i am changing out the antifreeze in my '00 CTD. any reason i cant use regular old prestone extended life in this truck?? yes/no...good/bad ?
thanks for the help. BTW, this site is awesome! been nosing around here for about a week now - very informative.

ps. i did a search for previous threads, but didn't come up with any thing definative for my year (00).

 

You MUST use heavy duty diesel rated antifreeze/coolant.....you can pick it up at Cummins

Dont mean to hijack the thread but I have to do a rad flush ASAP as well. My question is......when doing a rad flush, do you simply drain the old coolant out or tee into a heater hose and backflush the heater core??? Considering changing the heater core is such an expensive job, I would think it would be wise to flush it. What are you guys doing?

 

The whole idea of flushing the system is to remove all the solids that have built up over time and to neutralize and pH levels.

As far as I've seen all major brands of antifreeze work with Cummins. Just make sure you mix a 50/50 blend.

 

50/50 with distilled water. No tap water in the system. Make sure the nose of the truck is down so that all the liquid drains out of the block through the lower hose outlet.

 

When I did the coolant change in my 2000, I used the flushing tee method then removed it. Then I removed the lower rad hose and jacked up the rear to get the most water out of it. I used Fleetguard Optimax ES and don't plan on having to change it for a while. I'm going to do the same on the 1997.

BTW I've been reading some things on the water to add to antifreeze (although the Optimax ES I used was 50/50 mix) and found that they recommended de-mineralized water. I've been lead to believe it is the same as soft water by their definition.

 

I highly recommend only using a 50/50 premix or getting bottled distilled water to make the correct mixture. Letting ANY tap water in the system just by flushing, adding, or mixing your allowing corrosive minerals in your system. Very bad.

 

Some of us are very lucky and don't have to worry about city water and chorine / floride. I live in the middle of a forest and the we are on a well. >99% pure water <1% minerals Ph is 7 +/- 0.5 (Water has been tested!)... Not bad for flush and reloading the system. In 15 years I NEVER replaced / repair a radiator because of mineral damage.

The City of Boise the water in is so bad that you can smell the clorine in a glass of water...

I will usually reload the system 60 / 40 on the older rigs so I can add water as it leaks and still be safe!But on the CTD I reloaded 50 / 50. It don't leak yet!

 

anyone else backflush their system via the heater hose OR do ya just dump the coolant??

 

I back flushed mine then drained it at the lower rad hose w/ the rear jacked up. I was changing to an ES coolant at the time and wanted to get all I could out of it.

 

How do you backflush the system without using hose water ?

 

I have a hose bib out side for softened water as well as unsoftened. I read that it's ok to use demineralized (soft) water. If you don't have that luxury, try to drain out as much as possible by removing the lower rad hose and jacking up the rear until the engine is at least level.

I'm not sure what mix I finally got using 50/50 premix coolant. I'll need to get it tested to be sure it'll be ok for the cold weather.

 

I've got 70K on my original fluid and it is still neon green. Do yall think I need to change it? The truck sits at 200* on a 100* day cruising 80mph.

 

It's not the color to be worried about... It's the pH levels that can get bad!

Way to see is hook a Digital Voltmeter NEG lead to the postive post on the battery and the POS lead just dip in the antifreeze of the radiator. Highier the number the lower/higher the pH level has gone from 7 (neutral solution). A good 50/50 mix shouldn't be capable of drawing current through the coolant!

This is what eats the radiators & cooling systems up!

 

Anyone ever use a Radisaver in their trucks coolant system? For those who have never seen them, they are made from zinc and hang in the coolant to act as a sacrificial metal. They get eaten by the high pH and your radiator and heater core don't. I have a couple that I've had for years and never installed them. I did put one in my LeSabre when I put a new radiator in it a few years ago but that's it. Just wondering.
Rob

 

I believe what that reaction is call is Electrolysis. Its the same thing that corrodes steel and aluminum hulls on ships in salt water. They use the zinc blocks, that Rowilson is refering to, to couteract the corrosion. Only thing is the zinc blocks get chewed up and need to be replaced periodicly.