Pink Coolant?

[69Rustang]

So genius me decided some preventive maintenance was in order. I drained out the coolant from our 2017 Expedition. The coolant coming out was pink. Everything I have read says it should be yellow. It did not fully drain because, well, thats how it works apparently. So now I have a cooling system that needs coolant, but I don‘t know what to put back in. Internet info on mixing coolants ranges from ‘catastrophic failure’ to ‘no problem’. I want to be a bit more certain of no problem. Any advice?

 

[BMW2FORD]

I followed the below for my 2018 that had orange and changed to yellow but I don’t see pink. Maybe flush all the pink out and go with yellow.

https://www.motorcraft.com/content/dam/ford-motorcraft/en_us/motorcraft_global/products/lubricants/quick_reference_charts/antifreeze_coolants_english.pdf

 

[Left Coast Geek]

for sure, experience with other car makes, SOME coolants mix fine, others do NOT, and colors don't always mean what you think they do. Mercedes went from Gold ("Glysantin G-05") to blue-green ('G-48') to pink-violet ('G-40'). G-05 and G-48 were mixable, G-40 definitely is not.

Volvo also used G-05 back in the 80s/90s, but the Volvo branded G-05 was green. All us Volvo owners were very happy using the gold Zerex G-05 as it was commonly available, quite affordable, and fully compliant with the BASF Glysantine G-05 specifications.

 

[69Rustang]

BMW—that document is where I ended up tonight. I ordered several gallons off of Amazon and plan to do a more rigorous flush of the system before refill. Thanks for the responses. If there is other wisdom—please share as I will check back. Sorry I posted this in the wrong forum—I swear I changed it but clearly didn’t.

 

[Mr Big]

Fill the reservoir with water and drain 2 or 3 times, unless you can flush it. Then use either 100% Ford yellow or 50/50. I prefer 100%, as there is always water left in the system. This way you can go off the specs and pour the proper amount of 100% in the system and fill the rest with distilled water.

 

[GaryH]

Fill the reservoir with water and drain 2 or 3 times, unless you can flush it. Then use either 100% Ford yellow or 50/50. I prefer 100%, as there is always water left in the system. This way you can go off the specs and pour the proper amount of 100% in the system and fill the rest with distilled water.

This. Except it may take up to 5 times of filling and draining. I used distilled water because we have very hard water in this area. It's only about $1 a gallon the local grocery. It will take 10 or 12 gallons to drain and fill 5 times. Then 2 gallons of concentrated coolant to bring it to a 50-50 mixture.

Disclaimer: Mine is an older 2003 with 5.4 engine, so I don't know how that equates to a 2017 engine cooling system.

 

[69Rustang]

Yep—I have drained and filled 3 times and it is still coming out pink. At least 2 more tries before I try to load it with full concentrate.

 

[GaryH]

Yep—I have drained and filled 3 times and it is still coming out pink. At least 2 more tries before I try to load it with full concentrate.

Yep—I have drained and filled 3 times and it is still coming out pink. At least 2 more tries before I try to load it with full concentrate.

Drive after each drain and fill until it reaches full operating temp. Turn heater on high to circulate and get that coolant out too.