Final Charge is Installed

[moisheh]

I finally got around to installing the AF in my cooling system. If anyone else is considering this task it is definitely low tech. In my case it was time consuming due to our living in the country with well water. I flushed the system with the well water 5 times until it ran clear. Each time I would start up the Dynasty and leave it on high idle for about 15 to 20 minutes. With the Alladin I could actually see when the thermostat opened and closed! On our Dynasty it is very hard to just pour the coolant into the plastic rad tank as it is mounted so high. About 1 qt. would remain in the jug. My neighbor does Hydronic heating so I just borrowed a utility pump that he uses to pump Propolyne glycol into floor heating systems. After flushing and draining with well water I poured distilled water into a 5 gallon pail and pumped it into the rad tank. Did this 4 times as I was paranoid about the well water still being in the system. After the last drain I pumped in 16 litres of concentrated Final Charge and 16 litres of 50/50. I did not have my hydrometer with me so I am not sure if I need more concentrate. Others have reported that they had maybe 2 gallons of water left in their systems after flushing and draining. According to my manual the factory fill is 54 qts. Others have stated 48 qts. I could have undone one of the heater hoses but hesitated to do so. Vehicles with long heater runs tend to air lock and there is no bleeeder valve in the system. I also did not want to disturb the heater hoses as Monaco did not use a high end hose such as Gates green or red stripe. If my system is not 50/50 I will just drain off enough to add a gallon or so of concentrate. If you cannot find Final Charge in your area some Freightliner dealers carry it inder the Alliance label. I have enclosed some photos. That drain petcock is on a steel pipe that connects to the lower rad hose. There is also a drain for the block by the oil filter but not much comes out. The front corner of the rad has a brass plug that will drain the rad a little more. It takes a T-45 star socket. I know that many have had problems with the plastic rad tank. Mine has yellowed and you need an LED flashlight to see the liquid level. Or maybe just younger eyes than mine! Some feel that the tank tends to leak due to UV rays from the sun. On mine I think it will fail as the DPF is in the same area. When the pollution system is in a full DPF purge you could use that area instead of a Barbecue. It gets da-n hot!!!. I might try wrapping it with header wrap or foil insulation. Again not a hard job but my old body does not like climbing under and getting up all the time!! Thanks to DD and Twomed and a few others for the advice. The price of Final Charge has come down and no RV'r should be running the old tech AF. I won't have to think of coolant for 3 years! And then it is simply a matter of adding an extender for 3 more years.

[JDT]

Nice job. I did mine 3 years ago and am getting ready to add the recharge before I next trip in 2 weeks. I know our engines are not comparable, but mine does run cooler. Just wish I knew how much but I bought my VMSpc after I made the change. One thing for sure, I don't have to worry about keeping it balanced with DCA's or SCA's, which I never could quite understand.

[Mr_D]

Please be sure it doesn't have any 2-ethyl hexanoic acid in it. It's not compatible with hoses used on some Cummins engines. It's OK for motorhomes with the ISC and ISL, in ISM and ISX the acid attacks the silicon or silicon lined hoses and causes engine destruction.

I looked at the Alliance site and they show it as coming precharged but still needing the SCA checked. Doing some more research now.

Here's a link to a discussion and Cummins papers on coolants.

[moisheh]

http://nemcoresources.com/userfiles/...ze-Coolant.pdf

Mr. D. This is a link to the coolant I used. It is none 2-EH. This is not equivalent to Final Charge. It is Final Charge repackaged. Quite common in automotive liquids.

[Barlow46]

Moisheh, did you change out you thermostat at the same time?

[William Willard]

Moisheh -- We have a 07 Camelot, & twice, the 1 1/4 inch coolant hose that goes from the recovery tank to the engine has burst -- First time at 15000 miles & second at 45000 miles -- Go to NAPA & get a spare -- It should have a White stripe on it -- Mine takes 20 inches -- Didn`t mean to get off topic, but when I saw the picture of your engine, I noticed the hose , & was just giving you a warning -- Take plenty of spare Final Charge with you, because it`s hard to find on the road, I have experience with that --If you did change your thermostat, what did you use? I would change mine, but can`t find the correct one -- Bill Willard

[moisheh]

I did not change the stat as there is no reason to do so. We had a diesel class 5 in our fleet with over 300,000 kilometres on it when it was sold. Still had the original stat. These are not puny things like you would find on a 4 cyl. 2.2 Dodge. I would bet that I will never have to change it. I don't know where people get the idea that it has to be changed. Our 2008 Bluebird has a 3208 Cat and still has the original thermostat WW: I looked at that hose on our unit and maybe Monaco changed the style of hose. It is not like a regular rad hose but rather is some thick cloth reinforced hose that is not very flexible. I will check it again but I think it is fine. If I were to replace I would use a Green Stripe Gates. They last forever but are not very flexible. Thanks for the tips.

[Barlow46]

Thanks for the reassurance as I did not change mine either when I did the final charge change. I caught a bit of "heat" locally for not changing it out but I felt that it was in good shape and very well made to start with. If they are that hard to find, I may pick up a spare when I come across one.

[moisheh]

Barlow: I would not fret. They are hard to find as not many are ever sold!

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moisheh http://nemcoresources.com/userfiles/...ze-Coolant.pdf Mr. D. This is a link to the coolant I used. It is none 2-EH. This is not equivalent to Final Charge. It is Final Charge repackaged. Quite common in automotive liquids.

Looks to be a Canadian product only available there.

[William Willard]

Moisheh -- My hose`s showed no outside deterioration -- They were heavy, outside wraped, with a spring inside --I`m sure not the only one that has had this hose rupturing problem --However, I live in a different enviorment than that of Canada -- I live in Arizona, & travel mostly in the South, & Southwest where the Summer temps are mostly in the 100`s -- I sure don`t want to be stranded in the middle of Nevada because I didn`t carry a $20.00 hose -- Many, many other things can go wrong,& do, but this is a known problem -- Bill Willard

[moisheh]

WW: I re-examined that hose this morning. It does not appear to have a spring or maybe the spring is a small gauge. I tried to compress it and did not feel any spring. What type of hose did you use as a replacement? Remember mine is right above the DPF which gives off a tremendous amount of heat. We do travel in some extreme heat in AZ on the way to Mexico . I don't see a big problem in changing the hose. Just drain the whole rad!!!!!!! Again! Or being as you failed to warn me of this problem you could do it for me @ Q this winter!!! I am also considering changing the plastic tank to stainless or aluminum. You once mentioned that someone on this forum had done this. Do you happen to have a link? I wonder how they attached the filler neck/ Although I am sure you can buy filler necks at rad shops they are usually made of steel. Where we winter in Mexico there a few good fab shops who have heliarced aluminum fuel tanks for boats and the workmanship was amazing. Thanks

[William Willard]

moisheh -- happycarz (Harry Martin), our friend Terry, & myself have had aluminum tanks made -- A radiator shop in Phoenix made them using Harry`s drawing -- It`s been over 2 years & have had good results -- I carried the plastic tank around for a year just in case the new tank didn`t work out, but it`s sitting in my shop now, waiting for someone who really needs one, & I can sell it for twice what`s it`s worth -- I replaced mine to keep up with Harry -- Pep Boy`s Auto Parts is a good place to buy Final Charge -- They don`t carry full strengh, but do stock 50/50 -- The best hose we`ve found is from NAPA Auto Parts -- The hose will have a white stripe on it -- About $10.00 per foot -- You would only need to drain enough coolant, so it would be below the bottom end of the hose, where it connects to the engine, or just wait till Q this winter, & I`ll be glad to crawl around on the rocks & change the hose for you -- The picture in the attachment is Harry`s tank, buy mine is identical -- The cost of the tank was $325.00 -- Bill Willard

[moisheh]

WW: Thanks for the pics. I would not subject anyonew to crawling around in the sand and rocks @ Q. I will do it on my concrete floor in Mexico!