Cooling System Additive

[JohnnyH]

Is anyone using Fleetguard DCA cooling system additive. I'm considering giving it a try if it wont hurt anything. I'd like to hear some comments about it.



Thanks

John

 

[rbattelle]

I'm running Fleetguard propylene glycol as part of their "ES" system. They told me the coolant is good until the first engine rebuild (350k) as long as I add the recommended SCA (supplemental coolant additive) every year. I have no complaints about the performance of this coolant.



-Ryan

 

[rbattelle]

Just got off the phone with the local Cummins center. The Fleetguard SCA part number CC2840 (1 quart) is $40. 31. I ordered one...



This Fleetguard stuff better be the best coolant in the universe. I'm thinking of getting a coolant filter, too.



-Ryan

 

[JohnnyH]

Ryan... . Did you change out the factory coolant and then refill with the fleetguard stuff. I'm not sure if the Fleetguard DCA additive is compatable with the factory antifreeze.



John

 

[JohnnyH]

Oh, and the guy over at Freightliner asked me if I had a coolant filter. It seems like it would be nice idea. According to cummins, they dont recommend coolant additive because we dont have sleeves or liners, what ever that means. According to some truck drivers I spoke with, the swear by the stuff.

 

[JFaughn]

Sleeves or liners are replacable cylinders , you know the big holes the pistons move up & down in , there are in large truck engines so they can do in frame rebuilds , has anyone heard if the cummins engine has been bored for sleeves?



_______________________________



94 CTD 2500 4x4 AT ,mostly stock but 250 HP

 

[JohnnyH]

Sleeves or liners are replacable cylinders , you know the big holes the pistons move up & down in , there are in large truck engines so they can do in frame rebuilds , has anyone heard if the cummins engine has been bored for sleeves?









_______________________________



94 CTD 2500 4x4 AT ,mostly stock but 250 HP

Actually what I meant was I dont know what having sleeves had to do with using the additive.

 

[whamby]

The additive is to help prevent cavitation. In PowerStrokes and some other engines this is big deal. It doesn't necessarily affect just sleeved engines. You can have pinholes in your cylinders in under a 100k on some PowerStrokes if you don't use it. Then you have to trash the block pretty much. Then some run forever without it. Never heard of a cavitation problem with the Cummins so my thought is that it is a total waste of money. But different people like different things. It will not hurt your engine and I guess there is no such thing as too much protection.

 

[LightmanE300]

Not sure if this works on diesels or not, but I've heard of a lot of people using Redline Water Wetter and liking it. I'm not sure if the Fleetguard product and the Redline do the same thing or not? It was my understanding that the water wetter product helped disperse heat more evenly to avoid hot spots etc.

 

[420welder]

This is off Cummins site under FAQ



Do I need to use a coolant additive in my Dodge Ram?

We do not recommend an additive for the Cummins engine used in the Dodge Ram. Coolant additives are used to protect liners from cavitation and since the engine in the Dodge Turbo Diesel has no liners, it does not require an additive

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Coolent filters are a good idea I suppose - but where and how do you install one on a truck not originally designed for one? Sure wouldn't want to chance restricting coolent flow by placing it in the main coolent flow - maybe in a heater line as more of a bypass filter?



And exactly WHAT do you hope to filter out anyway?

 

[swexlin]

We needed the SCA with the Powerstroke, but is IS hard on the water pump in higher concentrations.



Personally, I DO NOT miss having to check that level with the strips every 6 months or so. If Cummins says we don't need it in our 5. 9s, that's good enough for me.

 

[swalls]

Don't add SCA (also known as DCA's by some vendors) to any typical automotive-type antifreeze. It is not compatible with most of your typical Prestone/Dexcool type products. If you want to do it right, drain out your factory stuff, flush the cooling system with Fleetguard Restore Plus cleaner, and then refill with Fleetguard Premix ES p/n CC2825. This product contains the correct portions of SCA, extended service antifreeze, and pre-conditioned de-ionized water, so you don't have to mix it with your local tap water. Which may or may not be one of the worst things you can do to your engine. In West Texas where I live, the water from the Ogallala Aquifer is so loaded with minerals that it can "caulk" the interior of a radiator or cylinder sleeve in just a few thousand hours of operation = overheating and eventual engine failure from localized hot spots. Using Fleetguard Premix ES is the most effective and economical solution to diesel cooling system problems I know of. You can occasionally check the SCA/DCA level with the little test sticks, and perhaps mooch a cup or so off your local tractor or truck dealer... you definitely won't need a full quart to maintain the SCA level in the smaller cooling sytem in a pickup.

BTW, the coolant filter doesn't filter out much of anything in a properly maintained cooling system. (I have seen them full of dirt from some clown pouring creek water in the radiator, however. ) What the filter is mainly good for is that it has an "SCA Alka-Seltzer" inside of it to recharge the SCA at the scheduled replacement interval. The manufacturer has to size the SCA charge to the engine cooling system capacity, so there are several different part numbers of filters. I wouldn't waste the money putting one on a properly-maintained (i. e. ,Fleetguard Premix) non-sleeved engine. They are invaluable (and often neglected) on wet-sleeved engines.

 

[DPKetchum]

Its bored. No sleeves.

 

[24V-DSL]

swalls

Very helpful and informative post... . thanks.



You don't post much, but good stuff when you do.

 

[PJ]

I use the brand from John Deere on my tractors but I will only use what DC recomends on my CTD. I highly doubt Ill own it after the warranty. Why waste the $$$$$

 

[JohnnyH]

swalls... . Yes, very good post. I think I will consider flushing the system and using the Fleetguard stuff. Every older vehicle I have owned has had radiator/cooling problems. I dont want that to happen here.



How would you recommend flushing out the system. I have well water, so I'm sure it is full of minerals.

 

[rbattelle]

I agree with everything swells says, except to say that a coolant filter may not be so useless on these trucks given that big ugly hole DC left in the overflow reservoir.



When I first got my truck, HOAT coolant didn't seem to be very easily available, so I took it to the local Cummins shop and they flushed and refilled the engine with Fleetguard Premix PG as part of the ES system. I contacted Fleetguard first and asked them if there was any reason I shouldn't do this. They said their coolant would be fully compatible with every other coolant on the market and that I could change it once and it would be good until 350k miles as long as I add the recommended amount of SCA every year to keep the chemistry properly balanced. I did not discuss coolant filters with them. The Fleetguard stuff certainly appears to be very good low-silicate glycol stuff (if you believe their literature).



Gary - if I ever plumb in a coolant filter it'll be in the heater core lines. There's a place that sells a coolant filter kit for our engines for around $80. Takes Baldwin filters. Here's the link. The only thing that's stopped me from doing it up to now is I'm not sure I want to add the complexity in the coolant plumbing. Until I did what I talk about in this thread for the hole in the reservoir, the inside of the reservoir was black with dirt up near the top. That's what I want to filter out.



You can read about my "ordeal" with the Cummins shop that did the coolant changeout here. Bottom line: my final recommendation was that users stick with the factory HOAT and change it out every 100k.



-Ryan

 

[swalls]

About flushing the system: Fleetguard Restore Plus is highly recommended if you suspect you might have mineral/scale or silicate gunk from other types of antifreeze. The directions for use are printed right on the bottle; basically drain the coolant, add the Restore and local water, run the engine, drain & refill with water twice, then refill with the ES product. (There is a block drain plug way back on the lower block on my 98. 5; that plug and the radiator is where I drained mine. ) Most Navistar, Freightliner, Case-IH dealers will carry these products. The premix ES is CC2825; sorry don't remember the Restore PLUS number off the top of my pointed head.

 

[rbattelle]

About flushing the system: Fleetguard Restore Plus is highly recommended if you suspect you might have mineral/scale or silicate gunk from other types of antifreeze. The directions for use are printed right on the bottle; basically drain the coolant, add the Restore and local water, run the engine, drain & refill with water twice, then refill with the ES product. (There is a block drain plug way back on the lower block on my 98. 5; that plug and the radiator is where I drained mine. ) Most Navistar, Freightliner, Case-IH dealers will carry these products. The premix ES is CC2825; sorry don't remember the Restore PLUS number off the top of my pointed head.

The Cummins shop I took mine to said there is no block drain on my engine. I never looked for one, I just took that at their word. Considering what a bunch of bumbling fools they were, I guess I shouldn't believe them. What side of the block is the drain on?



-Ryan