Supplemental Coolant Additives

[Ken Sair]

I just checked my SCA's. Freeze point and ph are good. The Nitrite color came back more purple (flush) than darker pink (ideal). Will a maintenance dose resolve this? The chart seems to indicate that adding SCA's works when the colors are lighter and trying to achieve ideal. Engine is a 2006 model C9 with almost 53,000 miles. Coolant is original and is 45 months old. No performance issues, runs very cool and does not overheat etc.

Any advice is helpful.

Thanks Ken Sair

[Richard And Babs Ames]

http://www.catrvclub.org/coolant_info.htm On the CAT RV Web site has some good information.

[Edward Buker]

You should consider talking to Cat. Service. They may have an additive to adjust in the opposite direction.

Four years and 53K may be at a point where change is recommended. To adjust the SCA concentration to be less you would have to partially dilute the mix with new antifreeze, or consider dropping and replacing the supplemental cartridge/filter and using one that has no supplement in it or is rated for less than half your systems volume of antifreeze mix until the system adjusts itself.

It would seem that if the SCA was not added manually then the cartridge PN you are using is adding too much supplement. Sometimes antifreeze is used that has SCA in it already and the wrong supplemental cartridge PN is selected and overdoses the mix. If the system is correctly calibrated my experience is that it all stays in balance for several years or more without adding any supplement.

I am a little surprised that an 07 coach did not have the Red Cat ELC coolant or equiv. from the factory that requires no supplement or test strip usage. Be sure what you have before you get that changed.

later Ed

[Gerald Farris]

Ken,
At nearly four years of age your conventional coolant has just about reached the end of it's service life. You may get another year out of it, but I would be making plans to have it serviced within the next year. I would also consider changing to Cat ELC coolant that has a recomended change life of 6 years (an I have heard some testing good a lot longer than 6 years) instead of the 3 year recommendation on conventional coolant.

Gerald

[Ken Sair]

Thanks all. I do not have the cratridge/filter with this system. I have to manually add SCA's. Also, I do not have the red ELC. Just the ol' regular yellow stuff. I'm was leaning towards replacement after 4 years as next year is Alaska and many more miles than normal. Thanks Gerald, I will consider the ELC and will have to call around for pricing.

Any recommendations for a place to have the coolant flushed in the Manteca/Stockton/Modesto area of Northern CA?

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Do not have a location but we used a radiator shop that reccomended the Texaco brand of ELC who I was told is the same ELC as the CAT brand. The owner of the two man shop is a friend and he inherited the shop from his grandfather after working his whole life in it so has many years of experience.

Ask a couple of truck shops or  parts stores (NAPA or indepandant) for a reccomendation. It is a good way to find a mechanic on the road also.


 The shop building blew away in Hurricane Charlie and the area they sprayed the rebuilt /repaired radiators at had overspray on the floor over an inch thick.  The build up was from over 50 years.

[Ken Sair]

Got my coolant test results back today. Good news I believe. Report stated "No action required' and 'test results normal'. 'Re-sample at next engine service'. Here are the numbers I got back

Metals ppm     BP     FP     GL     ph     Con
                     108   -42    53     8.5    3224

Other             NO2      odor      Ctype      color      app      foam      oil
                    1760     norm     conv        green     clear    norm      none

The test was done through Holt CAT in Stockton CA. We talked for a few minutes. He said ELC was 6 years, 600,000 miles. Regular (like mine) was 3 years 3,000 hours. My engine is at about 1200 hrs. Said I was good to go.

I have gotten a few prices for drain/refill. Bossleman was $285 to drain/flush/refill with ELC. Drain/flush/refill with regular HD coolant was $230. ELC seems the way to go, $55 for an additional 3 years.

Thoughts?

Ken 2007 Contessa

[Edward Buker]

Ken,

Gerald recommended that I consider the change to ELC, which I followed through on, for my 2002 Marquis. One of the primary reasons was that our coaches had several hoses that were prone to fatigue failure due to excessive heat caused by routing issues. These hoses serviced the SCA cartridge which the new chemistry coolant does not need so they could be removed.  

Before considering the change over I took a hard look, and in researching Cat ELC, I came across several photographs of torn down engine components, liners, injector liners, and thermostats. One advantage was clear from the photographs. There were no deposits or metal erosion on engines that used the ELC system. It would be rational to assume that the heat transfer would be better over time and that thermostats probably will have a longer life with ELC without the deposits. Metals stay clean as they should and the chemistry, being more stable, is pretty much worry free.

http://www.files.e-shop.co.il/eshetach/cat/liquid_01.pdf
http://www.finning.ca/_downloads/sos/Extended%20Life%20Coolant%20Data%20Sheet_pehp4036.pdf

I see several advantages and no downside if the conversion is done right.

Regards Ed