Oil & Fuel Change coolant every 2 years

[LouNY]

When my girls where living at home I had a flock of jeep cherokees (as many as 5 at one time) I think every single one of them had the heaters back flushed.
They would get a buildup of fine sludge in the inlet of the heater back flush a couple of times and good to go again.

 

[Industrial Toys]

In the "OLD' days you could get at the heater connections. Good luck today.

 

[WinterDeere]

What kind of crap? Did you reverse flush it?

Good question, but that was six years ago! I don’t remember what it looked like, I just remember being glad I did it, since what came out was pretty nasty looking. It may have been the original coolant in there since 1986, for all I know... maybe it was one of yours!

To flush I just poured the flush chemical in there (usually Prestone brand, or whatever they have on the shelf at Walmart), top with water, and run the machine for a day. So, I’m not sure what you mean by “reverse flush”, but I guess not. After a day running with the flush chem, I do a day on fresh water to rinse it, and then dump that and fill with coolant. I used to buy distilled water to mix with the coolant, having seen problems at work with tap water in our industrial cooling systems, but now I just buy the pre-mixed coolant. Keep in mind I’m discussing my old 855, which only takes 1 gallon of coolant.

But even on a larger machine, I can’t see myself putting much effort into second-guessing the prescribed maintenance schedule. I am a design engineer, and similarly specify maintenance schedules for the products I design. So I have the the somewhat-unique opportunity to view this problem from the other side, watching systems fail when users second guess my recommendations, or think they somehow know better than the people who designed it.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Maybe someone messed with it during the Mount St. Helens erruption. lol

 

[jimmychew]

I am unconvinced. How does coolant "plug" up the passages? Unless maybe, one used mineral water in the mix. I use distilled. But then, I didn't fill most of my machines. I wonder what the manufacturers use?

Some guys insist on flushing. I have cleaned enough stuff in my lifetime to know that unless you use a high pressure jet, ultrasonic vibration, heat or chemicals, "flushing something does jack $#%T.

It is the SCAs when mixed with water and glycol that cause coolant system plugging.

 

[wheelbuilder]

It is the SCAs when mixed with water and glycol that cause coolant system plugging.

I think if you're not cautious and over add SCAs they can fall out of suspension. That's part of why many heavy duty engine manufacturers are moving towards extended life heavy duty coolants like final charge.(and others)
Poor maintenance has been the cause of the plugged cooling systems I've seen.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Maybe just maybe, someone had added bardall (sp?) stop leak at some time. Now, "crap" would make perfect sense.

 

[WinterDeere]

Maybe just maybe, someone had added bardall (sp?) stop leak at some time. Now, "crap" would make perfect sense.

I guess anything is possible. But if the flush could dissolve that stuff, it did not result in any leaks on this old radiator or engine!

I think this comes down to religion. I’m not going to be convinced to save a few dollars and a few minutes by skipping prescribed maintenance, and you’re not going to be convinced that the engineers who prescribed that maintenance for the machine they designed know anything more about it than you. That’s fine, I think it’s just one of those things that people will justify on their own terms, I’m just glad I’m not inheriting your old machines.

What’s next? Politics, anyone?

 

[sixdogs]

The cooling systems I've seen in ag and construction equipment that were gunked up always yielded a brownish, rusty brackish water that came out during a flush. I've had to chemical clean a number as many as four of five times and even then they weren't all the way clean. It must be the coolant degrades in some way and that rust from an iron engine combines with anti freeze additives or even electrolysis issues and that's the material that winds up n the corners of the block, etc.

I'm going to go with manufacturer recommendations on change although I have gone to Deere 5 year coolant on most all ag equipment. Two years with traditional coolant is too much for me. Other than that, I'll take their word for it.

 

[dodge man]

My personal experience is you start to see kind of a white scaly growth form in the coolant passages from old coolant. Granted this was on older cars I was restoring that had been neglected. I can’t tell you an exact time it takes this to happen but more than two years. Keep in mind the manufactures are going to be conservative on change intervals.