Coolant Alternatives?

I think if it was me and you don,t ever get below freezing is first drain the system and then install a flush to clean out the system and then drain and flush with clean water for a little bit before inatalling new water. Also at this time get a good rust inhibitor and install and it should be good then. Cat has some good additives if you desire to go there for the supplies. Another thing is if the coolant temperature has been lower than normal I,d install a new thrmostat at this time while the coolant is out of it. Cat also has an additive for cavatation.I have seen that cause real problems esp. with the outside liner walls.

SJ, what is "cavitation"? Rusting? I might not be the only one who doesn't know the term. GWH

GWh, it,s kind of hard to really explain it but is caused by electrical current flow and when you see liners and prechambers with holes eat in them that is erosion- cavatation.I seen it so much on OTR truck engines when they came in.It says in the special Cat coolant book that air bubbles form on the outside of the liners and explode and in time eats away at the liner surface. If you send me a PM with your mailing address I,ll make a copy of a couple pages of the cavatation and send it to you.

Electrolysis is usually the result of two different metals in contact with the electrolyte (coolant in this case) The manufacturers have finally gotten pretty good at stopping the corrosion of aluminum parts on an iron engine, but let your coolant degrade and you will see the result of electrolysis.

Cavitation is caused by shock waves in the coolant surrounding each cylinder liner. As a power stroke occurrs, the liner moves slightly and small bubbles form and then disappear again right next to the liner surface. Over time these wear holes that look like termites have eaten into the sleeve. The same effect occurs on the trailing edge of pump impellers if the pump is lifting too high for the volume of fluid it's moving. On a pump it sound like rocks are going through the pump when it's cavitating badly.

Electrolysis is usually the result of two different metals in contact with the electrolyte (coolant in this case) The manufacturers have finally gotten pretty good at stopping the corrosion of aluminum parts on an iron engine, but let your coolant degrade and you will see the result of electrolysis.

Cavitation is caused by shock waves in the coolant surrounding each cylinder liner. As a power stroke occurrs, the liner moves slightly and small bubbles form and then disappear again right next to the liner surface. Over time these wear holes that look like termites have eaten into the sleeve. The same effect occurs on the trailing edge of pump impellers if the pump is lifting too high for the volume of fluid it's moving. On a pump it sound like rocks are going through the pump when it's cavitating badly.

Carl; Last summer while in the middle of my pond project I lost the packing seal on my d7 3t .
After a quick fix and not wanting to fill and maintain a 50/50 mix . Some of my weekend help said that while out west they had used machining coolant as a sub. for antifreeze
That to me made sence, because the water based oil has the additives for lubracating and rust control.
And I had a 55 gal barrel of mix handy (7to1 mix) so 2gal of raw coolant to 14 gal of water ,system holds 17 gallon so! I did it.
Not one problem after that. I must say pouring in a white milky looking fuild did seem odd.
But knowing that a complete rebuild that fall was a level of comfort in doing this. Mix ratio is important as is PH level.
Wonder if this is what the CAT manual is refering to. Brad,

Cavitation is caused by anything that creates the formation and collapse of air pockets/bubbles against a hard surface whether it's due to temperature & vibration (cylinder liners) or the lowering of vapor pressure (pump impellers).
It is the continuous collapsing (quite violent) of the formed pockets that erodes the metal surfaces. The coolant additives that prevent this from occurring are wetting agents that work to keep the coolant film in contact with the metals.

Carl.
If you want to use soluble oil, check the McMaster Carr catalog. I think you'll find anti-freeze is a lot cheaper. . plus some of the soluble oils can soften some seal and rubber materials.

Hey All, just to clarify, I was referring to to my Cats and other antique iron, not modern trucks and equipment.

I have almost 10 old cooling systems to fill up, and the JD alone holds 14 gallons!!

CS