04 Cummins ISC Radiator Flush

[Dirtbuster]

I have decided that my coolant system needs flushing by using the Cummins paper test. It is recommending flushing. In reviewing all of my maintenance records, it seems that a coolant flush has not been performed. I have decided that I am going to try and do this myself.

I went to the local Cummins dealer, and purchased the needed items. They say install the restore & run for 1 hour then drain. All of this cost around 165.00

8 gallons 50/50 antifreeze
1 new coolant filter
1 gallon of restore coolant

Does anybody have any advice on accomplishing this task to make the job any easier. Is there a maintenance section in the forum that I might have overlooked? Does my item list look correct?

Thanks

[GaryKD]

Hi Dirtbuster,

Make sure you have enough empty containers to catch all the drained coolant/water/chemicals.

[Dirtbuster]

That's the easy part. I have plenty of 5 gallon buckets, time, but I lack a lot of patience.

[H. Miller]

Just did the same.......
Do not understand going back with the same "old" anti-freeze (SCA required) when newer technology is available. We used Peak Global Final Charge good for 600,000 miles with an additive every 3 years.
The premixed was 9.00/gal and filter wasn't much more. Our instructions called for using a good radiator cleaner and flushing - we flushed with clean water 3 times then disconnected the heater hoses up front and blew them out (lots of water in those two 40' hoses. That's why the 10 gal. was required. They also want you to change the thermostat.
If never done, good luck getting the filter off!!!

[chasfm11]

I don't know what kind of a MH or engine you have but 8 gallons seems low. I did a similar change a couple of years ago. Here were my steps.

1. warm up the engine and dump existing coolant. I got about 8 gallons out of a 10 gallon system.
2. fill with plain water and add Cummins flush. run to temperature per instructions and dump again.
2. fill with plain water, warm and dump again. Total now is about 27 gallons of used fluid. I stored in 5 gallon containers.
3. fill with distilled water. warm and dump again. The purpose of this step is to purge tap water that still may be in the system
4. add 5 gallons of ES Complet and finish filling will distilled water.

It took a couple of months for the level of the coolant to stabilize. It is important that the air be bleed off the engine as recommended (I have a petcock above the surge tank) to avoid an air gap and resulting engine overheating.

[Dirtbuster]

I got my flush done today, it took me around 4 hours.
I worked on installing my wiper motor, and put a new handle on my washer door while doing my flushing.

The initial drain was around 8.5 gallons. The coolant looked pretty clean, with a pink color. I put in a gallon of the Cummins restore, & ran the engine around 2 hours. I decided to drive around to help the cleaner out. When I dumped the coolant with the fresh water I added, it looked kind of brownish orange in color. I then flushed 2 more times to get all of the junk & restore out. The restore had a acid smell to it. After 3 flushes & all clear water water coming out, I put in the Compleat ES. I ran the head and hopefully bled all of the air out. I am glad I did this myself, to make sure all of the contaminants were flushed out. 1 flush would not have been good.

I still have one question to ask? What is the copper dipstick that is located on the left side of the expansion tank. Is this a way to monitor the acid level?

Thanks for the help!

[Dirtbuster]

I went by the local Cummins dealer to find out what the black cap with a piece of copper pipe was for? This cap is on the left side of the coolant tank. Cummins was not sure, & sent me to the local Freightliner store. Parts looked it up for me, and it is described as a splash guard. It protects the coolant level sensor from false readings.

Hope this might helps someone that has the same question.