Changing Fluids

[Indy GT]

Stuart,

It is your car and you can certainly choose to have anyone you select to do your maintenance. Yes our GT is relatively easy to work on, but hands on experience is certainly a valuable asset. Especially as indicated above replacement of the oil pump belt. Does the dealership mechanic know to look for rust traces around the pulley/shaft interface indicating possible relative motion between the two? Likely the dealership has never done this service on the one or two GT’s that they service (if that) in a year. You have been on this Forum since October 2006. Certainly you have read many posts about owner experiences with dealer mechanics albeit “Factory Trained on the FGT” with less than desirable results. Have your axle bolts also been changed?

I find it somewhat perplexing why new owners of our car (which you are not) fight so hard to resist the service recommendations of those who have experienced issues on both sides of the maintenance fence. For me the liability of poorly executed service (to be fair which may or may not happen based on the service complexity) is just too great to risk. Since your GT is based in Florida, the GT Guys are your closest source for this 10 year service. Rich and Dennis have made trips to Florida to service groups of owners. Talk to them if another trip is scheduled in the near future. But it is certainly worth a call to them to discuss any of your proposed work.

But again it is your car and your call….

 

[w.a.nelson]

Is it necessary/desirable to warm up the engine before draining the oil?

I can't remember what I've done in the past, and don't have a lot of experience with synthetics, so I don't know if they need this or not. In the old days of 30, 40, 50 weight Pennzoil, warming always helped the drainage.

Also, never too fond of running the engine while on jack stands. Certainly done it many times - just a thing with me.

 

[Howard]

Here's what I do: Yes, warm the engine, shut it down and THEN put it jack stands. No rush. The engine oil will stay warm for hours.

Howard

 

[Specracer]

I don't as I have always done them over the winter. But I always leave it over night to drain.

 

[HOOKED ON GT]

Thanks for the time spent reply....

Stuart,

It is your car and you can certainly choose to have anyone you select to do your maintenance. Yes our GT is relatively easy to work on, but hands on experience is certainly a valuable asset. Especially as indicated above replacement of the oil pump belt. Does the dealership mechanic know to look for rust traces around the pulley/shaft interface indicating possible relative motion between the two? Likely the dealership has never done this service on the one or two GT’s that they service (if that) in a year. You have been on this Forum since October 2006. Certainly you have read many posts about owner experiences with dealer mechanics albeit “Factory Trained on the FGT” with less than desirable results. Have your axle bolts also been changed?

I find it somewhat perplexing why new owners of our car (which you are not) fight so hard to resist the service recommendations of those who have experienced issues on both sides of the maintenance fence. For me the liability of poorly executed service (to be fair which may or may not happen based on the service complexity) is just too great to risk. Since your GT is based in Florida, the GT Guys are your closest source for this 10 year service. Rich and Dennis have made trips to Florida to service groups of owners. Talk to them if another trip is scheduled in the near future. But it is certainly worth a call to them to discuss any of your proposed work.

But again it is your car and your call….

 

[MTV8]

Is it necessary/desirable to warm up the engine before draining the oil?

I start it for a few seconds before an oil change to keep from going through the priming procedure on a dry engine.

 

[w.a.nelson]

Thanks for the input, guys.

I did a little Google search too, and this seems like a typical issue where people, including manufacturers and Harley guys, come down on both sides.

Opinions lean toward some degree of warmth, and I don't see a really strong downside to this, so that's what I'll do. Pretty sure that's what I've done in the past, but memory cells don't work so well these days.

Howard, good advice for sure. I didn't think it through that way. Only trouble is, with the time it takes me to get the car up on stands, the oil will be cold again! I'll work on my pit crew skills and try it your way next time.

 

[PeteK]

You want to drain it warm, and reasonably quickly after you shut it off. It won't hurt anything if you don't, but the rationale goes like this: 1. The hotter the oil, the more of it will drain out and not stick to the innards (oil gets thinner with temp.); 2. the oil will have suspended more of the junk in the crankcase and reservoir so you get more of that stuff out. Practically speaking, it probably doesn't make much difference, since most of us don't leave the oil in long enough to get much contamination, but that's the theory anyway.

Now, about the coolant--there are test strips you can buy at some auto parts stores (probably the professional ones, not the big-box places) that test coolant condition. I haven't used them myself yet, but I'm thinking about it. You can also buy coolant additives which replenish the lubricant/anticorrosion package in the coolant. The water and ethylene glycol don't break down in a sealed system, so I think it's kind of pointless to dispose of still useable coolant.

Speaking of coolant, one trick that might help a little with you racers if you run hot is to reduce the amount of glycol mix to water. Instead of 50/50, go to 40/60 (glycol/water) or 33/67. Water has a higher specific heat than glycol, and it's less viscous, both of which which help increase heat transfer.

 

[FENZO]

Here's something I do for oil and coolant changes.... After the drips stop put a shop vac on blow, rag over the fill hole, to persuade the liquids out. Messy but effective.

 

[RALPHIE]

...Speaking of coolant, one trick that might help a little with you racers if you run hot is to reduce the amount of glycol mix to water. Instead of 50/50, go to 40/60 (glycol/water) or 33/67. Water has a higher specific heat than glycol, and it's less viscous, both of which which help increase heat transfer.

Pete -

Most race organizations don't want anything but water in the cooling systems, as if it starts to leak by a failure or accident, it makes tracks very slippery and is hard to clean up.

 

[PeteK]

That makes sense. However, the last time I was on a race track was in an air-cooled Porsche, so that didn't apply to me!

 

[HOOKED ON GT]

GT is finally new again.

This was the hit list that was completed as per your imputs

Engine Oil
Brake Oil
Coolant Fluid
Clutch Fluid
Power Steering Fluid
Oil Pump Belt.

Recalls on the airbags all done.
Had them do the aftermarket half shaft bolts I bought as well.

Told them about "door ajar" light, but couldn't find any issues but did see then on the OBD scan

There is a future passenger airbag recall coming up again I was told.

Now I need new rubber.

Stuart A

 

[fjpikul]

I hope you didn't use oil for brake fluid.You might want to check a/c.

 

[RickH]

I'm coming up on the 4th. year of ownership and have been having the oil and filter changed on a regular basis. Now I want to change all fluids for a fresh start.
The owners manual recommends radiator fluid mixture of 50/50 Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant (yellow-colored) VC-7-A and distilled water. Is this correct regarding the water, distilled? Also someone mentioned there is supercharger fluid but saw no mention of this in the manual. Is this the intercooler fluid I've seen talked about elsewhere?

 

[Xcentric]

I'm coming up on the 4th. year of ownership and have been having the oil and filter changed on a regular basis. Now I want to change all fluids for a fresh start.
The owners manual recommends radiator fluid mixture of 50/50 Motorcraft Premium Gold Engine Coolant (yellow-colored) VC-7-A and distilled water. Is this correct regarding the water, distilled? Also someone mentioned there is supercharger fluid but saw no mention of this in the manual. Is this the intercooler fluid I've seen talked about elsewhere?

Distilled water is correct. You don't want any minerals in the water that might cause corrosion.

Supercharger oil does not require changing, but check the level every 30k miles.

The intercooler uses the same coolant mix as the engine.

 

[Specracer]

FOR SURE on using distilled water!! I used the Motorcraft coolant.

The engine and supercharger coolant are indeed 2 separate circuits. Take note that you have 2 coolant expansion tanks on driver left side of the car by engine. When you get the front splitter off, you can see drains.

Another suggestion if you are doing this your self, is to get your hands on an "Airlift" to put the coolant back in.

https://www.amazon.com/UView-550000-Airlift-Cooling-Checker/dp/B0002SRH5G

 

[FerrariSlayer]

I just helped service Iconic's 2005 GT last week at an "expert's" shop where all the fluids were changed. I'm sure the Airlift is an excellent tool and you certainly need something like this to avoid air pockets. I purchased the Mac Tools Air/Evac AEV700 from eBay for $49.99 plus $9.99 shipping, which seemed to be the tool of choice and did an effective job.

 

[dpdive]

Evans waterless coolant. Lifetime use, boils at 375 F. No water-no corrosion.

 

[PeteK]

Evans waterless coolant. Lifetime use, boils at 375 F. No water-no corrosion.

Do tell more.

 

[quahog]

Can someone provide a procedure for coolant draining ? Get to the front rads from below being the start , Is this a workable gravity drain procedure ? or are block drains accessable ? Have access to presure fill system but thats only after emptying the systems it comes into play . Amounts/ gal per system ? Thanks , Its Spring , quahog