nitrate or nitrate free coolent?

Nitrate free

 

Depends on your engine. As a fast and loose rule nitrate free is better for more modern engines and generally recomended overall. While nitrated is only better for older rigs running green in VERY specific cases such as a case where corrosion is an issue....at least in MY experince.

I tend to prefer nitrate free and switch my equipment over whenever i can, unless i have a good reason. Otherwise because of how much of the guts of engines and cooling parts is made of aluminium now, including many modern replacment parts for older equipment. There are cases a bad batch of over nitrated coolant can screw things up badly, seeing as nitrates CAN damage aluminium parts.

 

Nitrate free. Pick your poison. It’s expensive. The Peak Final Charge Global is available in Concerntrate. I’ve found it online, possibly special order at Napa. Mixed w/ distilled water at 50/50 or 60/40 will you save some money. The Peak Pro series Final Charge must be a new item. I bet it’s expensive. No idea if it’s available in Concentrate. The Fleetguard ES might be the best bargain for pre-mix. Pretty sure they’re all nitrate, phosphate, and silicate free. That’s what you want. Still should test it after a year or so, using the proper strips for OAT coolant. They’re different than the old test strips.

 

Did not know that. Might be why I have a hole in one of my liners with this red coolant in my M11.

 

I don’t really know either. Nitrites supposedly worked good against cavitation and iron corrosion, but too much eats up aluminum. Adding SCA and using test strips to lower the amounts of Nitrite was the norm for years. Phosphate works good, but causes scale that can flake off and plug the system, especially if combined with hard water. Silicates work good against aluminum corrosion, but is hard on gaskets. They’re all acids. Supposedly the new Organic acid stuff is better. If it gets mixed with borate in the old stuff it can cause corrosion. Personally I think it’s because most systems don’t get flushed often enough. Old stuff with SCA additives worked great for me on my old 3406. Never any rust. But I flushed it every year, and mixed with distilled. Been using the Final Charge for last 10+ years. Flushed maybe 3-4 times. Plenty of rust. Hmmmm????

 

Best way is with a garden hose. Make sure the heater hose shutoff valves under the hood (if equipped) are open, and heater controls in cab/bunk are set on warm, so heater cores get flushed. Drain the coolant, fill with water. Start it up, let it run. Keep the hose in the fill tank. turned on enough that it’s always overflowing a bit, so you know it’s full. Open radiator drain, and/or take plug out of bottom radiator hose steel tube if possible. Helps it drain faster, and usually is the lowest point. Let it run like that a while. At least 15-20 minutes. Shut it off, drain it. Fill with distilled, run it, shut off, and drain it. Fill with new coolant. If no access to a garden hose. Improvise using empty jugs. Filling it with water, running it, shutting it off, draining it. At least once. Then a final flush with distilled. It’s a PITA, but gets the job done. I think a final flush with distilled it’s worth the $10. Cheap Insurance. Especially if you have hard water. Usually if waters hard, soap doesn’t lather up good. If it’s soft it lathers up real good and the soap even feels like you can’t rinse it off. Almost slimy, if it’s real soft. That’s the good stuff. Fill with new coolant, then let it run on high idle with the cap off for a good while, at least an hour, to get any air pockets out of the system. Good idea to have at least 2 extra gallons onboard. Air can get really trapped sometimes. Might have to top it off down the road a couple times. Adding coolant slowly, tilting the jug sideways instead of just dumping it straight it helps keep the air out. If you do end up with a lot of trapped air pockets, you could shut down from low coolant as the air works it’s way out. If so, it helps to run with the cap just a little bit loose for a few hours or so. to release the trapped air once it does work it’s way out. Only other thing I can think of, is if after the first or second flush it’s still looking real cruddy. You can use a Flush/Cleaner. There’s all kinds of them. I’ve heard Cat makes a real good one. It’s expensive, but works great. Follow the directions.