03 cobra coolant brown, intercooler coolant is green

[M4_ELITE]

is it brown because it was mixed green/yellow? or does it mean its just old?

 

[03cobra283]

It should be gold in color when it is new. Dependng on how brown it is someone could have used green to top it off.

 

[mu22stang]

is it brown because it was mixed green/yellow? or does it mean its just old?

Ford put green, orange and gold in both reservoirs from the factory at different times along the two year production. It doesn't really matter which one you use, just don't mix them in the same system.

 

[M4_ELITE]

thanks fellas

 

[metaman]

The brown is gold coolant. They put stop leak tablets in there when the car was new that make the gold coolant look brown.

 

[Jomo1994z71]

The brown is gold coolant. They put stop leak tablets in there when the car was new that make the gold coolant look brown.

I have never heard of this...please expand...Gold coolant is always gold, it turns brown when it gets old through my experience...subscribing...

 

[siLversLeigh]

did this just happen? or has it always been this way?

 

[M4_ELITE]

did this just happen? or has it always been this way?

i'm not really sure if it was brown when i bought it, i havent changed anything. what i dont get is why i have 2 different coolants

 

[vr4]

I have never heard of this...please expand...Gold coolant is always gold, it turns brown when it gets old through my experience...subscribing...

Coolant Discoloration:
The current Motorcraft Cooling System Stop Leak Pellets, service part number VC-6, used in both Production and Service, cause the yellow-colored Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant to change color ranging from a light golden brown to dark brown, depending upon the amount of pellet material in the coolant reservoir. This discoloration does not adversely affect the coolant or the vehicle's cooling system components. No repairs are required for this condition. To avoid confusion with regard to coolant contamination, a new formulation of stop leak pellets will be implemented in Production and Service in the near future.

from TSB 02-23-07

 

[03cobra#694]

i'm not really sure if it was brown when i bought it, i havent changed anything. what i dont get is why i have 2 different coolants

Someone has changed coolant in the rad or i/c system,most likely the i/c.Do you have a aftermarket h/e?
early 03`s had the green stuff.

 

[P49Y-CY]

if you notice the gt500's resevoirs are pretty easy to see the difference, and yes ford (unfortunately) uses stop leak pellets in the engine cooling which causes it to be a darker yellow. not sure i would call it brown tho.

early 03's had green coolant, then ford switched to the yellow "long life" coolant

green and yellow coolant are essentially the same thing (ethylene glycol) and can be mixed with no ill effects.

the gm dexcool (orange, propylene glycol) should not be mixed however

i recommend flushing the cooling system annually, they get funky real quick. maybe the op's is so dirty that it looks brown, and if so should be flushed/refilled

 

[M4_ELITE]

Someone has changed coolant in the rad or i/c system,most likely the i/c.Do you have a aftermarket h/e?
early 03`s had the green stuff.

yea that's what it looks like. stock HE here.