If it's moot on the issue, don't mix them.

 

According to my operator's manual, the coolant must meet Ford Specification WSS-M97B51-A1, of which Zerex G-05 is compatible. Don't confuse G-05 with Zerex's Dex-Cool and the operator's manual warns against that in degraded corrosion protection. I needed to look this up, because I'll be dealing with it soon too.