i have a 2000 ford focus zts. when i bought my car used i told them that i wanted all the fluids changed before i bout it. but i am trying to find out what coolant should be used. the oil that they used was the wrong weight and im guessing the coolant they used was something they had lying around. can someone pleae tell me what type of coolant i should be using wheater its the green, yellow orange etc. thanks
confused about antifreeze
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"the oil that they used was the wrong weight "
I believe Ford issued a TSB a few years back that retroactively updated the recommendation to 5W-20 from 5W-30, but I'm only 80% sure of that. As a result, your manual might say 5W-30 and they might have put 5W-20 in it, but, as I said, I'm only 80% sure that it was a retroactive recommendation.
The move to 5W-20 oil was to get the last little bit of EPA mileage rating out of the engines.
As for the coolant, there is much debate about coolant requirements and differences between the various types, e.g., Prestone claims to sell a premium antifreeze that is compatible with ANY coolant and is for ALL cars (their capitalization, not mine). Whether you believe it is up to you. The stuff Ford sells (and of course recommends) is gold/yellow, while the cheapest stand life EG types still is usually green. Dex-Cool is Orange and something GM made the specification for.
I believe Ford issued a TSB a few years back that retroactively updated the recommendation to 5W-20 from 5W-30, but I'm only 80% sure of that. As a result, your manual might say 5W-30 and they might have put 5W-20 in it, but, as I said, I'm only 80% sure that it was a retroactive recommendation.
The move to 5W-20 oil was to get the last little bit of EPA mileage rating out of the engines.
As for the coolant, there is much debate about coolant requirements and differences between the various types, e.g., Prestone claims to sell a premium antifreeze that is compatible with ANY coolant and is for ALL cars (their capitalization, not mine). Whether you believe it is up to you. The stuff Ford sells (and of course recommends) is gold/yellow, while the cheapest stand life EG types still is usually green. Dex-Cool is Orange and something GM made the specification for.
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They still make antifreeze with silicates in it. (Peak, for one. There may be others.) That's something you should NOT use in your focus.
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For your focus, green coolant is what you should have in it. I have the spec
right here (Ford Premium Engine Coolant E2F2-19549-AA - Vehicles built up to 06/2002).
right here (Ford Premium Engine Coolant E2F2-19549-AA - Vehicles built up to 06/2002).
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