Change Anti-Freeze Yearly?

[Doc_Bob]

I thought it supposed to be a antifreeze for Diesel engines, not just regualr antifreeze

Cripes! Glad you mentioned it. I checked the container and it does not say diesel engine. Just any car or light truck engine.

Hmmmm, maybe I have just done a 40 hour flush????
Bob

 

[Turbys_1700]

So, what antifreeze do folks use? I am using the prestone yellow. Works in all engines.
Bob

That's what I use, the gold colored stuff.

On my old 92 F250 cavitation issues required the use of additives to prevent it. Some of those old 7.3 idi's did cavitate. I don't think that's an issue on these compact diesels.

As a side note my 03 F350 has gold colored anti-freeze. Supposed to change it out at 100K miles.

Personally I think yearly changes are over kill. I'll probably change it out at my 300 hour service since I've got the other stuff to do. Tests our really good now anyway. Tractor was really taken great care of by the previous owner.

 

[InlineDieselFan]

Antifreeze has "chemicals" that are "consumed" and probably don't show up as consumed with your freezing point/boiling point test.
Bob

Now I find out.

Guess I will have to start an every other year change cycle.

thanks for the bad news,

steve

 

[MikePA]

If theres a good reason (other than to sell antifreeze or get work for the shop)...

Since there's no guarantee people would buy the antifreeeze from the dealer nor have the dealer do the work, this is not why changing antifreeze every 2 years is recommended. It's recommended because the additives in antifreeze that make it effective, e.g., lubricate the water pump, wear out over time.

 

[Daryl]

I have some antifreeze that is maybe 8-10 yrs old. It is still in the jug. Does it go bad or is it still good?

 

[jinman]

I have some antifreeze that is maybe 8-10 yrs old. It is still in the jug. Does it go bad or is it still good?

Daryl, I'd bet it is still good, almost as good as new. If you do a google search about permanent antifreeze, you'll find that ethylene glycol based antifreezes called "permanent" are intended to have an in-service life of about 5 years or 100,000 miles. That equates to about 5 years or 2000 hours in a tractor. In your case, your antifreeze has seen no use nor temperature variations. Ethylene glycol is very stable and that's just one of the problems with disposal. If it's poured down the drain, even sewage treatment plants won't decompose it. It can appear in public water supplies. That's one of the reasons that disposal is controlled so vigorously.

Please don't take my word for this. Do a search and come to your own conclusions.

 

[DieselMonk]

Cripes! Glad you mentioned it. I checked the container and it does not say diesel engine. Just any car or light truck engine.

Hmmmm, maybe I have just done a 40 hour flush????
Bob

Maybe... here is something else to think about tho: There is a reply in this thread about cavitation wet / dry cilynder sleeves.

My TC55DA doesn't have sleeves. Not sure about the smaller tractors, but it would kinda surprise me if there is a sleeve in those. For sure the bigger tractors have sleeves. Had a 203 Perkins and that had some. Anyway... what I wanna now is what is the difference between Diesel and regular antifreeze? I would see the benefit for sleeved Diesels, but for a not sleeved one doesnt really to me. I have a VW TDI and that has some pink antifreeze in it... no special diesel antifreeze.

 

[MikePA]

I have some antifreeze that is maybe 8-10 yrs old. It is still in the jug. Does it go bad or is it still good?

Just to clarify, the additives get 'used up' when the antfreeze is used, not when it's sitting in the jug.

 

[mjcbluridg]

The primary reason for frequent antifreeze changes is due to loss of effectiveness of the corrosion inhibitor package. The glycol doesn't change, so you won't notice a significant increase in the freezing temperature over time. I would think that the cost of a new radiator (usually the first victim of corrosion) would buy a lot of antifreeze. Also, deposits that collect in the cooling passages of the engine reduce the engine's ability to transfer heat to the coolant. The longer they sit there, the larger and more permanent they become - another reason for frequent coolant changes. Deposits also are "hot spots" for localized corrosion. A couple of other notes: use the purest water you can for diluting the coolant - softened at a minimum, distilled or reverse osmosis treated is better. The "old" green coolant (which is getting harder to find) is great stuff if you use water that is not hard. The reason the other color stuff was created was to "globalize" the product to tolerate the use of hard water in other parts of the world. Hard water and the anti-corrosion and anti-scaling package in the green stuff causes excessive precipitants to form (bad). As far as "permanent" coolants go, do a little research on General Motor's permanent coolant (Dexcool, I think). It ruined a lot of motors in a very short period of time, GM insisted it wasn't the coolant's fault, but eventually discontinued its use. Also, can't imagine that there is a difference between coolants for the ordinary diesel engine versus a gasoline one. Hope my 2 cents worth was useful (Chem Engineers are odd people, you know).

 

[Soundguy]

So, what antifreeze do folks use? I am using the prestone yellow. Works in all engines.
Bob

CNH sells a antifreeze addative called FW-15 to add to 'regular' antifreeze to prevent cavitation and electrolysis.

Soundguy