I have looked in numerous member's galleries, specifically for pictures of their engines, and have yet to see my setup. I have an early 94' 12V, one because there is no cat, and two, my timing is set at 11.5* according to the side motor plate.

I don't know if this is aftermarket, or something Dodge put on trucks with a towing package...but could use some help determing that first, and then if it is a Dodge option, what is the replacement flilter? Looks as if mine is original, judging from the outside of the filter.

Where the two coolant lines go into the firewall, for the heater core, I have a Tee...or more like a 'Y', that splits the coolant down to a filter, which is mounted to the underside of the body (passenger side, about where your feet would be when sitting in the passenger seat). Ever seen this? Autozone does not show a filter replacement, so I am assuming it might be aftermarket?

 

It's aftermarket but Cummins and others make them. It is more than a filter, it also contains slow dissolving chemicals to keep your coolant healthy. There are several different filters with different rates of dissolve, you have to test the coolant to determine which rate is right for your engine.
These types of coolant filters are common on over the road trucks but you rarely see them nor are they necessary on a pickup.

 

Great??? So where do I start? Just remove the system or see if I can figure out what the dissolving rate is? In any case...what ever rate it was to dissolve at...I am pretty sure after 11 years, it is gone.

Any aftermarket places I might look for...to see if they offer this kit for a dodge, and maybe it is the one I have?

And what would you call this? Filter Conditioning Kit???

 

It's called a coolant filter. You can get these at your local Fleetguard dealer (aka Cummins Parts counter). They come in various flavors if you will... Fleetguard offers them with NO Precharge of DCA (Diesel Coolant Additive - sometimes referred to as Supplemental Coolant Additive (SCA)), They also come with either 2, 4, 6, 8 or more units of DCA-4. You can also get them with DCA-2 which is a little different but basically it's the older stuff. What this stuff is for is cavitation prevention which all diesel are suspect to but these little 6bt's that we have really don't have a problem with it - it's the Ford Boys with thier V8 IH motors that have to really worry about the big "C".

I'm a past Ford boy so I know all about this, I can go on more if you like but what you have isn't something that you really need for this truck. You can get a replacement at any local Fleetguard dealer (I can't remember off the top of my head the part number for the 8 unit filter but want to say something like WF2076 but don't quote me on it - this is what I used to run on my 7.3IDI).

The water filter is doing some good but you need to change it about every 10-15k miles or about every 6 months - the good that it is doing is it is filtering the coolant so if there is any debris in the system the filter will work it out so that the bearings on the waterpump won't have to deal with it. The filter head should be installed in a bypass configuration as to where only a portion of the coolant is actually passing through the filter - this is because the filter can't flow that much volume so it would become a pretty good restriction if it seen full flow from the cooling system.

But again you don't really need it on these little Cummins - heck I don't even worry about cavitation at all on mine and I'm sure the past owners did not as well - it's more of a big problem for the Ford Crowd. Yes the big trucks use them but they are working their engines a lot harder so there is more flex in the cylinder walls that you'll see in your little 6bt.

 

Thanks Travis...very good explanation. Rather then add one more thing to maintain, I think I will follow your advice, and just eliminate the setup. Mine is setup as a bypass system, just before the heater core...which makes me wonder if it is only filtering when the heater core is open, or is it always filtering...I'll have to check tonight and see where my shutoff valve is for the heater core.

In any case...it is not hurting anything at the moment...so it will go on the list of "things to do."

 

It's filtering all the time, there is no valve in the heater lines.
Temps are controlled by what is called the blend door in the interior ducting.
Valves in heater lines were eliminated in most vehicles over ten years ago to eliminate dead ends that allowed sediments to accumulate and plug things up.

 

As simple as this post seems to be, it's one of the most informative post I've seen in a long time.

Thanks

..Preston..