Disappearing Coolant

[in2trux]

Fleetpride sells a low profile 27 qt. waste oil caddy (made in USA) for about $125. I have two, one for oil, one for coolant.
Good investment considering coolant is what? $10-$11/ gallon? You can drain the entire system and keep it clean and uncontaminated.

[Rawze]

(04-09-2016 )DrivingZiggy Wrote:  ...
Then I made my big mistake. I had picked up a new coolant filter and told my nephew to change it out. Little did I know that it would drain the entire system!
...

The mistake was not closing the coolant filter shut-off valve. It has an arrow on it that points straight up when it is open (normal operation mode), and you turn the valve to the left 90 degrees (arrow to the left) to shut it off so you can change the filter without loosing any coolant.



Maybe this helps for next time.

Tags:

coolant filter, coolant shutoff, coolant filter change, coolant, filters, coolant system

[DrivingZiggy]

(04-10-2016 )Rawze Wrote:  The mistake was not closing the coolant filter shut-off valve. It has an arrow on it that points straight up when it is open (normal operation mode), and you turn the valve to the left 90 degrees (arrow to the left) to shut it off so you can change the filter without loosing any coolant.



Maybe this helps for next time.

Yup. I saw it and didn't know what it was. Once again I prove what a n00b I am!:anger::waaaht::bad_smile:

[DrivingZiggy]

Dang. Lost over a gallon in ~400 miles today. Still waiting for oil analysis.

[Rawze]

(04-13-2016 )DrivingZiggy Wrote:  Dang. Lost over a gallon in ~400 miles today. Still waiting for oil analysis.

That is very very bad!... Get a pressure test kit on it and find out where it went.

It could be that when you replaced the coolant filter, you did not properly clean the flange where the coolant filter gasket goes. they are notorious about getting dried crudded up coolant in the joint, and the new filter leaks like hell because the gasket got put on top of dried up crud!. -- Very common!.

Lazy mechanics at the oil change places are notorious for this and instead of removing the filter and cleaning the flange properly, they try to tighten the hell out of the filter instead,... sometimes causing even more problems!.

[DrivingZiggy]

Well, got the bad news this evening. I guess it was pretty alarming, because Ben at OPS called me to let me know that my oil had plenty of sodium and potassium in it. So I guess I'll be replacing the EGR cooler and the oil.

Speaking of oil, I've been running Delvac 1 5w40. Since I'm going to replace it, should I go with Delvac 1 5w30? Whatchathank?

[Wiseman]

(04-16-2016 )DrivingZiggy Wrote:  Well, got the bad news this evening. I guess it was pretty alarming, because Ben at OPS called me to let me know that my oil had plenty of sodium and potassium in it. So I guess I'll be replacing the EGR cooler and the oil.

Speaking of oil, I've been running Delvac 1 5w40. Since I'm going to replace it, should I go with Delvac 1 5w30? Whatchathank?

Well ...that's alarming for sure . I really don't have a lot of faith in this oil analysis out there , but hey, do we have anything better in our disposal?
Now the Mobil 1 question. I've never been fan of synthetic oil . Why ? Because I've never been a fan of extended oil change intervals (main purpose of synthetic in normally used engine) . Temperature stability and brake point superiority of synthetics doesn't apply if engine isn't abused (race engine for example). Soot is soot . It doesn't disappear magically into the oil , it doesn't matter detergents or what ever is added into. To me always is been good conventional oil with highest possible amount of zinc, good filtration and oil change between 12k-15k ml . So far my cm870 is "black belt" with 1.1 million miles and performs as new if not better (currently "grounded". I refuse to haul cheap loads ). The first digits are in relation to ambient temperature at cold start. So choose the right number according to whatever is the average temperature and that's it . Once engine get to normal operating temperature and everything function normally enjoy the ride and monitor your gauges. Engines like to be pampered and pushed ! NOT ABUSED ! What I mean is : warm it up at least to 160-165 *F and drive easy till gets where it should be , then you can push it to the limit. Before shutting it down let the oil temperature go below 198*F . By then turbo and exhaust manifold will be sufficiently cool for shutdown.

[Waterloo]

(04-16-2016 )DrivingZiggy Wrote:  Well, got the bad news this evening. I guess it was pretty alarming, because Ben at OPS called me to let me know that my oil had plenty of sodium and potassium in it. So I guess I'll be replacing the EGR cooler and the oil.

Speaking of oil, I've been running Delvac 1 5w40. Since I'm going to replace it, should I go with Delvac 1 5w30? Whatchathank?

I'll chime in on the oil, after doing some digging into the many oils out there, I found two that I would use. Shell Rotella T and Chevron Delo 400LE. Delo has the highest ppm in the stuff our engines need, zinc, moly, etc... Rotella runs second. I supplement with a gallon of Sta-Lube gear oil found here. http://www.amazon.com/Sta-Lube-SL24239-G...s=sta+lube

Rawze has been experimenting with a Walmart purchased gear lube but I cannot recall the name. The lube is used to thicken the oil a bit and boost the additives already found in our motor oil. He broke it down on how much to use per oil change by the mileage on your truck. Found Rawze's post... It is all found in Rawze's "Why he does not use Lucas" first post http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=109

Hope this helps!

[DrivingZiggy]

My pressure testing kit should be arriving soon and I'll verify it's the cooler. Looks like it'll be a cool grand just for the part. I'll have to see if it's a job I think I can handle or if I'll have to bring it to a mechanic.

As far as the oil, I use synthetic with the OPS-1 EcoPur bypass filter. The only reason I'm changing it is because it's now contaminated with sodium and potassium. I like Mobil products and use them in the Z28 and now in the big truck. So my question about the weights was because it's easier to find 5w30 than 5w40. But it will be Delvac 1 either way. I live in Louisiana and hardly ever leave the state any more, so I don't really need to worry about cold temperatures.