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Antifreeze Test Strips

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Keith Browning

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With the release of TSB 09-8-5 and 09L04 I guess we need to have the test strips available. My dealer has never and any coolant test kits. Back in the day we simply added DCA with fresh coolant or at the recommended service intervals. Our customers NEVER asked about testing. With the gold coolant we (or at least I was) were told DCA was not needed. Now they tell us it is. Fine. I am cool with that but with customers being notified I am sure they are going to start asking.

 

Time to get with it...

 

I just ordered a bottle of test strips #328-00001 - 7 business days?!!! Who else uses these and is there a Motorcraft # or do we HAVE to use these test strips?

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We've got our strips on order and they haven't showed up yet.

 

That emotiocon is awesome!

 

For anyone who doesn't know, my old service manager is now Davids headache. We needed sticky weights for the Fusion wheels and this tard told us that he would order them but we would have to pay for them. "We" being us techs. Jeez!

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If your shop is anything like ours, we arent allowed to keep the bottles in our boxes. We check DCA with a test strip and freeze point with a refractometer on every service. As soon as one idiot decides he dosent have to put the cap back on the bottle, your screwed. You should have your parts dept try and search down individually packaged ones. We have these for green, but not for red extended life. I like them much better. I never feel like I can trust the bottled ones. Ill see if I can get you a brand.

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You should have your parts dept try and search down individually packaged ones. We have these for green, but not for red extended life.

They have them in single packs? I thought Motorcraft has small packs with three inside but maybe that was for the green coolant too? So there are different strips for each type of coolant?

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So there are different strips for each type of coolant?

It depends. We keep indivually packaged strips that are just meant for green coolant, as well as bottles of test strips that we use for red extended life coolant. The extended life strips also work for green (3 patches to look at, you only use 1 for extended life), but for some reason we just have both. I dont trust the bottled strips at all.

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I get the impression that cooling system maintenance records may become important where our customers are concerned - especially now that there is a TSB and an owners letter that was mailed out. I have discussed the idea of offering a cooling system check service to our customers. This could be a stand alone service that includes a system visual inspection, pressure test, freeze protection test, nitrite test and adjustments of level, strength and additive as necessary. Since all of our services include a Quality Care Inspection anyway, the coolant chemical tests and adjustments should also be included with say... a 15K service.

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Caterpillar also has bottles of test strips, but I dont like them very well. They do not break things down like the fleet guard ones do. Fleetguard offers them individually and a bottle of them(I was checking them out while I was waiting for the parts guy at the cummins dealer). There is so many coolants out there that is almost impossible to keep up on what color needs what kind of service.

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