Engine Coolant

[Jasper]

Hi All,
Some advice please, which is the best engine coolant to use on my 12V71N 525 HP?
In Australia I have been told that Tectaloy will do the job. As brands vary between Australia & USA here are the ingredients of this product:
Ethylene Glycol 280 g/L 10ppm Bittering agent.
Thanks

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Most any heavy-duty antifreeze is probably okay for 71 series engines. The 92's, being wet liner engines, really do benefit from using the DD approved coolant.

 

[REBrueckner]

Your are asking about coolant, not antifreeze, right??

Sky is not quite right above...using a DD diesel approved coolant or antifreeze IS important. What I think he is referring to, is that 71 series DD engines do not require cavitation protection because they are NOT wet liner engines like the 53 and 92 series. So nitrites are not required in the 71 series engines. I would NOT risk ever using a coolant product that did not specifically state "formulated for Detroit Diesel engines".....or similar....

I'd check locally with a DD diesel dealer....NALCOOL is the standard in the USA....just research carefully before making changes...and check whether distilled water is preferred....:



"NALCOOL 2000

NALCOOL 2000 chemically protects all metals in the cooling system from corrosion and cavitation-erosion while simultaneously preventing harmful mineral scale deposits. It is buffered so that it neutralizes the acids that are formed in the cooling system. NALCOOL 2000 stops cavitation in three ways: (1) by forming a physical barrier (a chemical film); (2) by preventing corrosion of the metal surface, thus strengthening its resistance to cavitation; and (3) by reducing foaming, which means less air entrapment, a major cause of cavitation. Ships that are authorized to use NALCOOL 2000 must use inhibited antifreeze (MIL-A-46153) when freezing protection is required. Although inhibited antifreeze contains some corrosion inhibitors, your ship must use NALCOOL 2000 with inhibited antifreeze to ensure adequate corrosion protection. Diesel engines that require the NALCOOL 2000 treatment are particularly susceptible to cavitation corrosion of the cylinder liners if this treatment is not used.

NOTE: When you are making the con-version from NALCOOL 2000 to the required inhibited antifreeze/NALCOOL 2000 combina-tion, you must first dump the cooling system.

You must dilute the antifreeze with water in the cooling system before adding the NAL-COOL 2000. Do not combine concentrated antifreeze and NALCOOL 2000, as the inhibitor chemicals will become insoluble and separate from the solution."

http://www.tpub.com/engine3/en32-32.htm

 

[Avenger]

What I think he is referring to, is that 53 and 71 series DD engines do not require cavitation protection because they are NOT wet liner engines like the 92 series. So nitrites are not required in the 53 and 71 series engines.

Your Googling needs work. 53 Series are wet liner engines.

 

[REBrueckner]

SCROD....
Oops, you are right...my MEMORY needs work!!....I corrected above...

Prior post from Mike P:

"..I've have been doing some research and i have found that mixing non-compatible types of antifreeze can produce brown sludge like what you are describing. Perhaps someone previously added coolant/antifreeze that was not compatible with what was in the engine..."

Which is correct....

I forgot to post above: All DD antifreeze formulations are LOW SILICATE formulations...and silicates can form precipitates under various conditions.....this is CRITICAL.....

Other engine manufacturers like Cummins, Yanmar, Cat and MACK may have different formulations...I do not know....


I repeat: I would NOT risk ever using a coolant nor antifreeze product that did not specifically state "formulated for Detroit Diesel engines".....or similar....

 

[rsmith]

I buy the cheapest stuff I can get at walmart or discount auto and change it every couple years. But my engines and gens have only laster 43 years so Rob will probably tell me how wrong I am. Oh the horror!!!!

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Dinosaurs are good.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I buy the cheapest stuff I can get at walmart or discount auto and change it every couple years. But my engines and gens have only laster 43 years so Rob will probably tell me how wrong I am. Oh the horror!!!!

Thats what I'm saying.

REB, I have to disagree.

Back when the 71's came out, they had the basic ethylene glycol and that was it. Heck, you can run water in them if you want, but you'll need a rust inhibitor. I think we ran water and then had to add ethanol or something when it got cold.

Do as you please, but we have run construction equipment and trucks with DD's since 1946 and have never used anything in them except a basic HD green antifreeze or water.

 

[REBrueckner]

So you guys follow DD recommendations on lube oil, I suppose...and,say operating temps, oil change intervals and cruise RPM's......and the like,,,,,but not coolant because you know better than DD....

but I do agree 71 series are not apparently subject to coolant cavitation....based on what DD says

so go for it....

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Wrong oil leads to expensive repairs. What does the running regular antifreeze lead to? Looking at those who have used regular EG antifreeze in 71's, it appears that the results have been quite good. We had dozens of them including 4-71's, 6-71's, 6v71's, 8v71's, and even 12v71's. We ran whatever truck antifreeze that the oil supplier brought in. The same stuff went into the Cat's and Cummins as well.

No, I wouldn't run it in my 92's, but I can tell you (again from experience) that the 92's have had problems with coolant from day one. We had several of the old green 92's in the early 80's that didn't make it too far out of warranty before they dumped the coolant into the oil pan. The later "silver series" were much better in that regard.

 

[Boatsb]

I run distilled water and napacool or nalcool in my wet liner 8v53's and have no issues.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

do not let antifreeze anywhere near bearings...toast....

 

[REBrueckner]

Sky:
" We had several of the old green 92's in the early 80's that didn't make it too far out of warranty before they dumped the coolant into the oil pan.."

Any idea what caused that?? Corrosion of some part???

/////////////////////////
Also, some here may remember some years ago when I spent the better part of about ten days researching antifreeze....it's a complex subject.....

It's possible that some people who use almost anything for coolant have had good luck because of the particular charactreristics of the water they use...or alternatively that some Detroits that had trouble because of local water characteristics....

In any case, I did begin to use distilled water in my engines and genny after doing all that antifreeze research so somewhere amid all the details Detroit must have recommended that....

For 22 years I owned a pair of 6V53's and used dockside water and everyday green automotive antifreeze.... never had any issue, never even flushed the raw water cooling components in those babies....

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Sky:
" We had several of the old green 92's in the early 80's that didn't make it too far out of warranty before they dumped the coolant into the oil pan.."

Any idea what caused that?? Corrosion of some part???

As I remember it, the first engines had problems with the O-rings on the liners. DD changed the material or the design in later engines(don't really know). This is what almost bankrupted DD and why they renamed the new engines "silver" in 1981. They were all painted DD green before that, then they started painting them silver, but the reputation was already severely damaged at that point.

I'm sure every one of those old engines out there by now has been overhauled with the new components.