Coolant Flush Question !

[Rmorgan711]

I want to change the coolant over to the Cat ELC
Can I drain and run straight WATER for a few hundred miles to try and free up as much crap as possible First and then run the RESTORE in it ?
Or maybe flush and run RESTORE for a couple hundred miles ?
reason I am asking is I workaway from home during the week ..it is about 130mi to my home one way ..figured I could drain coolant ,run straight water on way home Friday , drain it , run water again back to work on Sunday ,drain it / add RESTORE to finish flush ...add new coolant !
what you guys think about this method ???

[howell_jd]

Without knowing what the drained coolant and water looks like? All I can provide to you is that after FIFTEEN flushes following VC-9 treatment, I was comfortable adding new Premium Gold along with a coolant filter from DieselSite. My system looked BAD. I don't forecast that sort of a problem for you but be prepared for MUCHO sediment in your coolant system.


Jonathan

[Rmorgan711]

Weather is cool here but not COLD ( lows in the high 40's ) so freezing is not an issue without the A.F. mixture and using straight water ...seems like a good time to do this if it won't hurt anything by not running any A.F. and giving it time to let the water stir things up by giving it a few hours of run time between flushes on round trips back and forth from work ?

[howell_jd]

Sure. You could even take the distilled water with you and get a few flushes each day after cool-down...maybe at lunch and then again when you got home. Make sure you still get a coolant filter. It's just a fact of life that a high capacity coolant system operating under pressure is going to cause cavitation. Cavitation will ablate/erode metals. These wear-metals will clog the oil cooler on the coolant side. Even ELC with low silicates or NO silicates is going to cavitate and create wear-metals. With low/no silicates you just avoid another abrasive in the system. Coolant Filter. Good Idea. Do it.

Jonathan

[Rmorgan711]

Where do I get the coolant filter ??

[PGreenSVT]

Sorry to say this but this is the blind leading the blind. You guys both need to read the links in my sig. Jonathan you wasted your money. Ford's Gold coolant is the root cause of much of the 6.0's problems. More important than a filter is changing the coolant.

[howell_jd]

I defer to your greater experience with the PowerStroke Diesel. A few weeks ago I decided that if International went with a coolant filter on the VT365 - AND - also changed to an ELC then it was probably advisable to go ELC as well since I've already added the coolant filter.

However, as an Aerospace Engineer I assure you that cavitation will erode metal components regardless of the fluid which is utilized. It is a fundamental of fluid dynamics. ELC will create fewer problems but not universally solve them...unless there is a way to further alter the physical properties of compressible fluids. I have seen the spectrometal analysis from many coolants (and these are admittedly the lower quality coolants used by the military) employed in diesel engines and wear metals appear in high cavitation systems - usually as the solder from welded joints but also as block material - again usually from softer materials such as aluminum and alloys rather than cast iron.

But again, you know more about the PSD than me and I humbly defer to your recommendations and observations. Great links! They are a true service to those of us who are still gaining familiarity with the "personality disorders" of the PSD caused by many cost-cutting/saving measures (as well as engineering ideosynchrocies).

Jonathan

P.S. DieselSite is where I got my coolant filter but there are other sites that provide coolant filtration as well - the DieselSite model has all the necessary components and easy to follow instructions

[PGreenSVT]

You are 100% right on the effects of cavitation and the damage that it can cuase in a diesel engine. Any coolant containing water is going to be less than 100% effective in controling this. It takes ELC some time to build up a protective coating on the cylinder liners to reach its optimum effectiveness in this area, but I feel much better about this than Ford's Gold coolant constantly circulating silicates (abrasives). It is also easier on the aluminum parts and solder.

It is hard to understand Ford's decision to do this considering International recommends and uses ELC. I'm sure that whatever money they saved with that decision was negligible compared with the cost of warranty repairs it caused.

[rowcoach]

To answer the original question, running the restore water mix should be ok for the distance you are traveling. The directions on the restore bottle recommend 60-90 minutes at full temp. Another 30 minutes should not hurt. Just watch the temps and drive normal. I ran mine for the full 90 minutes driving around town without any problems. The crap that came out was nuts.

[Rmorgan711]

Where are you guys getting the RESTORE FLUSH ?
Looked at O'Rieley's and Autozone & WalMart ...could only find Prestone Crap !