Coolant Change!

[dabtl]

What a chore. Started by draining the radiator and leaving a five gallon bucket full for two days undisturbed. When emptied it had a 1/8 inch or so of silt, for lack of a better word, on the bottom of the bucket.

I am at the refill and drain stage, fifth, down to minor discoloration. I will put in new coolant, from Tractor Supply and the SCA next.

What an afternoon. No telling how long since this was flushed.

Oh, well, nothing else to do, I suppose.

 

[clinto]

When I did mine, I just kept pushing distilled water trhough it until it was spotless.....then I drained it and refulled it with the distilled and the coolant and added the SCA's.

Wish I still had access to the powerflush equipment I had when I ran a repair shop.......

 

[dabtl]

The secret is patience. All you have to do is flush, fill, flush, fill etc. till you are certain the old stuff is gone.

Time and patience. That is the recipe.

 

[azpatriot]

What is SCA? Is standard auto anti-freeze alright to use?

 

[gimpyrobb]

What is SCA? Is standard auto anti-freeze alright to use?

NO WAY! You want something "big rig" or diesel approved. I got some that had "cat" approved rating. I forget exactly what it means, but its some kind of coolant addative. It helps prevent cavitation, which is bad. Don't remeber what that is. Something like the water near the pistons foams up and hinders cooling.

 

[WillWagner]

SCA...Supplemental Coolant Additives. Added to HD diesel coolant to prevent corrosion, cavitation and dropout. Too much of a good thing can cause issues like w/p seal leakage. Get a test kit if you use a non pre mixed combo.

 

[FireFighterHill]

Have you thought about running a coolant filter system?
OD Iron LLC Military Vehicle Parts and Accessories

 

[dabtl]

I put the ODIron coolant filter system on both of my deuces last year. I also went with the Wix 24071 filter with the SCA additives. I plan to change them each Fall.

The starter post of this thread is where I began to be concerned about the fluid systems in the deuce after several decades of use. cranetruck got me onto this subject, as he has so many others.

I now have converted both deuces to the jatonka spin on filter system: the primary fuel, secondary fuel, final fuel and oil filters; along with the ODIron coolant filter. A total of six spin on filters that I believe will extend the life of the multi-fuel engine.

 

[azpatriot]

Will NAPA or Autozone carry an appropriate coolant product? Can I run the same stuff I run in my 7.6L Ford diesel?

 

[jwaller]

Will NAPA or Autozone carry an appropriate coolant product? Can I run the same stuff I run in my 7.6L Ford diesel?

yes on the napa. doubt the zone will have it. not sure on the furd comparison.

 

[IHASFIP]

NO WAY! You want something "big rig" or diesel approved. I got some that had "cat" approved rating. I forget exactly what it means, but its some kind of coolant addative. It helps prevent cavitation, which is bad. Don't remeber what that is. Something like the water near the pistons foams up and hinders cooling.

FWIW...

Cavitation is a localized low pressure zone that forms adjacent to the outer wall of the cylinder. It is caused by by the flexing of the cylinder wall due to the high cylinder pressures experienced in diesel engine ignition. Gasoline engines don't typically get this failure mode due to lower cylinder pressures during ignition. Basically what happens is the cylinder wall quickly expands due to ignition then returns to its original geometry. This expansion of the cylinder wall is more pronounced as you increase the demand for power. Bascially when you increase your demand for power you are pumping more fuel into the cylinder. If you have a turbo charged unit you are also increasing air charge. This increase in fuel and air causes a more violent ignition which further increases cylinder pressures and thus increases the flexing of the cylinder wall. This fast cylinder wall movement causes a low pressure zone to be created in the coolant adjacent to the cylinder wall. When this pressure zone drops below the vapor pressure point (temperature, coolant ratio, and additive dependant) a vapor bubble is formed. When this low pressure zone returns to a high pressure zone, the vapor bubble collapses, causing an implosion, or pitting phenomena on the cylinder wall (like hitting the surface with a microscopic ball peen hammer). If left unchecked, it will eventually eat all the way through the cylinder wall.

D

 

[IHASFIP]

BTW, Fleetguard's extended life antifreeze, works good and comes with the proper additives already in it. Thats what I always used on our tractors, and all my diesel pickups.

D

 

[azpatriot]

Anything unique that needs to be performed when re-filling coolant ie. having to bleed air from the system? I've got a thermostat and gasket shipping next day and I need to roll the Deuce Friday to a machine gun shoot.
Been having intermittent problems with the gauge telling me I'm overheating to 220 after driving 3-4 miles. Has done this before and lo and behold the next time I drive her she is nominal. block didn't seem to be as hot as the gauge indicated. Thinking it is the sensor or possibly the thermostat. Not sure. Cant believe there is a periodic blockage in the block or radiator though can't rule anything out at this time. We'll see.