2.5L ('98-'01) what color/type of coolant 2.5l ranger

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

im finding all sorts of conflicting info online on what type of coolant to use in my 2.5l ranger. i think i have orange in there right now but i plan on doing a hose water flush then diluted water flush then add in xx amount of green coolant concentrate.

is green coolant the correct type for my engine? what is the "chemical name" for green coolant? label says "phosphated organic acid technology" label on 'green coolant' also says hyundai/kia/mazda, i suppose ford coolant type changes over the years. just wondering: do all different size ranger engines in the 98-00 range use the same coolant?

supertech brand coolant at walmart seems to only be available in 50/50 jugs

 

[BobSacamano]

The shop manual for 2000 Ranger states that you need ESE-M97B44-A. it is green. Here is an example of what you want: https://www.npdlink.com/product/antifreeze-coolant-motorcraft-green-pre-diluted/214160

 

[cape_royds]

The first reply says it all.

Youngbuck, please note that the P-OAT coolant you mention in the OP is something called "Specialty Green," for certain Mazda and Ford models. That is a later, different coolant. What you need is the older type of green that Bob linked to (Inorganic Acid Technology.)

I also want to add that the spec for your truck has never changed, even though several other types of coolant have been introduced since it was made.

The chart from Ford, linked below, dated 2025, clearly repeats the original specification:

"Green-colored engine coolant approved to Ford specification ESE-M97B44-A (Motorcraft® Premium Antifreeze/Coolant)"

https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/quickref/coolantsEN.pdf

The reason why I'm belabouring the point is that you might hear people saying that the Yellow coolant replaces everything else. But from what I have found out, this is not necessarily true.

I just put up a thread earlier this week, concerning the Yellow, so I got coolant specs on my mind.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

what happens when you mix green coolants?
P-OAT + Inorganic Acid Technology.?

 

[cape_royds]

what happens when you mix green coolants?
P-OAT + Inorganic Acid Technology.?

Not good. The two types have ingredients that may chemically react with each other, causing sludge.

How bad it is, and how fast the bad things happen, I don't know. But everything I've seen online says it's not good.

The last time I mixed coolants was back around 1989, with a beat-up '73 Cadillac, that was already dying from multiple causes. So I can't really speak from experience. All I can do is pass along what I've read.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

cant find anything labeled "inorganic acid technology" nor could i find any labels that mention ESE-M97B44-A at the walmarts.

"The reason why I'm belabouring the point is that you might hear people saying that the Yellow coolant replaces everything else. But from what I have found out, this is not necessarily true." -cape-roids
but is it somewhat true?

my truck currently has gold/orange/brown-yellow in it, at this point im thinking i should just stick with "all purpose gold"

 

[cape_royds]

cant find anything labeled "inorganic acid technology" nor could i find any labels that mention ESE-M97B44-A at the walmarts.

"The reason why I'm belabouring the point is that you might hear people saying that the Yellow coolant replaces everything else. But from what I have found out, this is not necessarily true." -cape-roids
but is it somewhat true?

my truck currently has gold/orange/brown-yellow in it, at this point im thinking i should just stick with "all purpose gold"

Yellow replaces Orange and the dark "Specialty Green" (i.e. not your green.) But since that covers most of the Fords built in the last fifteen years, the idea seems to be out there that, "Yellow replaces everything."

But according to that 2025 chart from Ford, Yellow does NOT replace Gold, NOR does it replace the old "Premium Green" (which is for your 2000 Ranger.)

Yellow won't replace Orange in your truck, because Orange should not have been there to begin with.

The safest advice for me to give you is to flush the system, and refill with Premium Green. Anything else comes with a risk. How big a risk, or how fast it happens, I can't say from experience. I can only repeat what I've seen elsewhere.

If I were you, I'd follow the original spec. I'm a "go by the book" kind of guy. The book says ESE-M97B44-A, and they've never changed it.

IMO, the expense of replacing the fluid is less than that of dealing with possible future problems from the wrong fluid. So why risk it?

Somebody might say, "It's an old truck--whatever." But that's not the way I see it. I want to keep the old machines on the road for as long as possible.

A quick web search for "ESE-M97B44-A" shows the stuff is still available. Shop around.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

350kmi, 30mpg and it doesnt constantly beep at me... ya, i wanna keep it running, lol

 

[SenorNoob]

Tis but another reason I'll likely never own a newer truck. Ethylene glycol is all I need. Nothing fancy...

 

[89longbed]

Actually, ethylene glycol alone doesn't provide corrosion protection, so you do need something added. That's what all this other chemistry is doing.

This topic is a minefield. It's almost impossible to find out what corrosion additives are in an "antifreeze" and what they are and are not compatible with. One website with the M97B44-A product says it's a "Long Life coolant which uses Hybrid Additive Technology" and "Provides immediate corrosion protection and improved resistance to deposits created by certain chemical reactions". So it looks like it has an inorganic (i.e., a salt) for quick bonding to bare metal (possibly phosphate because that's considered good for cast iron) plus a compatible OAT to give it a longer service life. If you can't find what's recommended at a reasonable price, look for something that claims to be good for older engines. I don't know how much of the 2.5L is iron versus aluminum, but factor that into your decision. Avoid using tap water, deionized is cheeper than distilled but you may have to hunt for it.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

supposedly this 'Prestone Pime' yellow/gold stuff "for all years and models of ford, lincoln, mercury" and it says it adheres to ASTM D3306 and D4895 which is the same ASTM numbers as the ESE-M97B44-A coolant to be used with yr 2000 and older fords.... so am i good or not good to use this gold/yellow stuff?

I cant imagine they would be advertising "good for all years and models of ford, lincoln, mercury" if it wasnt good for all years of ford, lincoln, mercury

*EDIT*
this video says 'new yellow' is not backwards compatable with the 'old green' stuff... though i think they may mean that you cant just top off 'old green' with 'new yellow'

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

and now i am trying to figure out coolant capacity
most sources state 6.8l or 1.8gal,
though some sources say
"Cooling System Capacity · 2.5L Manual Transmission - 10L (10.5 quarts)" or 2.6gal
which i believe implies that the first figure does not take into account the additional hoses and other systems
*note* i do not have an ac system.

can i use 40/60 of coolant to water until I can make another cheap rock auto order?
green coolant is $25 at autozone and $5 on rock auto
internet seems to say this is a regular thing that folks do during the summer

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

if i simply drained the coolant from lower radiator hose (bout 1.5gal) and added about 1gal into the top of the radiator cap, what would be the way to 'bleed' or 'burp' the air out of the system?
just run the engine at idle for 5-10 min and top off?

 

[89longbed]

I suggest you make a separate post and in the title ask for advice about flushing and bleeding air from the coolant system. I don't know if there's any quirks about this on the 4 cylinders. Air trapped in the head can cause big problems. Generally it's like you wrote, drain it, flush it, fill it (including the reservoir), run it until the thermostat opens and fluid is circulating from the rad to the block, maybe good to set the heater to hot, top-off the rad as air replaces coolant. After you shut it down it will pull in fluid from the reservoir as it cools, so long as the rad cap is tight. Check the reservoir level for a few weeks because as trapped air gets to the rad it should get pushed into the reservoir as the motor heats up (and replaced with coolant when everthing cools). Ideally, you'll know the system capacity so you can put in X% of that as concentrate, maybe in the form of a mix, and then add water to top-off the system. Do a 50/50 mix in the reservoir.

i plan on doing a hose water flush then diluted water flush then add in xx amount of green coolant concentrate

By "diluted water" did you mean distilled or deionized? That is a good idea, especially if you live somewhere that has very hard water.

A 40/60 mix won't hurt anything (with temps above freezing), but the coolant will stop inhibiting corrosion a bit sooner. Some people like more water than a 50/50 in the summer because water supposedly has more heat carrying capacity.

 

[youngbuckwithapickuptruck]

^thnx for that info. very general info, exactly what i was looking for

also i kinda meant both with the 'diluted' as in i would dilute down the mineralized tap water by adding distilled water