Guys

truck is about to hit 190K miles right now and I feel that it is time for a coolant change. Keep in mind that I live in South Texas and it will start to get hot really soon once this mild winter subsides..

Right now with my current mods, i see the temperature gauge running the truck empty as high as 190 degrees, with the normal flutctuation. Towing i have seen it stay at 190 degrees, and with the large load on my photo gallery of the Hay, i had seen the temp gauge as high as almost all the way to the hott, i was only pulling those bales at 55-60 mph and the temp would drop to about 200 or so, (hills were a bit steep and thats when the temp would go up) i never did shift into over drive, and kept engine at 2000 rpms.

Assuming i dont tow loads that heavy that often for two reasons, One touchy throttle with GSK and throttle return springs missing homemade tightening occured on these springs, havent had a chance to test with that heavy a load again yet, and two its a 3/4 ton without factory overloads..

Heaviest things ill tow is a 24 foot gooseneck with 9-10 horses, or a 28 foot gooseneck (aluminum) with cows in it, which weighs about the same, a 20 foot stock trailer with cattle, or a five horse gooseneck, or my two horse with horses.. or even a flatbed with a bobcat or a small john deere, 18-20K or so?

I know that the coolant capacity on this truck is 24 quarts, What would be an ideal mixture to run to prevent any farther issues with my system? Im buying a newer thermostat as well from cummins, still undecided on the 180 or 190 for my application, (im keepin my mods in mind as well) also what coolant will work?

Im open to suggestions guys, thanks in advance!

Rick

 

It ain't cheap Rick but I would at least check out the Evans coolant.
http://www.evanscooling.com/html/npgPls.htm

 

It doesn't seem to be very popular, but I used the Fleetcharge 50/50 pink coolant, which my local NAPA had in stock:

http://www.fleetchargeantifreeze.com...g5050_spec.htm

It was recommended to me by a Cummins shop. Also the this pink stuff is supposed to last longer than the factory green coolant. I know most people just use standard off-the-shelf coolant, but I think this Fleetcharge stuff is better than that.

I also like the 180deg t-stat better than the factory 190deg, truck seems to run cooler in the summer time. Here is the P/N if you decide to use it: 3934373.

When you service your cooling system check your radiator, on my 96 some of the tubes are already blocked by scale.

 

THanks guys

need a few more opinions tho, the temperature down here is my main concern..

Rick

 

I dont have tons of experience with towing, but I towed a 20' TT LOADED (total t&t 16,500 lbs) all the way from Yuma, Az to Dallas, Ga in August and never had any cooling problems. All I used was the Peak brand pre-mix. Im sure the weight I had doesnt compare with what you are towing but sharing my experience all the same.

 

If you have any scaling or dirty coolant, get Fleetguard Restore and add that and do a flush. Will clean it out and make it look new inside.

Oh, I run a 190* t-stat with whatever coolant we have at work and just got a new 16psi radiator cap and have never gotten the temp over 190. Even towing 22k in the hills.

 

It is not a huge job to totally remove the radiator to clean the fins. Once you see how much crud has accumulated in 10 years I'm sure you'll agree it was worth the time.

 

I have taken out my radiator and cleand out the fins and then took it to a radiator shop and had them clean it out with air and water. You would not believe how much lime (scale) came out of the radiator. Worth the $20 bucks they charged me.

 

How do I get a 180 deg t-stat, I've called NAPA, even Cummins shop and they tell me all that it shows is 190 deg. I have a 2001 Dodge 3500 Cummins 4x4 5sp. I do allot of pulling in summer and would love a 180 deg. I've done everything you guys have listed above and still would like to keep my temp down below 205 deg when pulling.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with a Cummins T-stat, regardless of the temp. I haul heavy across the desert every summer without issues. A 180 degree thermostat won't help you if you are getting up to 205. It may open sooner,but other than that???????????

 

For your '01 24-valve the correct part number for a 180deg t-stat is: 3967195 (which is obviously not the same as the 12-valve thermostat). Just go to any Cummins parts dealer and give them this part number, I think its about $40. Scheid Diesel also has them for about the same:

http://www.scheiddiesel.com/cummins_engine_parts.htm

For more info you should do a search in the 24-valve forum (this is the 12-valve forum), but one of the problems the 24-valvers have is that the back of the radiator gets all gummed up with oil and crud from the blowby bottle. The radiator needs to come out and degreassed, then the blowby bottle should be relocated, made a big difference for me.