Coolant filtration is becoming more popular with todays trucks, its most commonly marketed to the diesel pickup truck crowd.

I just wanted to bring it to everyones attention that there are plenty of options out there for a "coolant filter kit".

When searching for a kit, one of the most popular brands appear. It's the kit from dieselsite.com



(Yes I know it's a Dodge kit shown) It comes with a small amount of hose and some fittings.

Shown is a side by side compairison of the dieselsite.com filter head and the NAPA version.




The dieselsite.com filter head is nicer quality with more inlet/outlet options.

Heres a view of the NAPA filter head:



Both filter heads take the same size filters: 11/16 - 16 thread and many filter options do exist. Shown here, are a NAPA 4071 that is a "charged" filter with 4 units of DCA coolant conditioner and a Baldwin brand B5134 filter that has NO-DCA conditioner in it.




There are many more filters out there that have better micron ratings and are sized different.

The bottom line of this write up (besides trying to promote the use of coolant filter "kits") is that you really should shop around to save money on a nice upgrade like this. The dieselsite.com kit costs $119.00 + shipping. The NAPA kit costs $55.64 at your local store. For the difference of at least $63.36, I would buy things like more filters...

Thanks for viewing this.

 

Here's my thoughts...

The filters are very effective but....

We know from test conducted by Prestone, conventional coolant has a life of 13 + years (at that mark they stopped the test) and it's contaminants that kill the coolant and damage components. With that said, here's the possible issue I have with inline filters (versus bypass units). As they collect contaminants, they slowly restrict the flow and there have been a couple of instances where these restrictions have caused severe overheating (yes caused by owner failure to clean the filter). But even with bypass units.....

IMHO, ...

1. Nothing substitutes a periodic flush of the radiator

2. When I drain the coolant, I place a doubled up paper towel over the funnel which filters to less than 3 microns (much better then any of the filters)- in terms of contaminants, the coolant is now as clean as when it came out of the original bottle. Provided it meets all the other test I do, it is reinstalled in the vehicle.

3. I have installed a magnesium anode in all overflows (same electrolysis protection used per code for all underground tanks)- Zinc anodes are available as well (JC Whitney, etc.) specifically for automotive applications and sell for about $6- they attract all the nasty stuff that destroys radiators, pumps, hoses etc and they become the sacrificial lamb- and keeps the ph of the fluid neutral. The inside of my cooling system and related components is spotless- literally!

4. I check the ph (using a swimming pool kit)- and check the alcohol content using a conventional coolant bulb type test device ($10 at any parts store)

The results.....

1. Contaminant production is eliminated by 90%+ as a result of the neutral ph maintenance

2. Contaminants that are produced are contained outside of the system flow, in the overflow at the anode. At this point I have less contaminant in my system than if I used a filter because we have eliminated 90% of the production and contained the residual.

3. With the paper towel, I can actually see the residual system contaminants (which you can typically count) and by most accounts visually know if a potential problem exist by the type and color of the products. The coolant is as clean as if I had opened a fresh container.

4. The system is clean and performance level known.

My personal results...

My father started this in the 1950's and typically the conventional coolant lasts 10-20 years in the vehicle before requiring replacement.

I cannot remember repairing a radiator or heat exchanger or water pump during my 50+ years on this earth on any of my family's vehicles- (I take that back, I replaced 2 water pumps on my 1990 F150 when due to a pulley tension/alignment problem it ate two bearings/seals, my fault as I didn't check it the 1st time, but at 80,000 miles I was not too surprised to see a leak from the water pump bearing).
We typically keep our vehicles for 10+ years. Our list of vehicles includes...

1959 221 CID V8 Ranchero (1965 to 1971)
1932 Flathead V8 Ford Coupe (1960 to present)
1965 Mustang (1965 to present)
1969 F100 (1972 to 1984)
1984 F150 (1984 to 2006) (400K+ miles w2 rebuilds)
1979 Honda (1982 to 1990)
1987 Toyota Celica GT (1987 to 1997)
1990 F150 (1990 to 2006)
1997 Cougar Sport (1990 to present)
2006 Mark LT (2006 to present)
2006 F150 4x4 (2006 to present)

IMHO, basic chemistry makes “gadgets” like filters just that, “gadgets”!

 

Your method is very effective. I think we can both agree that clean fluids (ie. coolant) are very important. Any type of preventive maintence is a step in the right direction. We can also agree that the majority of people do not go to the level of effort that you do to maintain their cooling system. In todays busy culture, most people dread paying $100.00 + for their local shop to do a coolant flush. A fliter kit a good option to explore.

 

If you are going to compare apples to apples, then it should be noted that the Dieselsite kit for the 7.3 is only $96. Their kits also come with the hoses, clamps, fittings, and a bracket to make the install quick and painless. That nickle and dime stuff quickly whittles away at the difference over piecing together a Napa kit, and as you mentioned the Napa filter head isn't as nice. I also don't like DCA loaded filters.

Nice post on this worthwhile mod.

 

I made this post in response to people complaining that "filtering coolant is a waste of time." or "It's unnessary." People also complain that the dieselsite kit is too expensive, and they would buy a kit if it were less expensive. I'm just presenting more options.

 

The kit is $119.00 for the 6.0L and the 6.4L.
At any rate, there is still shipping charges of $12-16 on the dieselsite kit.

 

Yes I concurr!

 

At work we install coolnat filters on everything and that is almost 280 units of equipment. We use a standard PH8A style filter with a trans dapt filter base. So it only costs 20.00 intial and 4.00 for each filter. The units are inline of the heater hoses and work very well. All of our new 6.4 have them as well. You will need to make a mounting bracket but for the cost it works very well. I do not like using preloaded DCA filters and this was a solution I came up with about 9 years ago.

 

Have you any thoughts on this kind of thing in a wet-sleeve environment? Specifically, that of a big-rig engine, with regards to the nitrate levels required for cavitation-induced liner pitting?

I'm very intriqued by this, and am wondering how/if I can adapt it for my own use....

Especially given that I have no overflow volume, but do have a surge tank....

-blaine

 

After seeing this after my 100,000 mile coolant change(yellow 100,000), I decided it was in my best interest to purchase my Dieselsite coolant filtration kit. Most of this corrosion is due to the stamped steel housing but as you can see, it was circulating around for a while. Here it is installed, blue hose was given to me by a nice FTE brother here, Muecster, thanks Roland. Install was a breeze, directions right on. The only problem I had is the mounting bracket has to be prefabed on my truck, hood closing issues. The bracket is a thick piece of steel, should be a little thinner but overall, great kit. Do yourself a favor, get the DS thermostat housing, its aluminum and it will hold up better than the stamped steel. Nice writeup John..

 

I made my own before everyone jumped on the band wagon to offer a filter kit. Probably got a whole $86 in it and still working fine.





The nasty stuff after cutting open the filter.

 

Looks good, need to fab up my bracket like that, right now I can't use the factory rad support bracket.