Extended Life Coolant

[Tim Bentley Co-Admin]

Notes From the  Men’s Round Table at the Moultrie Lead-in  Rally

If you change to Extended life coolant, it is a good idea to remove the by pass filter on your coach.  The by-pass filter is an easy release filter on the frame, usually on the left side of coach, or left rear corner.  It is not needed with long life coolant, and the filter and its hoses can be a source of trouble.  They are sometimes led too close to engine parts and dry out easily, causing leaks.

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

To eliminate a potential leak in the hoses, also remove the hoses and install plugs in the engine where  the hoses were connected.

Larry

[Marty and Suzie Schenck]

I left my filter on. Cat makes a replacement filter with no chemicals in it, just a filter element. I discussed this with the local Cat dealer and he said it is not a bad idea to leave it on, thats why they make that filter. Marty

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

When our coach was built, those coolant hoses were routed along the engine.  After 3 years of baking in that heat, they turned to fragile stone and ruptured.  All of the coolant in the engine blew out along the Interstate leaving us stranded.  I could crumble the rubber hoses in my hand after they were removed.  If you decide to keep the filter and connecting hoses, please be sure the hoses are routed away from the engine heat.  I chose to eliminate the potential problem.

Larry

[Gary Schenck]

Does my 3208 Cat motor have these hoses that can be too close to the engine?   This is a 1989 Beaver Marquis.  Thank you for your help.

Gary

[Gerald Farris]

Gary,
The coolant filter hoses that are being discussed in this thread are on the C 12 Cat engine that was installed in Beaver Marquis and Patriot Thunder coaches from 1997 to 2004. So the same issue does not exist on your coach, however you should check the condition of your hoses and coolant to prevent a breakdown on the road.

The belts on a 3208 can be a problem though. If you have to replace the belts, there is a matched set of belts that run the compressor; they have to be matched and not just two belts with the same part number, or they will not last more than a few thousand miles.      

Gerald

[Phil N Barb Rodriguez]

Gerald,

Regarding your April post, where would I find the filter on my 2000 Thunder, C12. I was told it didn't have one by a Cat place in Lancaster, Ca. when I had my coolant changed a few years ago. I really need to attend to this if in fact there is one.

Thanks,

Phil

[Gerald Farris]

Phil,
Your coolant filter should be bolted to the frame rail in the engine area on the right side (passenger side) of the coach. There will be two 3/8 inch ID (inside diameter) coolant hoses going to it.

There will be two cut-off valves (looks like water a faucet handle), one for each hose. These valves will cut off the coolant flow to the filter to change the filter, however they should not be used to disable the filter when it is no longer needed with ELC (extended life coolant). The reason that you should not just cut off the valves is that the hoses will no longer flow coolant and fail even faster than before. These two hoses are the most common cooling system failure on a C12. So you should disconnect them and plug them at the engine, or reroute them to a less hostile environment and use high temperature hoses with a filter that does not contain an SCA (supplemental coolant additive).

Gerald

[Phil N Barb Rodriguez]

I'll take a close look and hope I find it.
thanks for your time Gerald. Really, really valuable info on these forums. Didn't know about them until I got the link in the ballot e-mail.

Phil

[Jeremy Parrett]

Hi Gerald,
  that is the blue cartridge filter and housing that has 2 gate valves to shut off the inlet and outlets.  Mine is mounted under and ahead of the Midland Grau unit, passenger side of the engine.

[Gerald Farris]

Jeremy,
You are describing the engine coolant filter assembly. The filter can be almost any color (no just blue), depending on the maker of the filter that was installed, as there are numerous makers of replacement filters.

Gerald

[Dick Grover]

Beaver replaced the leaking radiator on my Marquis at about 10,000 miles and I had them install ELC.  I then had a filter hose failure at about 25,000 miles.  The Cat dealer who made the repairs removed the hoses and plugged the connections at the engine.  I double checked with Cat and they agreed that the filter was not necessary nor should it be used with ELC.