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rossboyer

Coolant

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On the way home from the FMCA Gillette Convention, one of the hoses chaffed and leaked coolant. Limped into Davenport, Iowa Truck Country Freightliner, Caterpillar couldn’t get me in for two weeks. Within 2 hours problem diagnosed and started replacement. Specifically, I stated I wanted ELC coolant. When I got home about 400 miles travel, I found that they had put in 6 gallons of 50/50 SCA coolant. Called and they wanted me to bring it back to be flushed and filled with correct coolant. Stoops Freightliner is 5 miles from home and Truck Country and Stoops are now one company. So today, I am sitting in Stoops Customer Lounge waiting for flush and refill. They have 6 gallons of Cat 119-5150 concentrate ELC coolant. I brought 10 gallons of distilled water to complete the fill. Should only need less than 5 gallons of distilled water. Hopefully, Stoops will do it correctly. 

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Here is another similar. Friends with older and last Safari/Beaver coach, lost an engine in Springfield, Missouri. Good Sam replaced it complete with NEW engine under extended warranty. DAT shop installed green, at least low silicate anti freeze. Said later that ELC was not covered and no one said anything till after it was done. On the way out of Denver heading up the Genesee I 70 pass they blew an old heater hose as it entered the cargo compartment. Half of the coolant went inside and half outside. Fortunately he caught it on the Silverleaf and apparently did not over heat the new engine. Due to the location, on the side of the road, headed up hill and not being able to do a flush we had to put the same coolant back in it. I eliminated the heater section and ran a hose from the regulator block down to the return below the engine. From the time he called me,   diagnosed the problem, had all materials and parts and back together, then headed WEST again was about 4 hours. He had lost 7 gallons of coolant, lucky guy. He will change coolant when he gets home to California I suspect. In addition he had called a recommended tech located 40 plus miles away in Loveland before calling me and mid-day on a Saturday afternoon, a holiday to boot. I wonder what that bill would have looked like? 

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Stoops Freightliner (a division of Truck Country) did service the cooling system. The tech immediately began to remove lower radiator hose. The low point drain is 6 to 8 inches above the bottom of the radiator. Service Manager stated that even the big rig Freightliners have the same problem. Did take about 6 hours, because Cat no longer has ELC concentrate available, only 50/50 ELC. They had to go to Cat in Indianapolis about 90 miles round trip to get another 6 gallons to go with the 6 gallons they had on the shelf. Only used 10 gallons. I think the capacity is 38-39 quarts, so I think they did well and responded to the error of their parent company, Truck Country. Have not driven far enough to check temp to see if I got radiator cleaned well enough. 

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We will be going to a chapter rally next week. About 60 miles one way with about 40 on interstate where I can run speed limit of 70 mph. Should be enough to get hot or not.  Then the next week I am going to Elkhart about 150 miles one way. Need to replace Atwood jack system with HWH at $6,520. Early October new tires $4,200. Who said it was cheaper to go camping?

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The Caterpillar C7, like the Cummins B engine is a parent bore engine/no cylinder liners, so harm from incorrect cooling eroding the cylinder liners is NOT a  problem.  Sure, you do need the correct coolant to protect the metal of the engine and cooling system, but that is more of a long-term issue.

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1 hour ago, manholt said:

Brett.  Is there liners on the CAT 350, 2005?  Linda's.

That should be the Caterpillar C 7. Still a parent bore engine/no cylinder liners.

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