Coolant confusion continues

[Playtime III]

Back History. During the cross country delivery of our MH by the dealer the MH ran hot. The driver stopped at a Peterbuilt shop and they replaced the thermostat, cleaned the ext of the side rad, ran tests, etc. The invoice shows "AF Antifreeze" and from the amount ($15) only looks to be a gal of 50/50. This did not solve the problem. Two hours later, the driver ended up stopping at Cummins Altantic and they replaced the fan controller. Since delivery I have not had a problem and the dealer paid for all the work.

STUPID ME. I ASSUMED the MH had OAT coolant. Yesterday, I opened the petcock on the lower rad hose and emptied a couple of OZs into a pirex cup.

[IMG]<a href="http://s1254.photobucket.com/user/gillfrank/media/Cool%20sample2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1254.photobucket.com/albums/hh617/gillfrank/Cool%20sample2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Cool sample2.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

The color is similar to new oil but did not have any "oil rainbow" indicating a contamination. I used new (4-pk kit good through 2017) test strip and comes out to: -30*, Nitrite: 0, Moly: Row3. They intersect at 1.7 SCA Units per Gal.

[IMG]<a href="http://s1254.photobucket.com/user/gillfrank/media/Cool%20test.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1254.photobucket.com/albums/hh617/gillfrank/Cool%20test.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Cool test.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

Pix was taken well after the 75secs so they are darker than when charted

So...1)I am assuming the coolant is conventional (SCA required), 2)Has been mixed with other color coolants over time. 3)Needs 1-2 Pts of DCA4. I'm guessing because I called HR(REV GP) and they "Guessed" it was between 11 and 13 gallons. 4)OR Flush and Fill with an OAT coolant.

Cummins does not have any shops close for their ES Compleat OAT so I'm leaning towards our local NAPA and 6 Gals of their Final Charge Global Concentrate Antifreeze and Coolant ($24.99/Gal) and 18gals of Walmart's distilled water (12gal for second flush and 6gal for coolant mixing). Sounds good so far? The SDS (new version of MSDS) says the coolant is Red. Most of what I have found says FC is Blue. WTH?

[Playtime III]

[CountryFit]

your test strip indicates that the coolant is no good. hopefully the cylinders have not started the carving yet. i would go for oat immediately.

i changed mine to oat last year diy. 6 gal of final charge concentrate is right. i did 3 drain/fill/run's before the last distilled water run, then pouring the oat and fill up with distilled water. during the procedure, you may want to run aqua-hot for a few minutes, and drive on high way to get up the temperature and open up the heater core to the max. my drain took a long time, the last one (before real fill) took overnight.

also, don't forget to change the filter with a blank one before the real fill.

after the change over, my engine does run with lower temp.

[Dutch Star Don]

"Playtime III".......I don't know what coolant you have so can't help you there. In 2011, I changed the coolant in my Monaco Diplomat with an ISL to OAT coolant. I went with Final Charge and was very happy.

Here is how I did it. I flushed the system twice with just regular water. Make sure you have the heater turn on because there is a lot of coolant in the hoses. I didn't feel that using distilled for the flush was that big of a deal, especially since you're supposedly drainng the majority of the water.

When I filled mine, I put in two gallons of Final charge concentrate and then the rest was FC 50/50. The two gallons concentrate compensated for any left over water and then I didn't have to worry about how much the system would take, just filled with 50/50.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Playtime III

Back History. During the cross country delivery of our MH by the dealer the MH ran hot. The driver stopped at a Peterbuilt shop and they replaced the thermostat, cleaned the ext of the side rad, ran tests, etc. The invoice shows "AF Antifreeze" and from the amount ($15) only looks to be a gal of 50/50. This did not solve the problem. Two hours later, the driver ended up stopping at Cummins Altantic and they replaced the fan controller. Since delivery I have not had a problem and the dealer paid for all the work.

STUPID ME. I ASSUMED the MH had OAT coolant. Yesterday, I opened the petcock on the lower rad hose and emptied a couple of OZs into a pirex cup.

[IMG]<a href="http://s1254.photobucket.com/user/gillfrank/media/Cool%20sample2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1254.photobucket.com/albums/hh617/gillfrank/Cool%20sample2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Cool sample2.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

The color is similar to new oil but did not have any "oil rainbow" indicating a contamination. I used new (4-pk kit good through 2017) test strip and comes out to: -30*, Nitrite: 0, Moly: Row3. They intersect at 1.7 SCA Units per Gal.

[IMG]<a href="http://s1254.photobucket.com/user/gillfrank/media/Cool%20test.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1254.photobucket.com/albums/hh617/gillfrank/Cool%20test.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Cool test.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

Pix was taken well after the 75secs so they are darker than when charted

So...1)I am assuming the coolant is conventional (SCA required), 2)Has been mixed with other color coolants over time. 3)Needs 1-2 Pts of DCA4. I'm guessing because I called HR(REV GP) and they "Guessed" it was between 11 and 13 gallons. 4)OR Flush and Fill with an OAT coolant.

Cummins does not have any shops close for their ES Compleat OAT so I'm leaning towards our local NAPA and 6 Gals of their Final Charge Global Concentrate Antifreeze and Coolant ($24.99/Gal) and 18gals of Walmart's distilled water (12gal for second flush and 6gal for coolant mixing). Sounds good so far? The SDS (new version of MSDS) says the coolant is Red. Most of what I have found says FC is Blue. WTH?

There was a recent thread on this topic. I don't recall which it was. OAT is NOT always recommended by Cummins. Call Cummins with your vin or engine sn if you have it and ask them what they recommend. Also, buying from Walmart may not be a good idea from what I recall. A truckers store would be more likely to have the product package we need. The containers may look the same and read the same on the label but what is in the container may be pure poison for your coolant system, from what I recall in the thread and info I read from Cummins.\

Rick Y

[Mr_D]

After the engine rebuild Cummins used Fleetguard ES Complete OAT to refill ours.

Cummins coolants:

[Mr_D]

Here's what can happen in a wet liner engine if you don't have the proper coolant or SCA's:

[Playtime III]

I enjoy working on my MH but sometimes it really is a PITA.

Today I put a 14gal rubbermaid bin (lined with a 3mil trash bag) under the petcocks. I opened the lower radiator petcock and removed the overflow tank pressure cap. I got about 3 gals out. I moved the bin and opened the engine petcock. I got about 4 gals out. I'm guessing with the amount, but I did measure when I emptied the bin (7gals).

OK, should be 4-6 gals more according to HR. I had the dash heat on as well as the AquaHot engine pre-heat on. Since I could not get any more out, I closed everything up and added water to the overflow tank to "refill" the system. (I ran a hose from my wet bay shower to the overflow tank as I have 100gals still onboard (gee it is nice not to have to winterize here in FL)).

Even with the High Idle (1200rpm) on, the temp would not climb higher than 176 degrees (as shown on my aladdin). The dash was only blowing cool air (outside temp was 68). So I'm guessing the thermostat did not open as I've read they should open around 195 degrees. The coach was still in storage mode (tires/windows covered) so a road run was not possible. Guessing I have an air lock with the added fresh water.

I was not sure of the thermostat's location on my ISL as my only reference is my automech class back in high school. And what I do remember from that was the teacher reminding us not to take the upper radiator hose off to access the thermostat without having a new gasket to install. I also have two small hoses coming from the upper hose/block area to the overflow tank. Might this be some vent lines to prevent the airlock?

Oh yeah, the coolant in the bin was green. So much for the sample (Pix above).

[Mr_D]

Looking toward the front from the back of the rig the thermostat is "under" the hose just to the left of the valve cover and behind the lifting bracket above the idler pulley with all the holes. Two bolts holding it in, 9/16th as I remember. Back one is hard to get to. The hose connects to the inlet to the thermostat.
The picture is of an ISC but it's the same on an ISL.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Playtime III

I enjoy working on my MH but sometimes it really is a PITA.

Today I put a 14gal rubbermaid bin (lined with a 3mil trash bag) under the petcocks. I opened the lower radiator petcock and removed the overflow tank pressure cap. I got about 3 gals out. I moved the bin and opened the engine petcock. I got about 4 gals out. I'm guessing with the amount, but I did measure when I emptied the bin (7gals).

OK, should be 4-6 gals more according to HR. I had the dash heat on as well as the AquaHot engine pre-heat on. Since I could not get any more out, I closed everything up and added water to the overflow tank to "refill" the system. (I ran a hose from my wet bay shower to the overflow tank as I have 100gals still onboard (gee it is nice not to have to winterize here in FL)).

Even with the High Idle (1200rpm) on, the temp would not climb higher than 176 degrees (as shown on my aladdin). The dash was only blowing cool air (outside temp was 68). So I'm guessing the thermostat did not open as I've read they should open around 195 degrees. The coach was still in storage mode (tires/windows covered) so a road run was not possible. Guessing I have an air lock with the added fresh water.

I was not sure of the thermostat's location on my ISL as my only reference is my automech class back in high school. And what I do remember from that was the teacher reminding us not to take the upper radiator hose off to access the thermostat without having a new gasket to install. I also have two small hoses coming from the upper hose/block area to the overflow tank. Might this be some vent lines to prevent the airlock?

Oh yeah, the coolant in the bin was green. So much for the sample (Pix above).

As I recall, there are some valves installed on the hoses going to the dash on some dp's. To be honest, coolant flushing on a big rig is not on my skill sheet. I am trying to remember what the guy did when I had a truck stop service my last coach. And I think I read the procedure someplace. It seems you didn't get all the coolant out and now your system may be air bound. All guesses on my part.

Rick Y

[Playtime III]

Thanks. Still a little confused. Do I just loosen the thermostat/hose housing to allow air to escape. Retighten (?in/lbs) when coolant flows? Should I take the thermostat out and reassemble since I have several flushes to do?

[wildirishman]

Ive heard of people using a small wet vac to suck the coolant out if the heater houses up front. Sounds like a good idea, haven't tried it yet.

[Hooligan]

Previous Rv was a 2000 GeorgieBoy Diesel, ISB260. Had it for 15 years. When changing coolant, I drained and flushed the system. Only about half the coolant drains. I replaced the thermostat when I went to Final Charge OAT coolant. (Which worked quite well)Thermostat is all the way back on the drivers side at the front end of the engine. (note which way it goes in and do replace the gasket.) The 2 small hoses are to drain air from the system. After you have filled the system with new coolant, run at idle and open the little hose petcocks until a small amount of coolant comes out. The system will still purge air for awhile in normal use and you will have to add to the reservoir a few times.

Since only about 1/2 the coolant drains, you will have 4-5 gallons of distilled water in the system after flushing. Add full strength Final Charge to top off and it should mix property. My system held nine gallons total.

The ISB is a "parent bore" engine, it does not have sleeved cylinders and is not prone to cavitation and liner holes.

[koda59]

When I talked to freightliner help desk, I was told the thermostat starts to open at 180 and fully open at 187.