buy the right anti-freeze

Ledgemere Farm · Aug 27, 2003

My brother-in-law ruined the motor in his John Deere because he used regular old anti-freeze/coolant in his radiator. I checked the owner's manual for my Cub Cadet and it specifies ethylene glycol. I guess the regular stuff has an adverse chemical reaction and chews up your pistons and cylinder walls... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Hambone · Aug 27, 2003

The anti-freeze is still made of ethylene glycol. There is propoylene(spell) glycol also. Diesel engine anti-freeze has to have special additives to prevent cylinder liner pitting and corrosion. You can used regular anti-freeze as long as you add the additives.
Heavy duty anti-freeze(truck/tractor) is usually low silica, but if you test it, and change often enough you should be okay.

Even if you never add any coolant to your tractor you should still check the additive package. Test strips are inexpensive and easy to use.

cowboydoc · Aug 27, 2003

Great points about the antifreeze Hambone. Unless you use a pre-charged coolant you better be checking your antifreeze every 3-6 months or every 100 hours or so.

slowrev · Aug 27, 2003

I have always used a good grade of regular ( ethylene glycol ) in all engines. If you keep the level up and at least a 50/50 mix you should have no corrosion problems. You should always change your antifreeze at least every couple of years. Stuff in it does wear out.

cowboydoc · Aug 27, 2003

That's not true with diesels. You have to use specific antifreeze for diesels and even among the diesel engines there are specific diesel antifreezes that you have to use.

MikePA · Aug 27, 2003

<font color="blue"> Diesel engine anti-freeze has to have special additives to prevent cylinder liner pitting and corrosion. </font>
There was a long thread about this a while ago. Here's the link.

The issue is not diesel engine anti-freeze, it's wet sleeve diesel engine antifreeze. If your diesel engine is not a wet sleeve design (my TC25D is not), then you can use automotive anti-freeze.

cowboydoc · Aug 27, 2003

Sorry Mike but again that's not the case either. Cavitation will eat right through the cylinder wall. This is what used to happen on the Internationals.

After reading the NH thread you guys can do what you want. I will say that there have been many a mfg. over the years that did not recommend charged coolant. There have also been many engine failures because of it. You won't see very many farmers or guys that use diesels for a living that don't use it.

MikePA · Aug 27, 2003

My info came right from the the anti-freeze mfgr. I'll have to see if I filed it away somewhere.

Hambone · Aug 27, 2003

<font color="blue"> </font>
Better known in the truck world as sca (supplemental coolant additives).

That was a decent thread. One very important thing...Do not mix green, orange, pink or any other color.

I went to a coolant seminar last fall, and from what I got nobody(coolant additive people and mechanics) likes the extended life coolant. The biggest problem for me is that we have diversity in our fleet. That is a bunch of different stuff to stock. Cats, Cummins, Deere, Mack, Ford, Chevy ect

We drain the stuff(extended) the first time there is a failure(hose, pump,ect.) and add the regular stuff. Most equipment of ours have coolant filters that maintain the proper levels of SCA's. I guess you could add one of these. Too much SCA's will add solids to your sys. You can over treat.

Mike, since you brought up the other post, does that mean we were done?