Northern Radiator

Has anyone found the leaking radiators to have any correlation to the type of coolant used?

A few radiator shops down here in the hot zone have found that the ELC’s are breaking down the radiators materials and gaskets faster then the classic green stuff. Also a bunch of diesel shops have been recommending the switch over for years now when they do any kind of rad exchange or service.
Luckily we still have three great rad shops in the tri-county area.
Last two rad’s I had rebuilt locally was in ‘08 for a Cat with their red ELC. With their recommendation I put in green and have had no problems so far and it just sits 364 days out of a year.
The other in ‘09 for my old needle nose Pete. Had it custom re-cored. Original was 6” thick. Recore (new technology they say) is 3” thick. Can’t just store buy those since the polished nose and hood support is the radiator. And they do take a beating because they are part of the structure.

 

Take this wherever you wish, but this is my stance......

Conventional permanent antifreeze (Green) coolant is old technology and the upkeep/maintenance to keep cavitation at bay is extensive. Today's ELC's are way better at lubricating and preventing corrosion and cavitation than ever before.

The rumors/misinformation about ELC's stem back to the 90's when General Motors got bad reps on the product indicating that the coolant was causing corrosion and gaskets to fail. In reality the designs of the engine/gaskets were to blame. Inexperienced and uneducated still blame the coolant for one reason or another. Could it be lack of maintenance? or not maintaining the cooling system? Sure. But not the product. IMO

Using Green Antifreeze today is like using a Single weight engine oil. It will work when checked and maintained properly, but there's many better options out there.

Stick with Premix ELC- dont care the brand. Monitor the freeze protection and change it out when the engine manufacturer recommends.

 

I can say, the first time I used the new stuff, it was Texaco brand. I think it was the first, made for GM specifically, marketed as Dex-cool. It was billed as 5 yr. extended coolant. It was red, not orange. It was summer of 99. I used to flush and fill my 92 WS every year using green and distilled. Decided to try the new stuff.Ran it a couple months. I ended up off work for 4 months. Truck sat. When I went back, the red stuff had turned to a thick jel. Theirs something to the claims. Plaintiffs won a class action verdict. I bought a 98 and an 04 Buick Centuries with 3.1 L in 09, the 04 was subject to it. The 5 yr. settlement period had just expired, and they were selling cheap. I never had a problem. Problem was mainly lack of maintenance, and GM using plastic upper and lower intake gaskets, that would crack and fail. I did however had to add coolant a couple times on the 98. Thought I had a problem. I didn’t. Back to the WS in 99. I drained the red and put green back in. Mixing the two will make jello, I was told. I know I drained all the green and flushed it real good, last flush always was with pure distilled water. That Truck’s cooling system was always kept clean. Even the Cat water pump lasted 750k, and had no rust on the plate or inside when changed. I used the green since. Recently about 5 yrs ago, I started using the new Peak Final Charge. I think it’s good stuff. It’s all about the additives, mainly corrosion and also cavitation. There’s an argument that regular green automotive coolant lacks proper additives to prevent cavitation. Not sure if I believe that. However I had had cavitation problems, on my 99 12.7, it blew a head gasket at 550k. Had a bit of putting outside of the fire ring on one cylinder. It also dropped a liner at 825k. Current 12.7 also dropped a liner at 825k. That’s why I switched. This one had the new finally charge in it for the last 5-6 yrs. It ran 1.2 mil on the inframe. Radiator lasted 20+yrs. I’m sold. I still test it occasionally, but have never added any DCA?? Still will flush and fill every 2-3 yrs. FINAL CHARGE is designed for fleets. Along with a release as needed water filter as a back up, keeps the coolant good. I don’t use a filter. But ideally that’s the way to almost guarantee it stays good.

 

I used to carry the strips to check the ph of green coolant and add conditioner as needed, in order to prevent this:

With Cat ELC I haven't had a problem on any of our equipment........yet anyway.

 

I've always run ELC and never had it eat thru anything before. The same electrolysis that pits liners will also eat thru your radiator. It should be grounded to prevent that.

 

Most don’t even truly understand what cavitation even is. It’s not the coolant itself that is eating thru anything.

I could spend a lot of time explaining it, tonight I just don’t have the time or energy.

 

And 98,99 when IH pumped a ton of new Cummins powered truck full of elc. Not checking with Cummins. We had piles of N14 stacked up waiting for complete gasket replacement. As low as 1500 miles. This was not a Cummins issue.

 

I heard that somewhere a long time ago and never questioned it. I guess it's not so much so. I do wonder why the radiator is grounded tho.

 

Yeah you're right and I totally forgot that now I remember that being why someone recommended them to me in the first place. It was several years ago when I got that radiator.

 

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that.