D2 Coolant

why not antifreeze that has anti corrosion additives in it??

Does soluble oil ever quit being soluble? I would be afraid of it making sludge at some point, but have no experience with it.

I would stick with antifreeze/coolant. Granted, filling even a D2 isn't cheap these days.

Soluble oil was marketed primarily as a old time water pump lubricant with some corrosion control ability but never as an antifreeze or wetting additive that I can recall.

-4C ~ 25F.

I would think a gallon of antifreeze and a can or two of "Mac's #13" (for its lube properties) would be a cheaper, okay, solution.

Daron

If cost is the issue you can sometimes go to a wrecking yard or even a car repair place and they have waste coolant that they would posibly be glad to let you have as they normaly have to pay to dispose of it , you can get a cheap tester and almost any antifreeze would work with the iron block in your d2. otherwise just a basic glycol based antifreeze from your tractor repair place or car parts place..better than plain water and maybe oil or kero that people used to use back in the day...

Hi Team,
was asked about the soluble oil as a coolant additive last week. I used it in my 2 Ton, RD6, the boss's 2 Ton, Thirty, D4 and D337 when I restored them as I feel it is better in old cooling systems for long term minimum usage.
The new stuff tends to make leaks in old systems--down under where I live we do not usually have to worry about antifreeze so your views and needs will vary.
Also the new stuff, I believe, is suitable for pressurised systems and not recommended for open or atmospheric cooling systems--2Ton, Thirty, etc. for example.

Scans below are of a can of Cat Rust Inhibitor (Soluble Oil) Additive of the day.

I am not sure either if it has any anti-freeze capabilities but some diluted in water and put in the freezer would soon tell.

You can overdose with it and get oily-sludgy residue that could clog the system--I usually err on the side of less is better.

Back when I was an Apprentice, in the days of this stuff, I used to get to clean out clogged systems that were overdosed.
Can be a softening agent on low quality hoses when overdosed.

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

G,Day Riverina D2.
I have been using soluble oil in all my old tractors and engines for many years and I believe it is a cost effective anti corrosion additive.
I was interested to see Edd,s post as this echos my experience with this product .ie: a great anti corrosion additive and also a water pump seal lubricant also systems dosed with soluble oil do not tend to break out in leaks. Other advantages I have found is that if a system does have a leak there is no ugly stain left behind also if coolant does leak out while a tractor is parked the coolant leaves a coating on interior components preventing rust until the system is refilled.
Although I cannot really comment on the anti freeze property's of soluble oil I feel you would be ok if the tractor is under shelter and sub zero temps were not encounter all day long..
For the benefit of our fellow enthusiast in the good,ol USA a 20 liter of coolant costs around $ 120 . here. around the same as a 20 liter of soluble oil. My Kenworth truck engine requires 4 of these . Thats around $500 to replace the coolant !!!!!. That is ok as the Kenworth is what earns my money but my old tractors do not earn money and it would cost many thousands of dollars to fill them all with the proper coolant. At half a litre to a small tractor or 1 litre to a D8 engine a 20 litre drum of soluble oil goes a long way at a reasonable cost.
Riverina D2 goin by your user name are you along the Murray some where??
Hope this helps and some photos of your D2 would be good..
Andrew..K...

Just looking through some old threads and came across this discussion, Andrew, what brand and type of soluble oil do you use, I've recently tried a small quantity of it in a couple of old tractors following Eddies suggestion and noticed it only took less than half a cup to change the cooling water a milky colour but I see in Eddies photo's of the proper Cat bottle it shows 1 pint of oil per 6 gallons of water as the recomended dose, I was going to buy some next week from the local bearing shop and assumed it was machining oil I was looking for.
Thanks
Mike