Antifreeze life

[KenPauling]

I have a 2003 TN65D tractor with only 220 hours on it. The antifreeze looks good but should I change it this winter? Its kept inside and has not seen severe operating conditions. I know that time and hours of operation are factors in antifreeze life. How often do you change the stuff? I'm interested in the opinons and actual practices of other New Holland tractor owners. Thanks! PS yes, I have a manual and I have read it. Ken

 

[Typhoon]

You may get different answers here. Personally, I flush my radiator once every 2 years. I also take my radiator cap off fairly often and just look inside to make sure the coolant is nice and green, not a lot of debris, etc. I use a 50/50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze. It is really easy to do on my tractor, I can flush and refill in about 30 mins. Hope this helps some..
-Brad

 

[HickoryNut]

Several mfg's(Accustrip, Detroit Diesel, Fleetguard, Cummins, Cat) make test strips to test for freeze, corrosion, and cavitation protection. In most diesels using green coolant, after 4 years you'll find your pH to be between 5-6, burn your skin acidic. Read up on the affects of cavitation resulting from neglected coolant in diesels and you'll be flushing it out tomorrow.

 

[KEROSENEDRVR]

What is the procedure for flushing? Is there a special fitting that goes somewhere to allow a garden hose to hook into the system to flush, of so where is the best place? Can this damage the thermostat or any other systems? I've never done mine, about 4 years old, and would like to do it properly. The book makes no mention of this.

 

[3RRL]

Although not NH specific, I did flush mine after about 400 hours. Just draining out the old antifreeze and putting in new is not necessarily and indication of what your radiator or water passages are like. Here's a thread on how I did mine. It might give you some ideas for your NH.
Radiator Maintenance and Flushing

 

[HickoryNut]

The idea in 3RRL's thread about putting a furnace filter in front of your radiator is MONEY. Blowing out the fins has always been a time-consuming, nasty, and knuckle-scaping maintenance task. I will give that a try.

I "think", from what I've read, green coolant is the ethylene glychol (2 year) stuff, pink or orange is the extended life propylene glychol (5 year) stuff? Some people claim the x-life coolant will shrink o-rings and gaskets. I know for a fact in working on my MIL's car that in 7 years it turns to Jell-O. I'm staying old school with green and changing it more often myself.

Concerning "flushing" fittings, go to the hardware store and concoct various PVC fittings to convert a 3/4" male threaded(garden hose) to various 3/4-2" male IC fittings to fit heater and various size radiator hoses. Always flush backwards, meaning connect your hose to the lower radiator hose. I usually flush radiator, engine, and heater core separately. Rather than removing block drain plugs to get remaining tap water out, I hook a well cleaned Shopvac to a radiator hose and blow most of the water out.

 

[mjcbluridg]

IMHO, a cooling system flush and refill with fresh coolant is an outstanding investment in your tractor, with returns paid in reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, and increased longevity. It is a minor chore, but a lot easier than replacing a water pump or radiator.

NH recommends doing it every year on my TC34 which I think is excessive (based on my relatively low usage rate). I have chosen to do it every other year and just completed doing so last weekend. The coolant that came out looked perfect - just the way you want it. As far as flushing, the NH manual's procedure pretty well mimics the typical "old time" automotive technique. Drain the radiator and block, flush with a hose until clean, run engine while flushing, (stop engine) drain all water possible, and refill.

I prefer to use the "old" green coolant formulation (Zerex in particular). It works great as long as you mix it with low-hardness water (very important).

 

[D7E]

Several mfg's(Accustrip, Detroit Diesel, Fleetguard, Cummins, Cat) make test strips to test for freeze, corrosion, and cavitation protection. In most diesels using green coolant, after 4 years you'll find your pH to be between 5-6, burn your skin acidic. Read up on the affects of cavitation resulting from neglected coolant in diesels and you'll be flushing it out tomorrow.

I worked for ford nh as a fitter in the 90's and it was all about water filters and "brand name coolant" and trying to redeem the "porous blocks" hype and generally "over flushing" had no effect ,I have had over 40 ford tractors of the ??00 and ??10 generations that were known for cavitation and i had 2 pourous ,I have 300hp tractors that are 20 years old that have had antifreze changed maybe twice in their life and are doing 10-15000 hours with as little as main bearings and piston/sleeves rebuilt (CUMMINS) It is money spending hype.......?

 

[Skyco]

When time comes to do my BX24 I plan to use the same coolant I use in my diesel pickup- Fleet Charge from TSC and, I imagine, other places. This coolant is specially formulated for diesels with the SCA (supplemental coolant additive) already in it. The SCA is required in many diesels to prevent cavitation damage but it certainly won't harm anything if your particular diesel doesn't require it. Oh- and it is a unique purple color

 

[henryjacobjosh]

Keep coolant changes on your maintenance schedule. I had my dealer show me parts which were pitted due to old antifreeze. Even though it looks good, it does break down chemically and losses it structure. I have to admit that I do not change faithfully every season but I do not let it go for years with just checking levels.