Antifreeze- is any type OK?

[KenPauling]

I have a 3 year old New Holland TN65D diesel tractor. The hours are low(225) but I decided to change the antifreeze since its 3 years old. I drained out the green antifreeze and filled it up with a 50/50 mixture of Prestone antifreeze and distilled water. I read somewhere that I need something different or an additive package to help in my diesel. What goes? I have checked at every auto store, Walmart, and even a few tractor dealers and they don't have anything special. My New Holland dealer said the regular green Prestone is OK, the people from Prestone say I need their Heavy Duty Extended life Antifreeze for my tractor! Is this true? Who do I believe? I am ready to put the old green stuff back into my tractor! I need green heavy duty diesel antifreeze or what? This is really nuts! Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Ken

 

[Bird]

Ken, I think the problem is that there is an anti-cavitation antifreeze for wet sleeve diesel engines. I don't think you have to worry about it; plain old Prestone should be just fine. However, if you want that special antifreeze, you can get it at Tractor Supply Co. and undoubtedly some auto parts stores if they have it for the big diesel trucks.

 

[crashz]

Hi Ken,

Most likely the green antifreeze that you drained out is the standard stuff. "Heavy duty" may just imply a more robust additive package that retards cavitation and corrosion. Which if you are draining at only three years is going to be fine anyway. Long life coolants are often of a modified OAT technology (think Dexcool) that have been refined over the years to actually work pretty good. These are usually colored orange, red or a light yellow. You don't want to mix these with the standard old glycol antifreeze because gelling is a real problem. But you said it was green coolant, you should be safe.

Check with your owner's manual to match the specification on the collant with what you have used. 99% of the time you can go by the rule: green to green, orange to orange, etc.

 

[Soundguy]

Amazingly enough.. your CNH dealer sells the massive 4$ addative you need to add to your radiator fluid.. it is.. or was FW-15.. a cavitation/electrolysys add package.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Amazingly enough.. your CNH dealer sells the massive 4$ addative you need to add to your radiator fluid.. it is.. or was FW-15.. a cavitation/electrolysys add package.

soundguy

FRAM (the filter people) also market a concentrated additive for anti-cavitation/corrosion inhibitor that will treat 15 to 18 gallons of coolant for under $8. It's usually available at truck stops or GOOD full line auto/truck parts houses. I've used it for years with no ill effects.

NOTE: This is NOT an endorsement for FRAM filters in any shape or form.

 

[RalphVa]

Any more, I buy the antifreeze from the dealer for my car/pickup/tractor. They're formulated for their engines. They're a bit more expensive, but your engine is even more expensive.

Ralph

 

[3RRL]

Amazingly enough.. your CNH dealer sells the massive 4$ addative you need to add to your radiator fluid.. it is.. or was FW-15.. a cavitation/electrolysys add package.

soundguy

"Contains nitrate for superior wet sleeve liner cavitation protection" like Bird said.
TSC has a great price on the stuff.
I use Fleet Charge also. Here's another link.
Fleet Charge Antifreeze

 

[3RRL]

To add, I did a complete "radiator flush" before adding that stuff and also changed some hoses.
You'd be surprised what comes out from flushing. Just draining out the old and putting in the new makes the old stuff look good. But you want your water carrying passages to be clean for the best cooling (and heating) to occur.
Here's a link to a thread about it.
Kama Radiator Maintenance

 

[Soundguy]

The CNh addative also has the added benefit of an electrolysys addative, besides the anti cavitation.

You can get the cheap bottle and swizzle sticks right at the counter.

soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The CNh addative also has the added benefit of an electrolysys addative, besides the anti cavitation.

You can get the cheap bottle and swizzle sticks right at the counter.

soundguy

That's the same deal with the Fram product. Antifreeze, left in a diesel engine for prolonged periods of time tends to go acidic. The anti-electrolosys formula's balance the ph. Fram sends a packet of litmus strips with their "snake oil" to test coolant PH.

It's also a good idea on a high use wet sleeve diesel to install (if not OEM equipped) a coolant system filter. John Deere 400 series engines from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's were very susceptable to electrolosys, proned to cavitation, AND had "scaley castings" where rust particles would dislodge from the cooling passages. They would literally eat holes in the cylinder liners, at times in as few as a couple hundred hours of use.

 

[KenPauling]

Thanks for all the information. I sent my wife to Tractor Supply with a note to pick up a gallon of Heavy Duty precharged green antifreeze for diesel tractors. She gave the note to the Tractor Supply person and he gave her a gallon of "Travellers Universal antifreeze and coolant" The container says nothing about use in diesel tractors or precharged for initial use. It has no instructions about diluting or if its prediluted! I called up Tractor Supply and the person said they had no idea what precharged was or if this stuff was heavy duty! I am concerned that this "Travellers antifreeze" is not the right antifreeze for my diesel. Anybody ever use this brand?

 

[KenPauling]

Wait till you hear this! I asked a long time friend who sells used tractors and repairs them for the last 50 years about the correct antifreeze for my diesel. His reply was " any type" and you don't need to replace it. Just top it off if it gets low and you will be ok. The manufactures just want you to change antifreeze so they can sell more. He said he has never changed antifreeze in any of his tractors in 50 years! WOW!

 

[Oleozz]

Have a friend who has over 12,000 hrs on his wet-sleeved tractor, I asked him how often he's changed the antifreeze over the years and his answer, "Never".
As FWJ has mentioned the wet-sleeved tractors are noted for cavitation problems, it was a real headache for IH until they came out with the water filters.
Someone on another tractor site recommended cutting and grinding oil, several ounces in your radiator helps with corrosion and rust. I have it in both tractors and my Mule.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Wait till you hear this! I asked a long time friend who sells used tractors and repairs them for the last 50 years about the correct antifreeze for my diesel. His reply was " any type" and you don't need to replace it. Just top it off if it gets low and you will be ok. The manufactures just want you to change antifreeze so they can sell more. He said he has never changed antifreeze in any of his tractors in 50 years! WOW!

I'd make it a point to NEVER buy a tractor from this guy That's not the best advice I've heard today

Coolant can break down over time, loosing it's ability to withstand freezing temps. It can become acidic in time. Most new engines are NOT spotlessly clean inside the block casting. Dirt/rust/ect can dislodge over time (as the engine goes through heat/cool cycles) Coolant becomes contaminated. Those tiny bits of dirt and rust will erode metal on water pump impellors, insides of cylinder liners, and even clog radiators.


A combination of acidic coolant, dirt, and cavitation will literally eat holes in cylinder walls. I don't need to tell you what can go wrong when all the coolant suddenly has a way to dump into the oil pan.

I've bought several tractors over the years for pennies on the dollar of their full value because of wasted engines that were caused by lack of cooant system maintenance. The cylinder liners looked as if someone took a cutting torch and blasted tiny holes in them. One had LESS THAN 800 hours on the clock.

If a "tractor Jockey" buys and resells tractors strictly for a quick profit, generally they don't fix everything there is to fix to 100% levels. They fix what HAS to be fixed to get it turned around and off the lot. Would you go out to the nearest "Buy here Pay here" used car lot for advice on how to care for your new car that you plan on keeping for the next 10 years? Same applies to your tractor.

OR. Would you rather take a nickels worth of free advice from someone who's kept a tractor in excellent running order for 38 years?

 

[3RRL]

I'm with Farmwithjunk on this one.
That's why I flushed my radiator out ... to get rid of as much dirt, rust etc. that builds up on the inside walls of your cooling system. In the long run, being cleaned out like that has to allow the cooling system to perform better. Somehow it's got to have a positive effect on your engine life too.
For example, when I drained out the old coolant it looked perfect and I thought, "Why am I doing this, the old stuff looks great?" But when I flushed the system, look what came out. Just follow the instructions on the bottle.

 

[Bedlam]

Looks like fudge. lol how did you flush it. open the brain and run the garden hose in the radiator?

 

[Oleozz]

This has been a good thread. Probably the most overlooked part of the tractor but one of the most important. Thanks for the pics 3RRL, they sure do tell a story.

 

[3RRL]

Looks like fudge. lol how did you flush it. open the brain and run the garden hose in the radiator?

Yeah, it does look like fudge, huh?
You would never guess that stuff is in your system if you just drain and refill because the old anti-freeze that comes out looks so good! I used the procedure recommended on the bottle of flush.
First drain out the anti-freeze.
Fill with water and the bottle of flush.
Run the engine for at high rpm and 10 or 15 minutes AFTER it reaches operating temperature.
Then drain again.
Repeat the procedure by filling with water and draining until the water that comes out is clear.
Then fill with 50/50 mixture (wet sleeve) anti-freeze and distilled water for best results.
It is all spelled out in that thread link I posted above.

 

[Bedlam]

thanks , now I know lol

 

[crashz]

My 770 taught me the advantages of changing coolant out. My vehicles always have been fairly new, and I'm a stickler for maintenance on them, so I've never seen the dark side of coolant before.

The PO did not have the health to keep maintenance up to snuff, so by the time I bought it and got around to all the things it needed, the coolant looked a little mirky.

But whats worse is that I had to replace the thermostat and temp sensor because of it. Both were corroded and covered in whitish slime. I replaced the hoses as well since I was this far. I was surprised to see the amount of corrsosion on the aluminum parts such as the water pump housing. It was a little scary.