coolant

inthe country · Aug 1, 2018

The confusion continues. I am working on completing my 200 hr maintenance. Next up is radiator fluid, for a 2016 ck3510. Reading the owner's manual, it tells me to drain fluid then add clean fresh water and antifreeze to the reservoir tank. will this fill the radiator? Then it says follow the cleaners manufacturer's instructions. How exactly I got to cleaning agent, I don't know. The manual never says what type or a brand name. It does however say in the notes, do not use cleaning agents when antifreeze agents have been added to the cooling water. The notes also states the antifreeze contains an anti-corrosive agent. It Does? The manual says the coolant is 50% ethylene glycol and 50% water, witch of those is a anti-corrosive? I can't find an ASTM spec for coolant for diesel engine in the manual.

Looking at an auto supply store, every antifreeze they have contains diethylene glycol and silicates along with the ethylene glycol. Are these ingredients ok?

The only thing I know for sure is, I would get rid of the person who put out this manual. I have considered getting the shop manual, but I can only imagine the disappointment if it's done as poorly as the manual.

oosik · Aug 1, 2018

Well - lets start at the top. Most OP manuals are quite confusing. Many are a poor translation, at best, from some foreign language to English. You have to sort of know what you are going to be doing and then only hit the high points of the OP manual.

You want to change coolant.

1) drain and properly dispose of existing coolant
2) at THIS POINT you may flush your cooling system - if you so desire. I flush mine with pain old water - no chemicals added. Fill the system with water - cap it off - run the tractor for about ten minutes. Drain system
3)mix coolant - 50/50 - distilled water/full strength antifreeze OR buy the premix. Be certain that you uses what the manufacturer recommends - in your case - ethylene glycol.
4)fill radiator and overflow tank. Fill overflow tank to the top. Cap the system - fire up the tractor - run for ten minuets - let it sit for a half hour to hour - check and fill overflow tank
5) check and refill overflow tank the next couple times you use the tractor the antifreeze level in the overflow tank will stabilize at a level - fill it to the full mark

You are done. All antifreeze has anti-corrosive additives of one type or another. All major brands of antifreeze will do well in your tractor. Just be certain they are ethylene glycol and not propylene glycol. Ask the auto supply store for heavy duty - extended life antifreeze. Good for industrial equipment and lasts five years.

What you have looked at is OK. Its the correct stuff.

I don't use tap water here where I live, to mix my antifreeze - too many minerals in my water. Besides - it only takes two gallons of full strength antifreeze and two gallons of distilled water to fill the radiator.

Deere Dude · Aug 1, 2018

My problem always seems to be, I cannot ever get the full amount of mixed new antifreeze in because not enough drains out. It always ends up diluted down.

LouNY · Aug 1, 2018

What I do and have found works good for me;
For example when I flushed and filled my tractor I switched it over to Shell Rotella ELC anti freeze,
my procedure was to pull the lower radiator hose and one of the cab heater hoses, when it quit gravity draining I used the air hose and pull more out,
then I filled the system with distilled water and ran the tractor a bit, repeated the drain and blow and filled with distilled water and used it for a short day (few hours)
the next day drained and blew out the system then my system holds about 2.3 gallons of coolant add I try to run a 60/40 mix so I
put in a bit over 1.6 gals of anti freeze then topped off with distilled water.
Which gets me a good 60% anti freeze solution

oosik · Aug 1, 2018

I've never been quite as, as, as - - "meticulous" - about flushing as LouNY but I usually will do one water flush. He has a good procedure to get to a 50/50 mix. My cooling system holds four gallons. I will first pour two gallons of unmixed antifreeze in the cooling system and then the distilled water. I thereby know for sure that half or more of the new solution is antifreeze.

Quite honestly - if it ever gets so d a m m cold that either LouNY or myself have to be concerned about the solution in our tractor cooling system freezing up because of the way we mix it or the final ratio - - we will have a lot more serious things to worry about.

Ford850 · Aug 2, 2018

I changed to Peak Final Charge, which doesn't require a flush. Simply drain, and refill using Final Charge 50/50 mix. I have been flushing my old Ford 850 though, since the first time I drained it years ago it had sludge come out of the engine petcock drain. So I do drain and flush a couple times before refilling that, and it's much cleaner now.

LouNY · Aug 2, 2018

oosik said:
I've never been quite as, as, as - - "meticulous" - about flushing as LouNY but I usually will do one water flush. He has a good procedure to get to a 50/50 mix. My cooling system holds four gallons. I will first pour two gallons of unmixed antifreeze in the cooling system and then the distilled water. I thereby know for sure that half or more of the new solution is antifreeze.

Quite honestly - if it ever gets so d a m m cold that either LouNY or myself have to be concerned about the solution in our tractor cooling system freezing up because of the way we mix it or the final ratio - - we will have a lot more serious things to worry about.

I have seen -30 here and 50/50 freezes at -34F , it's also good for around 260F boiling with a 15# cap so I just go a bit heavier at 60/40.
Equipment is a lot like me hard to get moving at those temps.

As far as the flushing, I just got home a month ago from checking out my daughters van.
A shop told her she had an oil leak into her radiator as it had an oily sludge in it and the coolant recovery jug was full of sludge.
After much flushing washing out with soaps and clean water we got the sludge out and refilled with coolant, with no
further indication of contamination we came to the conclusion it was an anti freeze cross contamination.
Years ago another of my daughters added "regular" anti freeze to her Oldsmobile that was Dex cool filled she took it to shop near where she was stationed and $1200 later got her car back.
So I'm pretty cautious about mixing coolants,
but that is my way others don't seem to worry about it.