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DeanC
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Member # 20138
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Reged: 03/01/02
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Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#755244 - 05/31/02 09:39 PM
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After several hours of searching and reading posts on this site, and doing web searches, I give up. I have to ask yet another coolant question...
I decided to go with Fleetrite and picked up some today from the International dealer. Problem is, I cannot find ANY information on the label that indicates what, if any, SCA is included. The dealer where I bought it could not produce any data showing what was in it either. Also, the Navistar site has no information.
Here is the only useful info I could find on the label. The coolant is green (I looked):
* "Premium Antifreeze/Coolant"
* Part No. ZJJ996723A
* Ethylene glycol
* Low Silicate
* Equivalent to GM6038M
* "... with chemical inhibitors for protection against rust and
corrosion..." (this doesn't appear to address cavitation)
Can anyone confirm what this part number contains? And more importantly, how do you find out what it contains. I only have a couple of test strips left, and I hate to waste one trying to figure out which coolant I have. (Not to mention that if it has the non-DCA4, my strips won't work anyway.) Is there ANY printed data anywhere - at the dealer or on the web - that confirms the contents?
After reading dozens of posts from the past couple of years on this site, this coolant issue has got to be one of the most confusing things about a basic maintenance item on these trucks. And unfortunately, one of the most important things to maintain. Even the FAQ on this site, as helpful as it is, could use some improvement.
Thanks!
Dean
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SmokeyWren
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Loc: Midland County,TX, USA
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Re: Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#755290 - 05/31/02 10:33 PM
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My International dealer stocks only the plain ole Fleetrite. No SCAs added. No water added. Just plain ole antifreeze, but low-silicate suitable for a diesel engine.
That sounds like the same variety of Fleetrite that you have. If it was pre-charged with DCA4 or some other SCA, it would say so on the label. If it was pre-mixed with water it would say so on the label.
That's exactly the antifreeze I'll use for my next coolant change. 3 or 4 pints of FW-16 plus 4 gallons of that Fleetrite antifreeze and top it of with distilled or RO water.
Being anal about coolant, I'll probably mix up one gallon of the Fleetrite with one gallon of water, then test it with a test strip before I pour everything into the cooling system. Just to be certain the "factory" didn't put some sort of SCA in the bottle with the antifreeze.  Then assuming my test proves the antifreeze does not contain any SCAs, I'll pour in the 3 or 4 pints of FW-16, 3 gallons of antifreeze, two gallons of mixed coolant used for the test, then top off with distilled or RO water.
[Ford says use 4 pints of FW-16 which should result in about 2.4 SCA units per gallon. That's too close to the max for me, so I'll probably pour in only 3 pints (which should result in 1.8 SCA units per gallon) then check the concentration every oil change, and add another pint when the reading gets down to 1.5 or less.]
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DeanC
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Member
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Re: Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#755465 - 06/01/02 07:30 AM
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SmokeyWren,
Sounds reasonable. It would still be nice if they just had a simple list of specs/additives on the jug. What made me most concerned was the GM spec reference with no Ford reference. My other concern is that if they used the wrong additive, that my test strips might not show any response when there really was additive in the jug - the wrong kind at that. If that were the case (wrong additive in the coolant), would the DCA4 3-way strips show anything at all?
I noticed from your previous posts (which were very informative, by the way), that you once recommended 4 gal + 1 quart coolant. I assumed you changed to 4 gal due to convenience and the mix being close enough to 50/50. Is this a correct assumption, or was there another reason?
Thanks for the response. I had this scheduled for today and it looks like I can go ahead.
Dean
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SmokeyWren
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Administrator
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Re: Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#755626 - 06/01/02 02:46 PM
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In reply to:
If that were the case (wrong additive in the coolant), would the DCA4 3-way strips show anything at all?
Yeah, the "wrong" additive still contains nitrite/nitrate, so that would show up on the nitrite test on the Fleetguard 3-way test strips. But I wouldn't use that as the final word on the SCA concentration of the Pencool additive. If some nitrite but zero molybdate shows on the 3-way test strips, then I'd go to NAPA and buy some of their test strips and test the coolant with them. If the SCA is Pencool (and not mixed with DCA4 in your cooling system), then the NAPA test strips should give you a good reading of the SCA concentration. In reply to:
I noticed from your previous posts (which were very informative, by the way), that you once recommended 4 gal + 1 quart coolant. I assumed you changed to 4 gal due to convenience and the mix being close enough to 50/50. Is this a correct assumption, or was there another reason?
Bob Riley has pretty much proven that our cooling systems hold less than the Ford specs. So I think 4 gallons will give you more than a 50/50 mix. Which is fine as long as you don't get over about a 65/35 mix of antifreeze/water. If the system holds a hair over 7 gallons as Bob thinks, then that would be a 57/43 mix, which would be fine and dandy for almost everybody south of the Canadian border.
After it's done, the Fleetguard 3-way test strip should show somewhere between -30 and -60 degrees on the glycol/freezepoint test.
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dzl wannabe
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Member # 7181
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Loc: paradise, ca usa
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Re: Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#756308 - 06/02/02 09:01 PM
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Pre-mix, then add to radiator. Some time ago, in auto supply, looked @ coolant, (major brand) ford spec. was listed.
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SmokeyWren
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Administrator
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Loc: Midland County,TX, USA
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Re: Fleetrite coolant - need confirmed part no.
#756479 - 06/03/02 12:21 AM
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In reply to:
Pre-mix, then add to radiator.
Not a good idea. After you flush a couple of times with water, then drain it all out, there will be a little over a gallon of water left in the system that you can't drain out. If you premix your coolant, you'll wind up with about a gallon too little of antifreeze. Less than a 50/50 mixture. Not good.
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