Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) antifreeze

[JeffPrice]

whats the best antifreeze to use and do you have to use distilled water with the antifreeze?

 

[cojhl2]

Hi Jeff, Welcome to TDR.



I use whatever the farm coop sells. I think it's about all the same although an argument could be made for Prestone brand I guess.



I have never used distilled water and I have and use engines that were first put in use before antifreeze existed.



edit: Saw your post on another thread regarding amount. What I've always done is mix 50/50 right after opening a jug. Then tear off the locking tab so you know it's already blended. Then it makes no difference what the engine capacity is, you pour it in until full.

 

[Grizzly]

Prestone II is as good as any. I also mix the antifreeze 50/50 with tap water, which is good clean city water. Folks with hard and/or high iron content well water may consider using distilled water.

 

[Joe Mc]

Do yourself a favor and stop by the local grocery stores - for $0. 99/gal they have distilled water, highly recommended for use to make up the 50/50 mix. Why chance what's in the tap water?

Prestone is "The good stuff" - stay away from the Red and or cheap junk.

 

[MVieira]

I've been using the Caterpillar ELC coolant. It comes already premixed 50/50 with deionized water. The SCA's are made for diesel engines and it is an extended life coolant. On an over the highway truck, you will run the ELC for 600,000 miles before changing. That is when you only top off with 50/50 ELC and you add a bottle of the extender at 300,000 miles. I've torn engines down from customers who religiously used it on their heavy equipment and the internals of the cooling systems were unbelievably clean. I know Cummins/Fleetguard have an ELC also but I don't have any experience with it.
Regards, Mike.

 

[FourBarR]

I have used Shell elc since truck was new. Good for 600,000k . Cooling system is very clean. You can add a package at 600,000k to extend the life.

 

[Skydiver]

From 30 years experience treating drinking water.

Have you ever dissolved a spoonful of sugar in a cup of water? Can't see it, but you know it's in there. In tap water Iron, Manganese and calcium (hardness) is dissolved in various amounts. Some wells and public water systems have soft water which is not so bad.

Problem is when you heat hard water it causes the minerals to come back out of solution.

I use only distilled water in my batteries. Our hardness level is only 18-24 ppm which will not hurt radiators.

 

[JeffPrice]

Thanks guys for all your help. I'm really glad I joined the TDR. Lots of friendly people with helpful answers. Thanks again

 

[Grizzly]

Welcome to TDR Jeff.

 

[dresslered]

I've been using the Fleetguard ES Compleat premix since the truck was new. Here's the good stuff:



"meets or exceed the performance requirements of the following:

TMC RP-338 Extended Life, TMC RP-329 (EG), RP-330 (PG), ASTM D-4985 (EG) , D-5216 (PG), ASTM D-6210 (EG), ASTM-6211 (PG), CID-A-A-52624, Waukesha® 4-1974D, GM6038M, Cummins®, SB 3666132, Cummins® CES 14603, Caterpillar®, Detroit Diesel® 7SE298, John Deere® 8650-5, Case New Holland®, Navistar®, Freightliner® 48-22880, Volvo®, PACCAR®, MACK® 014617004, EMD M. I. 1784E "

 

[SPearson]

I've been using the Caterpillar ELC coolant. It comes already premixed 50/50 with deionized water. The SCA's are made for diesel engines and it is an extended life coolant. On an over the highway truck, you will run the ELC for 600,000 miles before changing. That is when you only top off with 50/50 ELC and you add a bottle of the extender at 300,000 miles. I've torn engines down from customers who religiously used it on their heavy equipment and the internals of the cooling systems were unbelievably clean. I know Cummins/Fleetguard have an ELC also but I don't have any experience with it.

Regards, Mike.

If I want to switch to the Cat ELC what should I do to clean out the crud that's already built up in the cooling system? It's not exceptionally dirty, just neglected by previous owner. How is the price on the Cat ELC? Thank you for the info!

Stuart

 

[MVieira]

Spearson, When switching to Cat ELC, you should also pick up a quart bottle of the Cat quick flush ( p/n# 4C4610 ). Follow the directions on the bottle but here is the condensed version; 1) After draining your old coolant out, you add the quick flush at the required amount for a 24 quart system, then top off the system with normal tap water, 2) Then you will run the engine until it is up to operating temp. then an additional 20 minutes, ( a mild drive around town ), 3) Let things cool down and drain the quick flush out, 4) Then fill with straight tap water again and bring it up to operating temp. again, ( this is to rinse out the quick flush, it is kind of soapy ), 5) Let things cool again and drain the tap water out. If it is really sudsy, repeat steps 4 & 5 again until clean. 6) After all this, you can now fill the system with the Cat ELC 50/50 premix ( p/n# 101-2844 ). Keep a gallon of the premix around to top off if needed but if you ever get into a bind and need to top the system off and are out of Cat ELC, you can top off with distilled water and later get a 1 gallon jug of concentrated Cat ELC ( p/n# 119-5150 ) and add enough of the concentrate until you get the freeze protection down to -34* on your antifreeze tester, which is the freeze protection of 50/50. A few tips that worked better for me were: To nose the truck down in the drive way to get all the coolant out of the block and pulling the lower radiator hose off to make things faster. I also always turned the truck around after filling and made sure the system was full and no air pockets existed before I drove it and got it hot. It is comparable in price with the other high end ELC coolants. I'll check pricing next Monday and PM you. One more note, most Cat dealers now carry the "Embittered" versions which will have different part numbers but is the same stuff with a bitter taste additive so your neighbor's cat won't drink it and croak. I hope this helps.

Regards, Mike.

 

[Skydiver]

Spearson, When switching to Cat ELC, you should also pick up a quart bottle of the Cat quick flush ( p/n# 4C4610 ). Follow the directions on the bottle but here is the condensed version; 1) After draining your old coolant out, you add the quick flush at the required amount for a 24 quart system, then top off the system with normal tap water, 2) Then you will run the engine until it is up to operating temp. then an additional 20 minutes, ( a mild drive around town ), 3) Let things cool down and drain the quick flush out, 4) Then fill with straight tap water again and bring it up to operating temp. again, ( this is to rinse out the quick flush, it is kind of soapy ), 5) Let things cool again and drain the tap water out. If it is really sudsy, repeat steps 4 & 5 again until clean. 6) After all this, you can now fill the system with the Cat ELC 50/50 premix ( p/n# 101-2844 ). Keep a gallon of the premix around to top off if needed but if you ever get into a bind and need to top the system off and are out of Cat ELC, you can top off with distilled water and later get a 1 gallon jug of concentrated Cat ELC ( p/n# 119-5150 ) and add enough of the concentrate until you get the freeze protection down to -34* on your antifreeze tester, which is the freeze protection of 50/50. A few tips that worked better for me were: To nose the truck down in the drive way to get all the coolant out of the block and pulling the lower radiator hose off to make things faster. I also always turned the truck around after filling and made sure the system was full and no air pockets existed before I drove it and got it hot. It is comparable in price with the other high end ELC coolants. I'll check pricing next Monday and PM you. One more note, most Cat dealers now carry the "Embittered" versions which will have different part numbers but is the same stuff with a bitter taste additive so your neighbor's cat won't drink it and croak. I hope this helps.

Regards, Mike.

Good advise MVieira,,,

I use a clear glass to inspect the final rinse. Just hold it up to a light.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Use Distilled water, I been using distilled water in my cooling system since the Mule was new. I still have original radiator and hoses.

Buying antifreeze and stilled water seperately will cost less than buying pre-mixed 50/50.

 

[diesel DOG]

gets real deep here!





Antifreeze? - Heavy Equipment Forums

 

[Matt42]

I've been using the Fleetguard ES Compleat premix since the truck was new. Here's the good stuff:



"meets or exceed the performance requirements of the following:

TMC RP-338 Extended Life, TMC RP-329 (EG), RP-330 (PG), ASTM D-4985 (EG) , D-5216 (PG), ASTM D-6210 (EG), ASTM-6211 (PG), CID-A-A-52624, Waukesha® 4-1974D, GM6038M, Cummins®, SB 3666132, Cummins® CES 14603, Caterpillar®, Detroit Diesel® 7SE298, John Deere® 8650-5, Case New Holland®, Navistar®, Freightliner® 48-22880, Volvo®, PACCAR®, MACK® 014617004, EMD M. I. 1784E "

Ditto, except I don't use the premix. I use the concentrate and dilute 50:50. I then quit worrying about what was the right kind to use.

 

[Chief USA]

I have used Shell elc since truck was new. Good for 600,000k . Cooling system is very clean. You can add a package at 600,000k to extend the life.

Ditto what I replaced mine with.