I use John Deeres coolant additive myself. I forget what its called, but its pretty cheap and 1 container is supposed to treat something like 8 gallons of coolant......

 

Cavitation is going to happen but the damage it does to cylinder walls can be be prevented. The SCA's added in coolant put a barrier on cylinder walls so the bubbles don't eat holes in the iron. As far as Napacool, it used to be a brand called Nowcool. Which back in the 90's was what Detroit used and it was the same chemical as Cummins/Fleetgaurd DCA but missing one ingredient that Fleetgaurds DCA had in it. You could mix them. I remember this came up in a few of the Cummins classes I had to go to back when I was at a Kenworth dealership. That was before the ELC came out. Well, before it got popular. Texaco was the original makers of it. The Cummins guys didn't see a need in it because conventional coolant will last for years. You don't have to change it every two years like originally we were told to do so. They are both ethylene glycol bases products. With my years being around this stuff I haven't seen an advantage to it over the conventional coolant. I will say this though, I am not a betting man but I would say that the acids used in the ELC coolant are a byproduct of a manufacturing process for something and "they" needed to find away to get rid of it and now we have a new coolant that is the greatest of all. Kinda like Fluoride and Alcoa.

 

i will admit. we tore down a 01 ( i think) C12 Caterpiller that ran Cat's ELC coolent. the water jackets were so clean in that motor it almost looked new. not the least little bit of corrosion in it. however in a 20 or so year old engine, i dont really see the need in running an ELC, so long as you maintain the coolent and the DCA leavles.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ower-help.html

 

Heh... I have no idea what any of this cavitation stuff means, sca's whatever. I'm gonna drive this engine till it falls apart (380,000km's and counting) then swap in a 85-87 6.9L and turbo it.

 

Search cavitation on line. You will find a brief description of what it is. It happens in allot of different places where a liquid under pressure in concerned.

 

I did when I first got my truck, it gave me a headache... lol.

 

Know the feeling

 

Here's a slight variation on this question. I just swapped a 140k 7.3 into my truck to replace the 360k 6.9 that was originally in it. I filled it up with "regular" old green antifreeze and just ordered some napa kool to put in it and test strips to check it.

Is that OK - using normal green antifreeze with the SCA added?

 

Yep, Keep the SCA's or DCA's, same thing, right and the coolant will last for years. You won't need to change it.

 

actually,no. normal antifreeze you see on the shelve isn't what you want.
it must be low silicate.
it doesn't have to have SCA's already added.you can charge it yourself.however it must be low silicate.if it doesn't say it is on the bottle,then it isn't.
regular coolant (non ELC) should be flushed every 30,000 miles or 24 months (2 yrs.) whichever comes first for the navistar 6.9/7.3l diesels.(according to Haynes diesel book #10330.)
you can extend the life of normal coolant however by installing a coolant filter.

this article should be read in it entirety for all diesel owners.its explains everything you need to know;
Cavitation Article

 

Not arguing just saying. I don't buy the two years and out thing anymore. I quit that years ago from personal experience. Between the 6 pickups,7 farm tractors,2 backhoes,3 dump trucks and so on. We haven't had a single coolant failure in any of these machines. Yes, we do keep up with additives. When they are needed we drain some or all of it out. Mix SCA's they need and run the coolant through cheese cloth and pour it back in. We have stuff that hasn't had the coolant changed in 15 years. One tractor since 1989. I remember, I was home on leave from Germany when I did the water pump on it. 73 model tractor. By all accounts we should have everything over heating,radiators falling out of them and engines blown up but haven't. When we do top one off we never use tap water. Usually rain water. We have some newer vehicles also.

People should do what ever they feel the best about but I haven't seen a reason to change conventional coolant every two years.

 

iv never changed coolant in anything iv owed that often before either and like you,never had a problem.
im not risking it with this truck though.iv never had one this good before either.
i guess the main thing that is important,is that the actual recommended intervals be posted.then people have an idea of how much their pushing the envelope if they want.
im even going to grab a napa filter kit for mine,so i can change it less.
you know,the stuff i went with.the fleet charge says here;
Fleet Charge Frequently Asked Questions
that can use it for 150k miles/3k hours/ with a coolant filter.
here is the filter they mention for it;
Penray - Products
that's kinda interesting,in that it senses when to release the SCA's.
kinda advanced past NAPA's filters,in which you would pick one of 4 i think it is.and use the one that fits how much SCA's where required.
i guess,like anything you can get a little carried away with things, but when it comes to a keeping an engine for a LONG time,it's all the little extra maintenance items that can make a difference.
im enjoying this whole basic,non computer controlled engine crap so much again,that id like to do everything i can to make it last.cus i know,chances are my next truck will likely have to be back into the computer controlled/hard to work on stuff again.
maybe i will just head out to Cali or Arizona and find another,after this one rots away lol.you just can't beat old school.
shoot,if i do it right i might just score a truck with poorly neglected engine that i can set this one into,that might have 200k on her by then.

 

Hey Ford. Fleet Guard used to sell a test strip for the old coolant. It didn't check SCA's but some other chemicals in the coolant to see if it was ok to use. They were getting away from the specified times and hours if you checked it. That was back in the 90's. I have to return a call to the service manager at my local Cummins dealer. I will ask him about that. They were talking about that just before the ELC came out.

Talking about coolant. I went out to pick up a couple of gallons for my Super A Farmall. Walmart had nothing but ELC that said could go in anything. I am not comfortable about mixing the two types. I ended up at Adavnced Auto and picked up two gals. of Peak brand. I am not for sure about all this coolant stuff anymore. I need to talk to somebody that will give the real info not the Billy Mays "buy this because it is the best" propaganda speech.

 

Hey catfish101, there's no point arguing FordF250HDXLT is the cavitation ****.
It's like telling Oreo chevy's suck, or Joe that he's desperately trying to make Oreo's truck, they see red and stop listening to logic.