Anatomy of a coolant filtration system

[PRout]

Thanks Steved. .

I replaced the filter and it had just a touch of rusty colored gunk in it, even though the prestone looked green/new from looking in the filler neck. Filled up a new filter with water pump lube and threaded her up. This is a nice add-on, and its not a major task to install it.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Anymore, I build up miles pitifully slowly with the truck, even less in winter weather - maybe that's a good thing, as far as the coolent filter is concerned. Might be MORE tendency for rust/gunk accumulation in the cooling system of a vehicle that sees lots of extended downtime?



ANYWAY, when better weather arrives, and we get a few longer drives on the truck, I'll do a coolent filter change, and open up this first filter to see what it has accumulated, and post the results and pic here...

 

[Coalsmoke]

Anymore, I build up miles pitifully slowly with the truck, even less in winter weather - maybe that's a good thing, as far as the coolent filter is concerned. Might be MORE tendency for rust/gunk accumulation in the cooling system of a vehicle that sees lots of extended downtime?



ANYWAY, when better weather arrives, and we get a few longer drives on the truck, I'll do a coolent filter change, and open up this first filter to see what it has accumulated, and post the results and pic here...

I'm looking forward to it. My Frantz oil bypass is en-route. I'll need a new project soon

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

OK - a follow-up on the coolant filter, just swapped in a new element a few minutes ago, and was curious as to the amount of visible garbage that might be seen inside the used canister. I'll leave it up to the readers here to judge the efficiency and usefulness of this filter system - this element probably has a bit under 10K miles on it, and my coolant is a mix of pure distilled water and Prestone antifreeze, with water pump lubricant added. The mileage on my engine at this point is 65K miles.



I'd like to display the actual filter media itself, but the composition of that material makes it quite difficult to see or analyze what it's actually holding - but undoubtedly FAR more than can be seen just on the canister wall:



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Lotsa fine grit, probably shed casting sand from the foundry, with a small amount of rust/scale. As an aside, consider that this SAME sort of material. along with bits and pieces of machining residue, are ALSO steadily dislodged INSIDE the engine into the crankcase and lubricant stream - then you appreciate the importance of good oil lubrication as well!



Is it worth it? You be the judge - it might not seem particularly impressive to some, but extended engine and component life is a percentage game - a few percent here, and a few there, and some of these add-ons might NOT be practical for relatively short-term owners - by my truck is a LONG-term investment to me, and this filter WILL be staying on there for the long haul! :-laf



(EDIT) Almost forgot to comment, the ball valves that are supplied with this particular kit work GREAT - simply shut them off at both sides of the filter and remove the element - very little coolant loss other than what's inside the canister itself!

 

[bheiting]

Very interesting discussion. Does anyone know what set up Cummins uses on their
over the road engines, including the anode?

 

[EricBu12]

I have a 09 6. 7/. . Just looked on the site and there is no system for the 7. 5-09 trucks yet.

Wonder when they will

 

[bheiting]

I called the Cummins Customer Assistance Center (800-343-7357) as well as my
local Cummins service tech line and they both thought that filtering coolant in the ISB
is over kill. Each engine is tested at the factory and flushed before shipping. We do
not need the filters or filter additives used on the big engines because ours don't
have cylinder liners. Some sludge will be present in the coolant but that should
not harm the water pump. Cummins suggests a 2 yr or 60,000 mi change interval
for our engines. If you use the coolant as prescribed by the owners manual, and
don't mix different types, you should be fine. The anode is for heat exchanger
protection in marine applications. Over the road engines don't need this.

 

[SHobbs]

Overkill or not I have on my truck. The kit is not that expensive and neither are the filters, cheap insurance as I see it.

 

[AH64ID]

I have my first coolant change coming up this fall and have been considering building my own kit for some time.

Is there a part number in the filter head?

Also, is there a checkvalve? If not what keeps the coolant flowing from the head, thru the filter to the heater core return?

Also, would putting the feed line closer to #6 help with the fact that #6 gets much less flow than the other cylinders?