Is a Coolant Change Required

Radar78

Active VIP Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Messages
479
Reaction score
1,007
Location
Dundurn, Sask. Canada
Last February I had a coolant leak on my ‘16 M8000 LTD that turned out to be a faulty rad cap. The lodge I was at in Wyoming is roughly a 20 mile trail ride out so I just topped it off with the generic anti-freeze they had there for sale (see pic). It ended up taking roughly 1.5 litres of this coolant mixed 50/50 with some bottled water that we had. My question is, do you think I should swap it out and put fresh A/C coolant back in? Or will it be fine the way it is? I’m worried cause I don’t see anywhere on the jug that it’s safe for aluminum engines. But it does say safe for all makes and models so it should be? Also should I check it to make sure it’s good as far as mixture? Thanks for any advice.
a59197dd6b84208034cb066d04d4dc02.jpg
 

Dawizman

Active VIP Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
2,821
Reaction score
9,991
Location
Cold Lake, AB
I'm running the same coolant in my 15 for a similar reason. Sled needed 1.5 litres of water on a trip last spring. Did a partial drain when i got home (tipped it over in to a drain pan and got ~1 litre out) and topped it up with that same coolant that I had kicking around from my rm250 rebuild. No issues so far.
 

sirkdev

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
3,100
Reaction score
4,927
Location
Stony Plain
Just for kicks... you can switch out ethylene glycol for OAT at up to 75% of system capacity. (25% old coolant left) for a vehicle you plan on keeping its a good plan. My delvac OAT is good for 10 years or million miles so the bottle says.
 

mountianguy

Active VIP Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Messages
555
Reaction score
651
Location
stony plain
Just for kicks... you can switch out ethylene glycol for OAT at up to 75% of system capacity. (25% old coolant left) for a vehicle you plan on keeping its a good plan. My delvac OAT is good for 10 years or million miles so the bottle says.
I am not sure how that will work out. Head gaskets have failed when using the E/G in a OAT application (large diesel engines, i don't have a lot of experience with automotive application) As far as the 10 year thing it probably is good for that but you will most likely need to check it after 4 or 5 years and each year after that. You will have to read the fine print on that one as usually there is some required testing to ensure quality. The dealership would be able to better answer this question as they see way more than I do. If you know a tech there or the service manager you should get a straight answer.
 

sirkdev

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
3,100
Reaction score
4,927
Location
Stony Plain
Agreed I would never switch an OAT engine to EG but OAT is vastly superior in every way compared to EG and there should be no issues switching an EG engine to OAT. I always test mine anyways..


I am not sure how that will work out. Head gaskets have failed when using the E/G in a OAT application (large diesel engines, i don't have a lot of experience with automotive application) As far as the 10 year thing it probably is good for that but you will most likely need to check it after 4 or 5 years and each year after that. You will have to read the fine print on that one as usually there is some required testing to ensure quality. The dealership would be able to better answer this question as they see way more than I do. If you know a tech there or the service manager you should get a straight answer.
 
Top Bottom