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Old 12-29-2013, 03:36 PM   #1
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V10 Coolant Question

Folks:

I just picked up the new to me 2007 Itasca Sunova 35J with the Ford V10. I noticed that the coolant looks RED and seems to have a "sludge" mark around the top of the fluid level (which is a little low). The cap on the reservoir shows YELLOW only, but the color is red. Any ideas? How should I proceed?

Thanks!
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Old 12-29-2013, 03:55 PM   #2
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With the age of the motorhome, the coolant needs to be changed anyways. Max life is 5 years or 100K. Depending on how the degas bottle ages, the color may look off. Or the previous owners replaced the coolant with a red coolant like fleetguard.
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Old 12-29-2013, 06:17 PM   #3
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I used the Motorcraft brand in my 06 V10 and its yellow. Hard to go wrong using factory brand coolant.
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Old 12-29-2013, 07:04 PM   #4
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Guys:

Here is an update. I put a turkey baster into the reservoir and withdrew some fluid. It was gold colored like it "should" be. Very odd that the reservoir is stained red. Any ideas how that could have happened? The fluid looks clean and is yellow, but the reservoir is stained a dark red color. ODD!
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Old 12-29-2013, 08:34 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Vegas View Post
Guys:

Here is an update. I put a turkey baster into the reservoir and withdrew some fluid. It was gold colored like it "should" be. Very odd that the reservoir is stained red. Any ideas how that could have happened? The fluid looks clean and is yellow, but the reservoir is stained a dark red color. ODD!
Actually it is not odd at all. I think the plastic just discolors over time. If the coolant gets to nasty there will be a discolored rim on the degas bottle or if it really gets bad the bottle will discolor all the way down to the bottom. Common on the 3.0L 2V Taurus engines a while back.
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Old 12-29-2013, 09:20 PM   #6
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Thank you sir! I am going to try to add a picture to this thread. Let me know if this looks "normal".
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Old 12-30-2013, 04:40 PM   #7
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It does look red in the picture don't it. It is not uncommon to see discoloration like that. Some coolant cleaners can help to clean it up but I don't think it is really needed. A good coolant exchange and you should be ok.
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Old 12-30-2013, 05:20 PM   #8
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Probably stained from residual rust in the coolant. Change it yesterday, and while you are at it, replace all the Ford OEM clamps or double up with screw clamps.
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Old 12-31-2013, 10:22 AM   #9
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If it really bothers you, you can pressure clean the inside of the reservoir with a pressure washer after you drain the system. In my experience, just draining the reservoir will not remove the stain. I did have good results with using a pressure washer.
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Old 12-31-2013, 11:58 PM   #10
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Thanks everyone. I am not concerned with aesthetics, I simply looked at the outside and assumed someone screwed up the fluids. I was happy to see the fluid was actually "golden" as suggested in the manual.

As far as removing OEM clamps, I had thought about that as well when I was under the rig. The OEM's are a bit rusty and look weak.

Cheers
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