.

.

 

I read in the data sheet that Cat does not have silicate. I will try to find that stuff. The one that I was planning to use is CAT EC 1 approved but it contains low silicate.

 

this is a confusing subject. I've been digging around the net and heres some basic info that might help:

Old green coolant= lots of silicates. everyone agrees, don't use it in a 6.0.

OAT coolant= No silicates.
DexCool came first. It was supposed to last a looong time but doesn't play well with silicone sealers and gaskets. Only for use with vehicles designed to run it. Interesting that Ford lists a compatable product on it's website. It is orange. not sure what if any Ford vehicles use it.
Other formulations came after, cranking down the chemicals (nitrates and phosphates to name a couple) and changing up the additive package to make them more universal, meaning less harmfull to gaskets and seals. This group includes the CAT EC-1.

HOAT coolant= small ammount of silicates. The substitute chemicals used in the OAT are still eating gaskets (and heat transfer rates are down) so it's decided to crank 'em down farther ad add a little bit of silicate back. best of both worlds kind of deal. Lasts a long(er) time and easy on the "soft parts" of the engine. This group includes Ford Gold.

Also there was a change to the base from Ethylene glycol (EG) to Propylene glycol (PG) to make it less toxic. PG is often labeled as "non-toxic antifreeze". PG can get very acid over time (EG) not so much, so that consideration also caused some of the changes to the additive packages of all three types mentioned above (when sold as non-toxic).

Hope this helps a little.

 

Well Rusty, you just stir the pot.

Finaly, may be in a few years we will be back with Gold or G05. From many readings, it appears that only CAT found the solution for all, but may be not

 

Didn't mean to stir But I wuz gettin confused
At least I can look at a bottle and tell which group it belongs in. I just gotta figure out which group I want to put in my truck

I like What I'm reading about the Final Charge, but it's an OAT with no silicates, borates, nitrates or phosphates and I don't understand how it works.

Also, BMW has some coolant that's is silicate free, phosphate free, amine free, and borate free. It's blue. Same issues for me as the Final Charge.

I got a lot of reading to do.

 

I did not buy the magic stuff yet. I do a lot of reading, there is pro and cons from different people. Not easy to make a choice, I am not totally convinced on any type.

 

Yup, not a happy place.
I've read a lot of thecnical papers last few evenings. Much of it is over my head but there are points made sometimes the layman can understand. I've been looking for info about silicate precipitation and I've seen it discussed in papers dated in the late 1990's and no info on being encouraged by temps. It was discussed as related to coolant in storage and agitation and/or ( ironically) heat was the recommended action. Oh well, the search goes on....

 

Add a little more to the pot
http://www.eetcorp.com/antifreeze/Coolants_matrix.pdf
pop

 

I decided I'd put an end to the back and forth in my own head about the coolant .... so I've switched to Rotella ELC which I can get at local International dealer for $15 per gallon.

I'm going to do it 1 per year regardless of needing it or not. For me that'll be 1st week of Sept just before hazardous material day at my local transfer station and will be about a 40,000 mile interval. I'm okay with $60 per year extra on my maintenance budget.

Now I can move on to worry about other stuff

 

Same, here, if you use Gold or G05 or Rotella, CAT, ELC, it will not harm your engine if you have a filter and replace coolant on a regular basis. I think it would be better to go with the recommended stuff and do your coolant change more often to prevent degradation, this way you are sage both way.

 

I would link this, but that is kinda frowned upon here since it's on another forum. But I was reading some discussions on ELC vs. Gold and someone actually sat down and did the math. And then some comparison math.

Basically, the GOLD coolant has such a little amount of silicate in it, that there is no way it is causing the plugging of coolers. However, the Gold coolant does have a problem with Organics growing inside it with prolonged life and heat combinations.

Basically, it all boils down to this. Don't go 50K or more with your coolant. Do regular flushes and maintain it. There are hundreds of thousands of guys running the Ford gold stuff with zero issues. I was all set to do an ELC swap. But after reading a ton of information, I can't see any real reason to ignore Fords recommendation...well besides the service interval. My plan is to do yearly flush/swaps and run a coolant filter.

 

You are right, there is certainly much more people using gold without issue if they changed their coollant at regular interval. It is not that expensive, no more than an oil change. Even though Ford do not build engine, they have smart engineer too.

My next question would be, what type of coolant do they recommend on their 6.4 and 6.7 engines. If they recommend the Gold stuff, their must be a good reason, if they recommend Cat EC 1, then why would they recommend something else than Gold for the 6.0. Warranty issue? Lawsuit Issue? Who knows, Ford have smart lawer too. So what is behind all this.

 

different motors get different coolants

6.4 and 6.7 were designed in-house by Ford. Ford engineers got to create all the specs and lubricant requirements. The silicants in the coolant also provide lubricity (real word?) that an ELC doesn't.

6.0 was outsourced. Ford Gold coolant is just ____ coolant rebadged. I can't remember the name. But IH spec'd that initially for the 6.0 and it is still used in some applications.

 

the 6.4 was a navistar engine.

 

Interesting - subscribing...