Looking for some opinions on what is the better or best coolant to use as I am planning to change it out this spring or summer. Ive heard fleet charge or Zerex G-05. I was leaning towards fleet charge now after looking around on the internet tending to lean towards Zerex. I have no idea whats in it now except for a half gallon of prestone(in the middle of the rocky mountains in the Yukon theres no store to go get the exact coolant) and whatever was in it when I bought it. Cant really tell what color it is because its a greenish/brown IE needs replaced.

Some other questions as well. I bought the truck in 2007 with around 73,000 miles. It now has about 99,000. While the radiator is drained should I just go ahead and change the radiator hoses and thermostat while Im at it? Ive done the "squeeze test" on the hoses so to speak and they still seem pretty solid and arent squishy anywhere. I dont know what the average life expectancy is of hoses or a thermostat. I just would hate to spend $60 on coolant and distilled water and have a hose blow out 5,000 miles later and end up going to spend another $60 on more coolant

 

Mine had green in it when I bought it. I replaced it with the stock orange/pink Mopar stuff and have run it since. Fleetguard stuff is Cummins recommended, but check to make sure.

If you are in the wilds I would take every precaution. Changing the hoses and thermostat would definitely make me rest easy after 100,000 miles.

Make sure you get a Cummins thermostat to avoid issues.

 

i just did mine, replaced thermostat, and replaced with Peak long life 50/50 green premix. I checked and unless i missed something, it meets all the standards. Oreilly has it also. I keep two bottles of it and i bought the new hoses to keep for "when" they go bad. ALways in my toolbox when i come through your area. I about lost my fuel pump outside Tok...

 

so the gates thermostats from Genos Garage arent good? What issues have aftermarket thermostats encountered? What are most using 180s or 190s?

Ive always ordered my flleetguard oil filters and fuel filters from there

I like the idea of having the hoses in the truck when going out remote. I never thought of that but have pretty much everything else for emergency quick fixes. IE electrical kit with the zip ties, connectors, tape etc., serpentine belt, serpentine belt tool, a quart of ATF4, 2 quarts of oil, tire repair kit, 2 cans of truck fix a flat and 1 gallon of antifreeze 50/50. Think Im going to add the hoses to the box

 

I would install the new hoses and keep the old ones as emergency spares. If you change your coolant every 10 years or so and the hoses , this will leave you with a better chance of never having a hose issue . If you leave those old ones on now you are garunteed a hose issue at some point in time in the near future.

 

After all I have read on here, I go with Cummins parts for anything internal. The other thermostats seem to be short lived and fail prone.

Also throw a bottle of Power Service 911 in your kit, especially during the winter months. It'll cut gelled fuel and keep you running.

 

gates thermostats are good to go.

 

ISBs aren't the pickiest about coolant, Green will work fine as will anything meeting Cummins 14603, like Compleat. If you are changing coolant chemistries just be sure to do a good flush, like back flush the whole nine yards...otherwise you get this...



Any guesses on what color that coolant was......


...it was MC gold (same thing as Zerex G-05) mixed with conventional green. Had the same consistency of semi-melted jello...you should have seen the nastiness stuck in the overflow bottle.

 

I run the Cummins rec'd 190F in my 2001.5. A lot of guys drop to a 180F thinking they are better off running cooler, but diesel and oil like it hotter, around 190F optimum.

 

If you can easily get a Cummins thermostat, go for that. That said, I'm currently running a Gates thermostat from Geno's and it's working fine.

 

Don't get cheap thermostats. They tend to fail, and when they do they tend to stick shut. I had 2 cummins ones fail now in my many years and they both stuck open, which is way better than the shut.