Engine coolant

Safety

• Do not remove the coolant reservoir cap when the system is hot. Wait 10 minutes, cover the cap with a thick cloth, and remove it slowly.
• The system is under pressure. Steam and hot liquid can come out when the cap is loosened.
• Do not add coolant past the MAX mark.
• 2020 F-150 coolant in the later manual is Motorcraft Yellow, WSS-M97B57-A2. Do not pour that spec into this truck because a newer guide names it.

Symptoms

• A level below MIN on a cold reservoir is the reason to add coolant, not the reason to pour the full system capacity in at once.
• Steam from the reservoir is a stop. The warning says to wait 10 minutes and cover the cap before you loosen it.

Diagnosis

1. Check the level cold, between MIN and MAX. Hot coolant expands and may sit past MAX.
2. The four capacities are not interchangeable, and they are not the 2020 Yellow-coolant quantities.
3. Do not put coolant in the washer reservoir. The warning says it can make the windshield hard to see through.

Tools

• Refractometer

  The coolant-check section says to check concentration with a refractometer, not a hydrometer or a test strip.

Specifications

Steps

1. 01Identify the engine

   Use the capacity section for the 2.7L EcoBoost, the 3.5L, the 3.5L EcoBoost, or the 5.0L.

   1. 2.7L 16.4 qt (15.5 L). 3.5L 15.1 qt (14.25 L). 3.5L EcoBoost 15.6 qt (14.75 L). 5.0L 15.9 qt (15 L).

2. 02Read the reservoir cold

   When the engine is cold, the level belongs between MIN and MAX. Check concentration at the scheduled intervals.

   1. 48% to 50% coolant, freeze point between -30°F (-34°C) and -34°F (-37°C).
   2. A hot level past MAX can be expansion. Do not drain it for that reason alone.

3. 03Add Orange coolant only when the system is cool

   Motorcraft Orange prediluted coolant meeting WSS-M97B44-D2. The U.S. and Mexico part line is VC-3DIL-B. Canada is CVC-3DIL-B.

   1. Wait 10 minutes after the engine was hot. Cover the cap. Loosen it slowly.
   2. Do not fill past MAX.
   3. This page does not add a drain-and-fill sequence. The cited text is the check and the capacity.

Common mistakes

• Using the 2020 Yellow coolant spec on this 2017 truck.
• Swapping the 2.7L 16.4 quart fill and the 5.0L 15.9 quart fill.
• Opening the cap while the system is hot.
• Checking concentration with a test strip. The manual says to use a refractometer.

Parts and tools

Outbound links only. BaySheet does not sell parts. Confirm fitment on the retailer page. Amazon links are searches for a real part name plus this vehicle. Tool rows do not get a product search. The search is not a part number.

• Part

  Motorcraft Orange Prediluted Antifreeze/Coolant

  Specification WSS-M97B44-D2. VC-3DIL-B in the U.S. and Mexico materials lines. CVC-3DIL-B in the Canada lines.

  Coolant materials in the 2017 F-150 owner's manual (opens in a new tab)Search Amazon.com (affiliate link) (opens in a new tab)

• Tool

  Refractometer

  The coolant-check section says to check concentration with a refractometer, not a hydrometer or a test strip.

  Coolant concentration note in the 2017 F-150 owner's manual (opens in a new tab)

Questions

Sources

• 2017 F-150 Owner's Manual, second printing, edition date July 2016, coolant capacities (opens in a new tab). Ford Motor Company. Published 2016-07-01. Read 2026-10-15.

Checklist and email notes

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Other repairs on this 2017 F-150

All Ford F-150 repairs

Other years of this Ford F-150

Same repair, different model year. Use the page that matches the truck or car in the driveway. A figure on one year is not a figure for the next.

This repair on other vehicles

These guides cover the same kind of work. Their numbers belong to those vehicles, not to this one.