Coolant Flush Report

[Mopar1973Man]

I've travelled a total of 255k miles now and been keeping up on my coolant flushing. This batch was over extended and shows it in the bucket the color was starting to shift just wee bit. As for the radiator and block still going strong and very clean! Still using universal yellow coolant and doing just fine. Don't need any fancy orange HOAT.

Lookie... No scale build up!!! 255k miles and like a factory fresh radiator.

Block is even clean yet and just a surface rust like back from my previous picture shoot.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Mopar1973Man

[Mopar1973Man]

Articles was updated...

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/general-cummins/34-engine-system/133-cooling-system-flushing

[TFaoro]

Looks good mike! Have you considered just keeping PH levels good and not changing the coolant? Been doing that in our tractors and never had an issue. No build up or pitting on the sleeves. My dad's 12v still has the factory coolant and looks clean as a whistle at 150k.

[Mopar1973Man]

I need to get the stuff right now its more or less crunch time to get everything done before Wednesday. By Wednesday we are going into the freezer for temperature so it was easier to just flush it out and change it that to drive all over attempting to find the pH additive up here or order it. I still want to do a coolant filter set up but I need to get the free time.

[JOHNFAK]

Miles on that batch ? 

[CSM]

Mike, have you seen this stuff?  Evanscooling.com.

It isn't ethylene glycolic but a mix.  

Ethylene Glycol 66–70 %wt
Propylene Glycol %wt not specified
Water %wt not specified but from Evans webpage info it should be <3 %wt
Proprietary Corrosion Inhibitor Package <2 %wt

The cool thing is that it boils at about 350f, so your cooling system is kept at atmospheric pressure.   

 

It also has no water and is non conductive, so no galvanic reactions.   Since there doesn't need a sacrificial buffer/inhibitor,  it is good for infinite service life.

 

I want to try it.

[Me78569]

I need to do this flush, I doubt my coolant is bad as I seem to have replace the "lifetime" water pump about once a year.  However I badly need to clean my radiator.

[Mopar1973Man]

2 hours ago, JOHNFAK said:

Miles on that batch ? 

I think about 70k I think I got to look in my maintenance logs.

1 hour ago, CSM said:

Mike, have you seen this stuff?  Evanscooling.com.

It isn't ethylene glycolic but a mix.  

Ethylene Glycol 66–70 %wt
Propylene Glycol %wt not specified
Water %wt not specified but from Evans webpage info it should be <3 %wt
Proprietary Corrosion Inhibitor Package <2 %wt

The cool thing is that it boils at about 350f, so your cooling system is kept at atmospheric pressure.   

 

It also has no water and is non conductive, so no galvanic reactions.   Since there doesn't need a sacrificial buffer/inhibitor,  it is good for infinite service life.

 

I want to try it.

I'll take a look... I've just done my flush so it will be another 2 years. The other problem if I need to top of mixing with other product will most likely wipe out its protection.

2 minutes ago, me78569 said:

I need to do this flush, I doubt my coolant is bad as I seem to have replace the "lifetime" water pump about once a year.  However I badly need to clean my radiator.

That's a another job I got to do in the summer time more so. I get mud piled up about 3/8 of the way up the bottom of the radiator.

[dripley]

interesting product, but if I am reading the conversion right, about $500 to convert. IIRC it will take 6 gallons of each fluid. $200 for the prep and about $300 for the coolant. 

[Mopar1973Man]

Nevermind... I'll stick to my old way of doing things... Holy cow my pockets are not that deep...

[CSM]

Over the life of the vehicle.... 

[dripley]

4 hours ago, CSM said:

Over the life of the vehicle.... 

If you have a leak and none of their fluid to replace it with you have to add something else which contaminates their product and you have to start over again. $500 more. I like the idea but would hate it if that happened. Could be better than sliced bread, but could be incredibly expensive. 

[Mopar1973Man]

I agree its just crazy expensive and the leak part is what I don't like. What if you do blow a hose while travelling you not going to be able to carry all the needed coolant with you because it special. This why I run universal yellow coolant because I can use any coolant with the yellow without mix issues. Out here when there is a failure you might have to use what ever the passing rancher has in his garage.

As for needing fancy coolants like the one above or HOAT? You don't I've gone 255k miles now on generic coolants last batch was nothing more than WalMart Super Tech Unverisal Coolant, Previous batch I ran Prestone which is the same as SuperTech unverisal yellow. First 100k I ran standard green coolant with no issues.

As for distilled water its never been use at all on this truck. I've use creek water from my irrigation system and well water both and no scale build up. I can say I've seen scale build up on vehicles with distilled water too. Typically the owner over extended the coolant (ran it too long) and the pH turn corrosive and then the scale starts. The mineral/scale build up can come from dissolved metals in the cooling system. So distilled water will not promise that your system will be scale free.

[CSM]

47 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

 

I agree with you mostly, Mike.  Although, I think you have better water that much of the country. 

The downside of the coolant is that leaks would be a problem, but the upside is that blown hoses are very unlikely, as the hoses have 0 psi on them, aside from pumping pressures and hydrostatic. 

I am not saying that it is cheaper to run than traditional coolant, but that it is very much a fill and forget system.  I still would like to try it, and if I could buy a new 2nd or 3rd gen Dodge I probably would run the stuff. 

[dripley]

From a new start, maybe I can understand. But if I had a failure of any kind that would make me replace the coolant for any reason and they told be it would be $500 I would ****myself. It is a great idea but my wallet aint deep enough. I blew my radiator a few years back and this would have turned a $300 repair into an $800 repair. If the product responded as advertised, maybe there would have been no repair, who knows. Just seems to be alot of cash. Shoot I am still running oe heater hoses. $500 bucks for a blown one of those might make me do more than ****myself!!!!

[Mopar1973Man]

6 hours ago, CSM said:

I agree with you mostly, Mike.  Although, I think you have better water that much of the country. 

The downside of the coolant is that leaks would be a problem, but the upside is that blown hoses are very unlikely, as the hoses have 0 psi on them, aside from pumping pressures and hydrostatic. 

I am not saying that it is cheaper to run than traditional coolant, but that it is very much a fill and forget system.  I still would like to try it, and if I could buy a new 2nd or 3rd gen Dodge I probably would run the stuff. 

I found a video long ago that a get hooked a pressure gauge to the heater hose and it would top out at 30-40 PSI of pump pressure. I can't seem to find the video now.