Why do you guys use elc if oil-burners doesn't recommend it? In other words, how do you know if its not messing up anything?

 

elc is basically a coolant with the sca additive built in. different strokes for different folks i guess. i havent had any issues, local diesel mechanic has had his idi since 90 and he says elc is all he will put in it. until im proven wrong, ill stick with what i like. and not having to test my coolant or try and hunt for sca's is where i wanna stay.

 

My question is. Is the stuff that Dave is using an ELC?

 

im using the same stuff.
Fleet Charge Specifications Sheet

no its standard coolant.low silicate and premixed SCA's.
you will use fords or cummins additives to replenish it.

the stuff from NAPA called "napakool" is good to use with straight coolant.but it doesn't mix with the SCA's in this coolant.as noted in the cavitation article.so don't use that with this.
just a warning since both are sold at NAPA,one could be tempted to grab some SCA's while there,and unknowingly turn their coolant into a sludgy mess when it came time to replenish(and no longer guard against cavitation,which is worse.).

NAPA does sell the coolant filter however,for like 45 bucks if you would rather maintain this coolant,as opposed to flushing it.

 

Excellent info you quoted scratch, I know where I'll be heading to when I flush my coolant.

 

i just use the standard Green glycol from napa, and charge it with napakool additive. and just check it with the test strips.

 

Anyone have part numbers for the test strips at Napa or Carquest?
I went to Napa and they looked at me like I've got 3 heads when I asked for SCA test strips...I haven't had a chance to run down to Carquest.
Napa is right in town, Carquest is a town over, International is 3 towns over, and the Ford dealership the next town over didn't even know what what a 6.9 was when i went for a theromostat. IH dealer had it within a couple days though.
Most of the time I hate knowing more than the guy behind the counter.

 

Carquest part number is 89107 (Heavy duty coolant test strips))

 

Napa part number is 4107 The UPC is 65809 15442
They call it a "Heavy-Duty Coolant Test Kit" it contains 50 test strips, an eyedropper and a vial.

 

Awesome!!
Thanks for the numbers, makes it a whole lot easier to deal with parts-store dummies.

My favorite Napa memory.
Go in looking for a distributor cap for my 65 F350 352 FE.
Guy spends a good 5 minutes on the computer...
Then he looks at me with a blank look...
"Are you sure it has one? I don't see one listed"

 

I wonder if they make them in the same place they make crash test dummies

 

Unless something has changed recently Texaco was the only manufacture for ELC. It was sold under several brands. Cat, Dexcool etc. When it first came out it they screwed the pooch. They have since changed the formulation. I made allot of money fixing rocker box gasket leaks on N-14's in the late 90's. Cat played the propaganda game and blamed other engine manufactures for using bad gaskets. They weren't bad just a different design....Of coarse Cat messed their emission systems up so bad that they had to get out of the truck engine business...They all play the game though.

 

I heard that a couple others are going to be exiting the engine making game here in the next couple years. I heard that emissions are just getting to hard and expensive to meet, AND that the truck manufacturers want to get the money from the engine too. IE if you buy a KW or Pete youll get a PACCAR engine, etc etc.

 

The truck/ engine relationships has been along time coming. I could see the writing on the wall 15 years ago. Cat got pushed out because they couldn't make an engine that would meet EPA and the EPA quit letting them pay the fines. Freightliner and Detroit are owned by the same people but you can still get a Cummins in a Freightliner. IH bought Mann engines and brought them here to the states and that is what their big engines are. Kenworths engine is a Cummins. They are pretty tight. Volvo bought Mack. Of coarse Volvo has their own engines also. Actually Volvo had IH bought back in the mid to late 90's. IH got in bad shape when companies like JB hunt and Schnieder went to Century class Freightliners. Why the deal fell through. I don't know. I remember it though. The dealer I was at then was a Volvo dealer also. Kenworth didn't like the idea of dealers have two class 8 franchises so my dealer sold the Volvo dealership just before Volvo bought Mack....Now Cat and IH are pretty tight. IH is going to build Cats truck and Cat is doing some of their core remans. I was told a couple of weeks ago, matter of fact when I was checking on the works kits for these 7.3's, that some of this relationship derived from a lawsuit between the two companies over the HEUI fuel system.?????.. Cat is hurting more then they want to admit. It got to the point with their engines under warranty that they were making guys reuse piston rings, re crush rod and main bearings etc. They used to be big on not doing that kind of stuff. They have lost allot of market share on the dirt side also. They never really have made the best of all types of dirt equipment but their name really helped them. Not so much anymore...Look for allot more changes coming down the pipe...I look for some mergers coming that people won't expect.

 

Catfish got me thinking:

Cummins seems to be pretty loyal, look how long Dodge and Cummins have been exclusive in pick-ups.
I think it's kind of impressive and amazing that they have stayed exclusive through at least 4-5 ownership changes at Chrysler.

GM has had 3 completely different diesel engine desighns in their trucks and many substantially different versions of each of those desighns.
5.7

6.2
6.5 N.A.
6.5L Turbo

Of course there were/are many versions of the DuraMax but it's still basically the same motor and the displacement didn't even change
They have also been offering a diesel option for longer than anyone else.

Ford has had:
6.9
7.3
7.3 Turbo

7.3 PowerStroke with many evolutions/versions
6.0 PowerStroke
6.4 PowerStroke
6.7 PowerStroke


Dodge has been in the game for the shortest amount of time but only by 6 years
5.9 Turbo
6.7 Turbo
One is an evolution of the other and just like everyone else there have been many versions with different power outputs.

Gm has made their own diesel then used detroit and now Isuzu
Ford has used Navistar/Internation and now makes their own
Dodge has always used Cummins and appearantly always will