Hey everybody. I am getting ready to do a radiator flush. Are there any particular brands or types of antifreeze to put back in? I was thinking about using rotella ELC because its specially formulated for diesel engines. Any thoughts? Oh ya, and does anyone know what the full system capacity is? Thanks tons!!

I have always used the old green stuff. Never been that brand loyal. The last I used came from wally world. You'll probably get a lot of different opinions on this though.

Hey everybody. I am getting ready to do a radiator flush. Are there any particular brands or types of antifreeze to put back in? I was thinking about using rotella ELC because its specially formulated for diesel engines. Any thoughts? Oh ya, and does anyone know what the full system capacity is? Thanks tons!!

I switched over from the green stuff to HOAT, the yellow/orange/red stuff, zerex g05 I believe from NAPA. Capacity was roughly 3 gallons of water and 3 gallons of pure coolant, so almost 6 gallons of fluid total with some to spare.

My dad has been hearing from some of the big diesel service shops that red coolant is going the way of green coolant, which is away. I guess the ELC and other red diesel coolants have been causing damage over time. He first heard the info from a Detroit Diesel service rep, and then did some research on the topic. I would do a VERY VERY through flush and switch to HOAT, Zerez G05. HOAT is known to not play nice with non-HOAT. I do believe there is a Zerex flush out now.

Been using standard yellow or green coolant now for +200k miles and zero damage here. It based on doing the coolant flush and change as recommended by the owners manual at 30k miles. I don't get hung up on the extended life coolant or the 5 year 100k miles stuff either. The fact is most all coolant system damage comes from the fact of people leave the coolant in way too long and the coolant turns corrosive over time. This is where the pH level shifts from 7 either towards 0 (acidic) or toward 14 (basic) either way is corrosive. Regardless of the brand of coolant if you want to do extended change then I highly suggest you get coolant test strips for check pH level.

This is what extending coolant changes does...

Changing every 30k miles as required by the manual... No problems.

My dad has been hearing from some of the big diesel service shops that red coolant is going the way of green coolant, which is away. I guess the ELC and other red diesel coolants have been causing damage over time. He first heard the info from a Detroit Diesel service rep, and then did some research on the topic. I would do a VERY VERY through flush and switch to HOAT, Zerez G05. HOAT is known to not play nice with non-HOAT. I do believe there is a Zerex flush out now.

Very good to know. I have to ask, what is HOAT? Is it a brand or type of coolant? I am right at about 35000 since the last time it was flushed so that's why I'm doing it now.

Changing every 30k miles as required by the manual... No problems.

Coolants and manuals have changed since 2002. The OEM fill is 100K or 60 months now. The block is essentially the same, using more modern coolant is perfectly acceptable and can reduce maintenance intervals.

Very good to know. I have to ask, what is HOAT? Is it a brand or type of coolant? I am right at about 35000 since the last time it was flushed so that's why I'm doing it now.

HOAT is Hybrid Organic Acid Technology, and a newer OEM fill for DC/RAM/Ford and others. It's made by Zerex. It is a 150K mile or 60 month coolant.

When I do a flush I put distilled water back in with antifreeze due to the tape water here is very hard, full of minerals. This helps cut down on electrolysis in the cooling system and prolong the life of the heater core and other components.