Any Secrets for Changing Coolant?

If you call kenworth with your vin they will tell you everything you need to know.

 

interesting how a simple coolant flush and refill turns into rocket science about fine details and or you might need an engine rebuilt. Dump the coolant and change with whatever coolant you want to spend your money on. Don't buy into all the complicated nonsense

 

ISX did have a coolant filter on the 2006 models. Not sure if they still have them. They were located on RH side of engine, probably in behind the frame rail.

 

Spoil Sport!

We like to over analyze these things!

 

I change my own coolant, 2008 ProStar with the ISX and an APU. You can drain off the coolant and refill, then start the truck, get her to temp to where the thermostat opens, normally around 185*. I have a petcock valve up high on the radiator crossover pipe to release the air out of the system, I do not believe your truck has that feature. Even if it does, I still run into air pockets in the system, mainly up at the heater core. Make sure the heater core valves are open when you drain the system. What I would recommend is to purchase one of these Airlift units, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRH5G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Some guys will say this is a waste of money, but most manufacturers recommend using such a device to refill these new EPA motors. You will need at least a 90 PSI air compressor to draw the air out of your cooling system. Once that is done and pressure is held for say twenty seconds, get ready to fill the system, it will only take around four or five minutes, so you have to hustle.

These ISX motors do not like air pockets, serious engine damage may occur. Just a heads up.

As far as coolant, I get mine at Fleet Pride, the Red ELC 50/50, runs $8 a gallon. See if you have a Fleet Pride in your area if you do not know of them. They are a great place to get parts, much cheaper than the dealer for many items.

On a side note, you have the CM-2250 or CM-2350 motor under the hood. Have you rebuilt the fuel pump yet? Cummins makes a rebuild kit, I believe it runs around $350. If you have not rebuilt the pump yet, you are right on the verge of its life span. You will want to get this taken care of ASAP. When these fuel pumps go, they will take out your motor. And when I say take it out, I mean block and all. There is little left to salvage. They tend to fail prior to hitting 400,000 miles, you are right there. And no, Cummins did not fix this issue, they had a recall, but the fix they initiated is not a fix, it just prolongs the issue, it kicks the can down the road.

I saw a CM-2350 all crated up a few weeks ago at the International dealer in Flint MI. I asked the mechanic if it was the fuel pump, he asked, "How did you know"?

Get on the fuel pump.

Also, SnailExpress a few posts back mentioned your dirty coolant. Coolant should not be dirty, you may have a bigger issue than just dirty coolant. I would follow his advice and pressure test the coolant system, and the EGR Cooler. If you do not have the tools, any shop should be able to do this for you. It needs to be done overnight with the EGR Cooler. It is easy to do with the right equipment. If you are going to keep this truck, I would recommend looking into purchasing these diagnostic tools. I have a Stant kit, they make the same for Snap-On. I would also head over to Rawze.com and ask for an invite to join. You will need the information on that site for your motor. This is not your grandpa's truck.

 

Yes, they still have a coolant filter. If running Red ELC, a plain filter is needed. You do not want to use a charged filter with the ELC coolant.

 

Yes they do, in the same location you described.

 

Take heed to justtrucking2 advise oil slick, he has been spot on with input on my isx.
Except I cannot seem to part company with a dollar to purchase coolant fill equipment like he uses, but I do have an old block heater with a pump (bad heater core) which I hook up and circulate new coolant for about a day.

 

The guy that did my last coolant hose repair. He had a setup that clamped on the radiator like the cap does. He pulled vacuum then sucked all the coolant from pan back in to radiator. Took longer then 10 minutes. I wanna say something around 15 minutes.

I drive a 07 w900 with C15. We did a flush couple months ago. Took 14 gallons to fill her up. Since it's impossible to get ALL the water drained out. I'm gonna say the truck i drive probably has a 15 gallon capacity. Maybe 16. OP has isx. And anyone's guess if the radiator is the same size. So that's just a rough idea of how many gallons.

 

More than likely the AirLift setup like I have. Honestly, that thing is the BOMB! Honestly if you are changing your own coolant on one of these EPA motors you need one of those units, as it is what the manufacturer states is the only safe way to fill these new motors with coolant. To much going on internally vs the old motors many of us grew up with.

One thing I did do, was to install a brass test port fitting to facilitate quickly draining the system. I installed a male in the radiator, and then have the female fitting on a clear plastic hose with a shut off valve. That way I can drain my coolant into a more convenient 5 gallon bucket. I do most all of my own maintenance, so anything that will make my life easier I am going to do. Oh, when I drain the coolant, I pressurize the system using a Stant hand pump and the appropriate fitting at the coolant bottle. About 15 psi will push all of the coolant out of the system.

This is what the male fitting looks like that is installed where the radiator petcock valve would normally go. http://ph.parker.com/us/en/test-port-couplings-diagnostic-up-to-6000-psi-pd-series-nipples/bpd343y