Paul hope I don’t sound to condescending, but I was taught by several very thorough instructors just like you. They were like you, very funny, great at their knowledge, awesome people and very strict about they way they taught and guided their students. They instilled a lot of ethics, inspiration, confidence, knowledge, experience and laughing / crying on the floor shop humor you’ve ever heard. They also welcomed anyone who might know proper terminology / nomenclature or proper procedure or even just a story about their uncle that showed them a better repair or repair practice to a job being completed. So, by all means Paul do more funny mistakes or story’s about goof ups on different jobs you’ve done over the years. Your a good teacher and inspiration to a lot of techs like me who watch your videos to help us fix a vehicle better, faster and correctly doing so will make us last in this industry of auto / diesel vehicle repair. Your scanning and electrical diag just today helped me pin point a circuit failure today in fact. I was stressing about this issue and I sat down to smoke a cig and remembered one of your case studies on loaded circuit voltage testing. I immediately dropped my cig and went to the truck. I did what I saw you do and no BS found the problem within 15 mins of crawling all over that ISX15 engine bay. It turned out to be a wire that most of the strands broke due to high current and the wire just couldn’t flow the current any longer so a intermittent, incorrect or erratic fault was logged. I’d been T/S the fault all day and it was 2:30 with no more SRT (standard repair time) was available on this job, I was stressing about efficiency and your case study saved the day.
SCA is added to the coolant on wet sleeve style diesels to prevent cavitation erosion of the cylinder liners. Generally the best bet is standard premix ELC type coolant (orange if you buy the Fleetguard stuff), no water needed as it is already in proper ratio. Donaldson makes a coolant filter for that engine that contains SCA in pellet form for continual absorbtion into the cooling system. Best practice is to use a coolant test strip annually to ensure that the SCA is in proper concentration, change the filter every 1000 hours.
Paul, very informative video. I didn't realize how picky Cummins Diesel supposed to have specific requirements. I just thought green 50% mixed would be enough for any engine, gas or diesel. But I'm glad I got educated in this one. Thanks for showing this! Appreciate it, brother!
2nd, the coolant filter and filter head valve are there for a number of reasons but aren’t always installed when an RV is built. The valve serves 2 purposes, one is to aid in the least coolant loss / air injection during a filter change. 2nd the valve is there to isolate the filter for removal to install a coolant filter head adaptor for flushing the cooling system which is no longer sold as newer ways and use of chemicals to aid flushing the cooling system. Back in the day you could install this adaptor (a die cast with a garden hose inlet and outlet) for flushing the cooling system As the engine was set to a (high idle / PTO) the tech could get the engine to operating temp, allow the engine thermostat to open 3-5 times and then slowly turn on the coolant filter valve to allow fresh cool water to enter the cooling system while old coolant / debris can exit. That took about 3-5 times to completely clean the cooling system. Now-A-Days, we just drain the coolant, add the appropriate amount of fleetguard restore to the radiator and top it off with fresh clean water and operate the engine to normal temp and let the thermostat open 3-5 times and then drain the mixture and flush once with one bottle of cascade dish washing soap to clean out any residual water / restore from the system and then flush the system until all soap is removed and drain the system then fill with a 50/50 mix of fleetguard compleat engine coolant.
One must remember that the engine in this vehicle was designed to be used in a heavy duty application! Basically trucking, and heavy equipment! It's design was to make maintenance cheaper, and easier (translated to mean less labor time)! The coolant used is basically the same thing that you use in your car! You already ready know that green anti-freeze, orange anti-freeze, and yellow anti-freeze exists!! But what is the difference? To make it simple, use the color match, to help you!! But in commercial maintenance, there even more products available, so the ASTM number help guide you. Very much like working on cars, and the manual says us GM PART #xxxx sealant on something, and you know the you already use blue glue, or black glue, you won't go to GM for the part # they specify!! Then comes the total cost ordeal!! If you follow the recommended change interval, you could change coolant every two weeks, in an over the road truck application!! So, in stead of removing and replacing the entire liquid coolant volume, they replace the additive pkg within the coolant, based upon a chemical dip stick test! Changing the entire volume of 15 gal of coolant would cost extreme amounts of time, and money!! They would have to keep vast amounts of product on hand, and the time involved would rack up some serious hours, to the techs!! So, to make it simple, cheaper, more cost effective, and need less space to store material, they just change the additive package. And the filter manufacturers make that even easier, by adding amounts of the additive package to the filter, so it almost constantly has a manner to be added to! You would just take a dipper out of a bottle and dipped it in the coolant, and then matched the color to the sample chart on the bottle! Then you would add an additive amount to match what the test strip claimed that was needed!! The appropriate filter is the filter, just differing amounts of additive!! So, you know that the job of the coolant is pretty much like water!! But, things like corrosion inhibitors, for the dissimilar metals in the system, to prevent rust and corrosion. Lubricants, to help keep the water pump lubricated!!foam inhibitors, to prevent the buildup of foam in the coolant! You know that foam will not remove heat, and has a tendency to displace a liquid volume, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the coolant! It also has a preservative that's helps keep the rubber in the hoses pliable and flexible! All of that is carried in the coolant volume!! The filter removes large particles, that could build up, and block small passages! But when the additives get worn out and lost, you can replace the coolant, or the additives!! Ask your auto parts guy, if they have any coolant tester strips!! Or you could ask the local truck service plaza if they sell them, or will test it for you!! And I mean anyone interested, not just you, of course! You should feel comfortable knowing that even tho you didn't drain the entire system, and you used the proper style of new coolant, plus you used an additive package filter that was at the maximum additive, you will be protected for at least longer than you will own the R.V.
I have the test strips and I've also changed the filter two more times over the past 10K based on the results of the test. The next two filters I used had 2 units of DCA4 (WF-2070 instead of the WF-2074 I used originally) Thanks for the info my friend!
ScannerDanner You are very welcome, Sir!! And I hope that anyone else that sees this, may find some much needed info and answers! I too, had some of the same questions, at one point! And while I was a truck driver, I amassed some info, a little at a time, from some of the company mechanics, to help me learn! Of course, this was long before the time of the WORLD FAMOUS SCANNERDANNER!! I wish you had been around 30 years ago!! When I was wanting to learn new stuff!!
After dropping all my coolant in my 8.3 ISC Cummins, I completely forgot about the additive when I bought my 12 gallons of coolant to replace the old. So, I went out and looked at the jug, and thankfully it states it's been re-charged with SCA additive in the 50/50 coolant, so that was a relief. Nice to know I should be good for a good long time, as even the original coolant from when I bought our Tiffin 5 years ago, the coolant that came out is clean as a whistle! I can remember back as a kid, looking in the radiator once the cap was off, and there was a ton of rust in the coolant, yet the car seemed to have no problem staying cool, not to say it shouldn't have been flushed, but that's how things where back then.
Hey Paul, 1st as a cummins tech I’d like to just let you know about the High coolant temp switch, coolant pressure sensor, coolant level switch, coolant filter, block petcock drain and the overall reason for cooling system maintenance on a cummins Diesel engine. The temp switch, on some cummins engines there is a coolant and / or a oil temp switch that isn’t used for normal monitoring. They are both for high temp engine protection shutdown or engine protection torque derate. Both signal the engine ECM to either shut the engine down after a preset duration usually 5 sec - 5 min depending on the severity of the high temp issue. Like this, your cruising up a mountain highway, your CK ENG light comes on followed by a slight power loss then shortly thereafter the red STOP ENG light comes on followed by a severe power loss and in a very short time your RV just simply shuts off. Well, you scan the ECM and find a oil or coolant temp fault code something like this -> oil / coolant temp sensor above normal data valid, or shorted to high source. You right click the fault and find the temp got to 245+, the ecm warned you, then straight up told you then just shut you down. The power losses previous to the engine shutdown are called torque derates. Usually a percentage of torque is removed and steadily increased by percentage until a shutdown occurs.
Paul at GM we only used a distilled water mix in a factory fill - not city tap water . Couldn't tell if that was long life coolant premixed or concentrate. From what I have understood mixing with household water reduces a long life coolant to a 2 -3 year coolant change frequency . I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on using tap water. Most coolant manufactures do state just water on their labelling.
I think it depends on how hard the city tap water is. Here in Milwaukee, next to lake Michigan, we have excellent water. Never had a problem. Just to the west of us, the water is really hard. Lots of calcium in it. Plugs up your shower head quickly. That would be the time to use distilled water.
yeah, should use distilled water only, you want as low of mineral contents as possible and of course PH neutral some city water can be loaded with calcium, lime, other bad minerals and be acidic or alkaline and form a thick hard white crust or cause major electrolysis. check it for PH balance often. **forgot to say, private/community well-water is as bad or worse**
Your discussion of an air pocket at the end reminded me of my experience with that about 19 years ago. Long story ... I had a '86 Grand Marquis (a different car of the same make, model, & vintage that I own now), and decided to do a coolant flush in preparation for my moving from MA to Phoenix, AZ towing a U-Haul trailer. I installed a tranny cooler, then proceeded with the flush. Only thing I did differently than the many times I had done this before, was I kept the t-stat, instead of replacing it. After the flush & refill of fresh 50/50 mix, I went racing down the road at full throttle, even downshifting the automatic trans for some engine braking. I took a left to make a loop back to my apartment when I had a very noticeable decrease in power - immediately after I noticed that, the "engine" light lit up red! I quickly pulled over, shut it down & threw it in neutral before I even stopped. Popped the hood to VIOLENT boiling coolant in the overflow tank! Watched the upper hose begin to deform and bulge, so I grabbed the lever on my Lev-R-Vent cap to relieve the pressure. Just about blew the rubber plug out of the overflow tank! What a sound - 10x more violent than what I had first saw when I first opened the hood! Swore that the tank deformed from the heat! This thing was COOKIN'!! Walked back to my apartment about a half mile up the road with all kinds of bad thoughts going through my head. I was supposed to leave for AZ in a WEEK!! Anyway I got back to the apartment, and grabbed a couple gallons of distilled water and headed back to the car. When I got back to the car, I pulled the dipstick to find CHOCOLATE MILK! I thought I was screwed! I refilled the system, and drove real slow back to the apartment. Got a ride to the auto parts store for a filter and 5 quarts of oil. I changed the oil that night, and the car was fine! Drove it all day the next day - no coolant in the oil! AMAZING! Ended up driving it all the way to Phoenix - 2,300 miles - pulling that U-Haul with a motorcycle , tools, and everything else I owned. Only issue I had the whole trip was a blown heater hose in the mountains, just over the AZ border. A deep 7/16" socket fixed that problem. :D After that, I swore I'd own one of these cars the rest of my life! Ended up driving it another 40k miles in 2 years after that incident. Sold that one in '01, after recovering it from being STOLEN for a YEAR, with 256k on the clock - was still running like a top! :D Love how simple that Cummins block is. Looks like everything is cut square on a big band saw, lol! Simplicity seems to equal durability, so I'm all for that! I always buy coolant at Wal-Mart, since it's the cheapest I can find it. I use Prestone 5 yr /150k mile green coolant in everything I own, and in customer's vehicles. Never had an issue with it, at least so far. Been using that for years, way before that 5/150 was even a thing. Great video, as usual!
BIG time! That was God's way of saying I HAD to go to AZ. My life has completely changed for the better ever since! :) That 302 is one heck of an engine, even with the plastic cam gear - I just changed the timing set on my current Marquis at the beginning of this Spring, with about 238k on the clock. The chain had 1.25" of slop in it, yet it still ran great and never jumped time! I was amazed. I never knew that gear was plastic, even after 20 years of owning these vehicles!
It's very possible that I had part in building that chassis as I used to work for Spartan Motors. Pretty cool seeing you getting dirty and keeping your Rv in top condition. Hope to see you at Vision
Hey dave ?for you you ssid to open up 3/8nipple on top of block and purp to remove air how do you purp it ??? Thank you for vid just bought a rv and ordered all filters as i want to know all fluids and filters are good to go so now serching info to be successful at diy😉
It is now 5 years later and his neighbor is still mowing the lawn. Would be fun to do a video about your neighbors lawn with your Cummins running in the background. 🤣
Nice video. Another thing people may want to know is that if it’s been a long time sine the coolant filter has been changed, there may be a build up on the filter seat. This should be rubbed away with a fine piece of sand paper, then rubbed off. If not, the new filter seal won’t seat properly and will leak. 👍🏻
3rd, the block coolant petcock drain. It’s there mainly for engine oil cooler replacement. Once the now oil contaminated coolant is drained, you need to drain the oil cooler housing which is made into block. Then remove the oil filter and then remove the oil cooler housing / oil filter head. If you don’t drain the petcock prior to removing the oil cooler you make a huge mess of oil and coolant when the gasket seal is broken. The engine oil thermostat, oil 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 regulator and high oil pressure relief valve are all installed in the removable oil cooler housing cover / oil filter head which also gives you two 1/8” NPT ports to check oil filter restriction or a convenient spot to install a aftermarket oil psi gauge, oil supply & return for an additional remote mounted oil cooler or even a oil supply to an additional turbo. We cummins tech use those two ports to verify engine oil 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 when a oil psi fault is logged or if low / high oil pressure is an issue with that engine being diagnosed.
This was filmed before our trip out west (Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Mt. Rushmore etc) in June of 2016. I have a few more from that time period that I'll be uploading soon including: Onan Generator fuel filter, coolant and oil changes, power awing troubleshooting, oil and filter change on the engine.
That's an awesome trip. There is nothing like those parks anywhere else. Lots of very long hills out there, did it ever get hot or will it run flat out all day long?
Only the transmission fluid temp. Normal driving it doesn't get much hotter than 140-160 degrees. A few of those mountains in 110 degree desert heat I saw 220 (on the tranny, while water temp always stayed below 200). I was a little concerned as I don't really watch transmission fluid temp on anything I own, but everything was fine.
I've seen my Silverado's tranny hit 210° on a long, steep grade. Was pulling 6k lbs. of flatbed trailer and '89 S10 Blazer behind me. 90° out and a very humid summer day. The coolant temp also moved off of 210° on the gauge and headed towards 260° (don't know the actual engine temp, but was getting hot, for sure). As soon as I crested the hill, both tranny & coolant temps dropped like a rock. Different animal, but it seems the cooling system was designed correctly on both our machines.
Good for you, to leave the 'rookie mistake' in the video, we all learned a little at that moment. People always complain about engineers, but they designed the filter so you can't mount the filter without removing the plug. That would be an engineer's rookie mistake, stuff needs to be designed to make it impossible to assemble incorrectly.
5th and lastly, the proper Cummins cooling system venting is crucial to not cracking heads, causing cavitation erosion on cylinder liners and engine overheats. The 3/8” plug you pointed to isn’t the vent it’s a port for coolant supply to a heater core, tranny cooler and / or multiple heater cores like with RV’s, on-highway / linehaul trucks with a sleeper. The correct vents are the vent hose right by the front engine lifting eyelet you pointed too, the plug on your engine water outlet / upper radiator pipe, and any of the other vents that go to the surge tank. All vents should be bleed at the component their screwed too and then again at the surge tank to assure the coolant is getting back to the surge tank. So vent both ends of every surge tank vent and and plugs on pipes that go higher than the engine / radiator. Cummins common practice is to bleed all vents at the components 1st with engine off then operate the engine to normal temp and bleed off the surge tank pressure 1st via the rad cap then bleed the vents at the tank to assure the coolant is flowing through all vents to the surge tank.
4th, your surge / expansion tank looks to have a coolant level switch (left) and coolant pressure sensor. Both are / can be used to alert the operator to engine cooling system issues. One is the level and pressure switches can be used together to show the tech / you the cooling system level / 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 is high / low which leads you to a blockage, bad pump, or even high level and pressure telling you combustion gasses are in the cooling system due to a cracked head, block, cylinder liner, or blown head gasket. This switch and sensor are / can be used for engine protection shutdown and / or engine protection torque derate with yellow check engine light (CEL), red stop engine light (SEL) and even yellow malfunction indicator light (MIL). The CEL and MIL are both used on newer cummins vehicles due to any engine / aftertreatment system fault that impacts the environment. Of course the mil light only goes out once a certain number of trips / KOER cycles have been completed. There are a lot of similarities between gasoline, diesel and natural gas engines, but natural gas and Diesel engine use them not only to alert the operator but also the tech to as what the severity or duration of the fault(s) have occurred.
TMC RP ... stands for The Maintenance Council Recommended Practice number whatever. When changing out the coolant, definitely drain the block. 17 psi cap is OK, as it just raises the boiling point of the coolant a little bit. If bleeding air out of the cooling system is necessary, use the air bleed line at the block point you mentioned. because the thermostat does not need to be open to accomplish that; whereas, at the coolant outflow hose/pipe equipped with the pipe plug, the thermostat needs to be open, and it is still not the highest point in the system where air can collect. I would have recommended that you use Cummins approved extended life coolant, which does not require the addition of Diesel Coolant Additive (DCA).
Im a tech work on cars everyday thanks for being so detailed and persistent you doing great job and i started to diagnose more because of ur video so I decided to buy your book hard copy 👌👍
seeing that plug in the filter makes me want to confess .I changed my inline fuel pump on my bmw outside my house in the rain. removed the old one installed the new one ..... car ran again but really bad . lots of swearing remove new pump nothing wrong look in fuel pipes .... 2 transparent caps to keep dirt out of pump did I feel stupid
I was told that Cummins is NOT a wet sleeve engine therefore the usual diesel antifreeze additives are not required. Regular Prestone can be used. Maybe the 8.3 is a wet sleeve but the 5.9 Cummins are not. Correct me if I am wrong.
Paul, I think that you did it the right way. That plug on the head may likely be seized in there, you might break your tols trying to remove it. I use a method to burp the system of air, by using the spill free funnel~ g35driver.com/forums/attachments/engine-drivetrain-forced-induction-diy/105511d1241072845-diy-fix-coolant-air-bubble-heater-not-working-temperature-jumps-loud-boom-lisle-221501.jpg. I fill the system, then attach the funnel and fill it halfway up. Then start the engine and let it warm up to operating temp. Once the thermostat opens, i keep an eye on the level as the air comes out and refill as needed to keep the funnel from running dry. I'll also bring the rpms up to about 2500 to push what air is left in the system out for about a minute, let it idle for a minute, then repeat several more times. That burps the majority of the air out. There may still be a little bit, but the overflow bottle can take care of that, just keep an eye on the level for the next few days. I've had too many instances where the plug won't move, or the bleed screw is in a plastic housing and trying to open it causes the entire screw and insert to come loose. After a couple of times with those problems, i use the funnel method exclusively.
If you check with Cummins you will find that you need to be sure that you're using the correct antifreeze and that it meets their specifications. (appears that you checked that). Recommend using a 50/50 mix. Diesel engines are unique in that they are a sleeved engine unlike most automobile blocks. There are many dissimilar metals in in higher concentrations in the cooling system and most require a special antifreeze. (If you use the wrong antifreeze it can cause cavitation, or pitting. Most shops today use distilled water, the reason why is that many local water sources have impurities that will shorten the antifreeze life and could do damage to your engine over the long haul. When a vehicle come off the assembly line the antifreeze in most cases is a 50/50 mix with distilled water. Before you say BS, think Love Canal, and why do you need to use distilled water when topping off you battery?
HAHA, that plug gets 'em every time! And the best and fastest way to do it is with a vacuum lift. Don't listen to no bull from somebody else, pull a vacuum, place the hose in your fresh coolant, turn the valve, when the gauge reads zero you're full, same with cars and light trucks.
I'm not going to do this myself so when I take my 1994 DP with 8.3 Cummins to get flushed what should I be sure the shop takes care of ? I'm going to call Cummins also.
that appears to be a charge air cooler hose not a intercooler hose a charge air cooler cools air and a intercooler flows coolant and not air glad to see you using fleetguard filters next time you could use fleatguard red coolant from your local cummins or international dealer
I forget shut valve off before replace filter that why after i replace filter the coolant leak behind the pump how can i reset the valve to normal i appriciate it.😢😢
I work at CalibratedPower.com, want to tune that hotrod for economy? Can also update you to newest factory calibration. Does it have a 9 pin diag plug?
No but I would like to tune it with a little more power. I know you can on these but I don't want to hurt my tranny. I'm not sure about the DLC offhand and I have no access to it until the end of March 2018. I just put it in storage in an underground limestone mine.
What did I use? Probably a little oil. It's been fine with the oil. It didn't swell the o-ring or anything. I know this because I've changed the filter 2 more times since I did this. Good tip though, as that was a risk.
Wonder if Terry Bradshaw ever learned to speak Pittsburghese? By the way Bradshaw in college was backup to Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty until Robertson dropped out of La Tech.
RAHdiator sound cool, I heard EricTheCarGuy saying it like that too. It's like potAYtoes and potAHtoes, tomAYtoes and tomAHtoes... btw. does somebody remember that song by Ella Fitzgerald? :)
Paul hope I don’t sound to condescending, but I was taught by several very thorough instructors just like you. They were like you, very funny, great at their knowledge, awesome people and very strict about they way they taught and guided their students. They instilled a lot of ethics, inspiration, confidence, knowledge, experience and laughing / crying on the floor shop humor you’ve ever heard. They also welcomed anyone who might know proper terminology / nomenclature or proper procedure or even just a story about their uncle that showed them a better repair or repair practice to a job being completed. So, by all means Paul do more funny mistakes or story’s about goof ups on different jobs you’ve done over the years. Your a good teacher and inspiration to a lot of techs like me who watch your videos to help us fix a vehicle better, faster and correctly doing so will make us last in this industry of auto / diesel vehicle repair. Your scanning and electrical diag just today helped me pin point a circuit failure today in fact. I was stressing about this issue and I sat down to smoke a cig and remembered one of your case studies on loaded circuit voltage testing. I immediately dropped my cig and went to the truck. I did what I saw you do and no BS found the problem within 15 mins of crawling all over that ISX15 engine bay. It turned out to be a wire that most of the strands broke due to high current and the wire just couldn’t flow the current any longer so a intermittent, incorrect or erratic fault was logged. I’d been T/S the fault all day and it was 2:30 with no more SRT (standard repair time) was available on this job, I was stressing about efficiency and your case study saved the day.
SCA is added to the coolant on wet sleeve style diesels to prevent cavitation erosion of the cylinder liners. Generally the best bet is standard premix ELC type coolant (orange if you buy the Fleetguard stuff), no water needed as it is already in proper ratio. Donaldson makes a coolant filter for that engine that contains SCA in pellet form for continual absorbtion into the cooling system. Best practice is to use a coolant test strip annually to ensure that the SCA is in proper concentration, change the filter every 1000 hours.
Paul, very informative video. I didn't realize how picky Cummins Diesel supposed to have specific requirements. I just thought green 50% mixed would be enough for any engine, gas or diesel. But I'm glad I got educated in this one. Thanks for showing this! Appreciate it, brother!
Thanks for all your Cummins diesel RV videos, love that you show the whole process warts and all!
Thanks Jimmy!
2nd, the coolant filter and filter head valve are there for a number of reasons but aren’t always installed when an RV is built. The valve serves 2 purposes, one is to aid in the least coolant loss / air injection during a filter change. 2nd the valve is there to isolate the filter for removal to install a coolant filter head adaptor for flushing the cooling system which is no longer sold as newer ways and use of chemicals to aid flushing the cooling system. Back in the day you could install this adaptor (a die cast with a garden hose inlet and outlet) for flushing the cooling system
As the engine was set to a (high idle / PTO) the tech could get the engine to operating temp, allow the engine thermostat to open 3-5 times and then slowly turn on the coolant filter valve to allow fresh cool water to enter the cooling system while old coolant / debris can exit. That took about 3-5 times to completely clean the cooling system. Now-A-Days, we just drain the coolant, add the appropriate amount of fleetguard restore to the radiator and top it off with fresh clean water and operate the engine to normal temp and let the thermostat open 3-5 times and then drain the mixture and flush once with one bottle of cascade dish washing soap to clean out any residual water / restore from the system and then flush the system until all soap is removed and drain the system then fill with a 50/50 mix of fleetguard compleat engine coolant.
One must remember that the engine in this vehicle was designed to be used in a heavy duty application! Basically trucking, and heavy equipment! It's design was to make maintenance cheaper, and easier (translated to mean less labor time)! The coolant used is basically the same thing that you use in your car! You already ready know that green anti-freeze, orange anti-freeze, and yellow anti-freeze exists!! But what is the difference? To make it simple, use the color match, to help you!! But in commercial maintenance, there even more products available, so the ASTM number help guide you. Very much like working on cars, and the manual says us GM PART #xxxx sealant on something, and you know the you already use blue glue, or black glue, you won't go to GM for the part # they specify!!
Then comes the total cost ordeal!! If you follow the recommended change interval, you could change coolant every two weeks, in an over the road truck application!! So, in stead of removing and replacing the entire liquid coolant volume, they replace the additive pkg within the coolant, based upon a chemical dip stick test! Changing the entire volume of 15 gal of coolant would cost extreme amounts of time, and money!! They would have to keep vast amounts of product on hand, and the time involved would rack up some serious hours, to the techs!!
So, to make it simple, cheaper, more cost effective, and need less space to store material, they just change the additive package. And the filter manufacturers make that even easier, by adding amounts of the additive package to the filter, so it almost constantly has a manner to be added to! You would just take a dipper out of a bottle and dipped it in the coolant, and then matched the color to the sample chart on the bottle! Then you would add an additive amount to match what the test strip claimed that was needed!! The appropriate filter is the filter, just differing amounts of additive!! So, you know that the job of the coolant is pretty much like water!! But, things like corrosion inhibitors, for the dissimilar metals in the system, to prevent rust and corrosion. Lubricants, to help keep the water pump lubricated!!foam inhibitors, to prevent the buildup of foam in the coolant! You know that foam will not remove heat, and has a tendency to displace a liquid volume, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the coolant! It also has a preservative that's helps keep the rubber in the hoses pliable and flexible! All of that is carried in the coolant volume!! The filter removes large particles, that could build up, and block small passages! But when the additives get worn out and lost, you can replace the coolant, or the additives!!
Ask your auto parts guy, if they have any coolant tester strips!! Or you could ask the local truck service plaza if they sell them, or will test it for you!! And I mean anyone interested, not just you, of course!
You should feel comfortable knowing that even tho you didn't drain the entire system, and you used the proper style of new coolant, plus you used an additive package filter that was at the maximum additive, you will be protected for at least longer than you will own the R.V.
I have the test strips and I've also changed the filter two more times over the past 10K based on the results of the test. The next two filters I used had 2 units of DCA4 (WF-2070 instead of the WF-2074 I used originally)
Thanks for the info my friend!
ScannerDanner You are very welcome, Sir!! And I hope that anyone else that sees this, may find some much needed info and answers! I too, had some of the same questions, at one point! And while I was a truck driver, I amassed some info, a little at a time, from some of the company mechanics, to help me learn! Of course, this was long before the time of the WORLD FAMOUS SCANNERDANNER!! I wish you had been around 30 years ago!! When I was wanting to learn new stuff!!
After dropping all my coolant in my 8.3 ISC Cummins, I completely forgot about the additive when I bought my 12 gallons of coolant to replace the old. So, I went out and looked at the jug, and thankfully it states it's been re-charged with SCA additive in the 50/50 coolant, so that was a relief. Nice to know I should be good for a good long time, as even the original coolant from when I bought our Tiffin 5 years ago, the coolant that came out is clean as a whistle! I can remember back as a kid, looking in the radiator once the cap was off, and there was a ton of rust in the coolant, yet the car seemed to have no problem staying cool, not to say it shouldn't have been flushed, but that's how things where back then.
Hey Paul, 1st as a cummins tech I’d like to just let you know about the High coolant temp switch, coolant pressure sensor, coolant level switch, coolant filter, block petcock drain and the overall reason for cooling system maintenance on a cummins Diesel engine. The temp switch, on some cummins engines there is a coolant and / or a oil temp switch that isn’t used for normal monitoring. They are both for high temp engine protection shutdown or engine protection torque derate. Both signal the engine ECM to either shut the engine down after a preset duration usually 5 sec - 5 min depending on the severity of the high temp issue. Like this, your cruising up a mountain highway, your CK ENG light comes on followed by a slight power loss then shortly thereafter the red STOP ENG light comes on followed by a severe power loss and in a very short time your RV just simply shuts off. Well, you scan the ECM and find a oil or coolant temp fault code something like this -> oil / coolant temp sensor above normal data valid, or shorted to high source. You right click the fault and find the temp got to 245+, the ecm warned you, then straight up told you then just shut you down. The power losses previous to the engine shutdown are called torque derates. Usually a percentage of torque is removed and steadily increased by percentage until a shutdown occurs.
Paul at GM we only used a distilled water mix in a factory fill - not city tap water . Couldn't tell if that was long life coolant premixed or concentrate. From what I have understood mixing with household water reduces a long life coolant to a 2 -3 year coolant change frequency . I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on using tap water. Most coolant manufactures do state just water on their labelling.
I've never used distilled water Steve.
ScannerDanner Well this is about the first time I think Ive actually taught you something then. LMAO
I think it depends on how hard the city tap water is. Here in Milwaukee, next to lake Michigan, we have excellent water. Never had a problem. Just to the west of us, the water is really hard. Lots of calcium in it. Plugs up your shower head quickly. That would be the time to use distilled water.
Mark Chidester Yes I agree , good point . Most shops just use the shops water .
yeah, should use distilled water only, you want as low of mineral contents as possible and of course PH neutral
some city water can be loaded with calcium, lime, other bad minerals and be acidic or alkaline and form a thick hard white crust or cause major electrolysis.
check it for PH balance often. **forgot to say, private/community well-water is as bad or worse**
Your discussion of an air pocket at the end reminded me of my experience with that about 19 years ago. Long story ...
I had a '86 Grand Marquis (a different car of the same make, model, & vintage that I own now), and decided to do a coolant flush in preparation for my moving from MA to Phoenix, AZ towing a U-Haul trailer. I installed a tranny cooler, then proceeded with the flush. Only thing I did differently than the many times I had done this before, was I kept the t-stat, instead of replacing it. After the flush & refill of fresh 50/50 mix, I went racing down the road at full throttle, even downshifting the automatic trans for some engine braking. I took a left to make a loop back to my apartment when I had a very noticeable decrease in power - immediately after I noticed that, the "engine" light lit up red! I quickly pulled over, shut it down & threw it in neutral before I even stopped. Popped the hood to VIOLENT boiling coolant in the overflow tank! Watched the upper hose begin to deform and bulge, so I grabbed the lever on my Lev-R-Vent cap to relieve the pressure. Just about blew the rubber plug out of the overflow tank! What a sound - 10x more violent than what I had first saw when I first opened the hood! Swore that the tank deformed from the heat! This thing was COOKIN'!! Walked back to my apartment about a half mile up the road with all kinds of bad thoughts going through my head. I was supposed to leave for AZ in a WEEK!! Anyway I got back to the apartment, and grabbed a couple gallons of distilled water and headed back to the car. When I got back to the car, I pulled the dipstick to find CHOCOLATE MILK! I thought I was screwed! I refilled the system, and drove real slow back to the apartment. Got a ride to the auto parts store for a filter and 5 quarts of oil. I changed the oil that night, and the car was fine! Drove it all day the next day - no coolant in the oil! AMAZING! Ended up driving it all the way to Phoenix - 2,300 miles - pulling that U-Haul with a motorcycle , tools, and everything else I owned. Only issue I had the whole trip was a blown heater hose in the mountains, just over the AZ border. A deep 7/16" socket fixed that problem. :D After that, I swore I'd own one of these cars the rest of my life! Ended up driving it another 40k miles in 2 years after that incident. Sold that one in '01, after recovering it from being STOLEN for a YEAR, with 256k on the clock - was still running like a top! :D
Love how simple that Cummins block is. Looks like everything is cut square on a big band saw, lol! Simplicity seems to equal durability, so I'm all for that!
I always buy coolant at Wal-Mart, since it's the cheapest I can find it. I use Prestone 5 yr /150k mile green coolant in everything I own, and in customer's vehicles. Never had an issue with it, at least so far. Been using that for years, way before that 5/150 was even a thing.
Great video, as usual!
You got lucky on that one huh?
BIG time! That was God's way of saying I HAD to go to AZ. My life has completely changed for the better ever since! :)
That 302 is one heck of an engine, even with the plastic cam gear - I just changed the timing set on my current Marquis at the beginning of this Spring, with about 238k on the clock. The chain had 1.25" of slop in it, yet it still ran great and never jumped time! I was amazed. I never knew that gear was plastic, even after 20 years of owning these vehicles!
It's very possible that I had part in building that chassis as I used to work for Spartan Motors. Pretty cool seeing you getting dirty and keeping your Rv in top condition. Hope to see you at Vision
Hey dave ?for you you ssid to open up 3/8nipple on top of block and purp to remove air how do you purp it ??? Thank you for vid just bought a rv and ordered all filters as i want to know all fluids and filters are good to go so now serching info to be successful at diy😉
It is now 5 years later and his neighbor is still mowing the lawn.
Would be fun to do a video about your neighbors lawn with your Cummins running in the background. 🤣
Nice video. Another thing people may want to know is that if it’s been a long time sine the coolant filter has been changed, there may be a build up on the filter seat. This should be rubbed away with a fine piece of sand paper, then rubbed off. If not, the new filter seal won’t seat properly and will leak. 👍🏻
You just said you lubricated the gasket. Good to know it’s working well.
3rd, the block coolant petcock drain. It’s there mainly for engine oil cooler replacement. Once the now oil contaminated coolant is drained, you need to drain the oil cooler housing which is made into block. Then remove the oil filter and then remove the oil cooler housing / oil filter head. If you don’t drain the petcock prior to removing the oil cooler you make a huge mess of oil and coolant when the gasket seal is broken. The engine oil thermostat, oil 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 regulator and high oil pressure relief valve are all installed in the removable oil cooler housing cover / oil filter head which also gives you two 1/8” NPT ports to check oil filter restriction or a convenient spot to install a aftermarket oil psi gauge, oil supply & return for an additional remote mounted oil cooler or even a oil supply to an additional turbo. We cummins tech use those two ports to verify engine oil 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 when a oil psi fault is logged or if low / high oil pressure is an issue with that engine being diagnosed.
This is an old vid, but it's exactly what I needed.
This was filmed before our trip out west (Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Mt. Rushmore etc) in June of 2016. I have a few more from that time period that I'll be uploading soon including: Onan Generator fuel filter, coolant and oil changes, power awing troubleshooting, oil and filter change on the engine.
ScannerDanner LOL. That's not an O ring.
That's an awesome trip. There is nothing like those parks anywhere else.
Lots of very long hills out there, did it ever get hot or will it run flat out all day long?
Only the transmission fluid temp. Normal driving it doesn't get much hotter than 140-160 degrees. A few of those mountains in 110 degree desert heat I saw 220 (on the tranny, while water temp always stayed below 200). I was a little concerned as I don't really watch transmission fluid temp on anything I own, but everything was fine.
I've seen my Silverado's tranny hit 210° on a long, steep grade. Was pulling 6k lbs. of flatbed trailer and '89 S10 Blazer behind me. 90° out and a very humid summer day. The coolant temp also moved off of 210° on the gauge and headed towards 260° (don't know the actual engine temp, but was getting hot, for sure). As soon as I crested the hill, both tranny & coolant temps dropped like a rock. Different animal, but it seems the cooling system was designed correctly on both our machines.
cool, looking forward to see them
Good for you, to leave the 'rookie mistake' in the video, we all learned a little at that moment. People always complain about engineers, but they designed the filter so you can't mount the filter without removing the plug. That would be an engineer's rookie mistake, stuff needs to be designed to make it impossible to assemble incorrectly.
You've buffed up a ton in 4 years.
5th and lastly, the proper Cummins cooling system venting is crucial to not cracking heads, causing cavitation erosion on cylinder liners and engine overheats. The 3/8” plug you pointed to isn’t the vent it’s a port for coolant supply to a heater core, tranny cooler and / or multiple heater cores like with RV’s, on-highway / linehaul trucks with a sleeper. The correct vents are the vent hose right by the front engine lifting eyelet you pointed too, the plug on your engine water outlet / upper radiator pipe, and any of the other vents that go to the surge tank. All vents should be bleed at the component their screwed too and then again at the surge tank to assure the coolant is getting back to the surge tank. So vent both ends of every surge tank vent and and plugs on pipes that go higher than the engine / radiator. Cummins common practice is to bleed all vents at the components 1st with engine off then operate the engine to normal temp and bleed off the surge tank pressure 1st via the rad cap then bleed the vents at the tank to assure the coolant is flowing through all vents to the surge tank.
4th, your surge / expansion tank looks to have a coolant level switch (left) and coolant pressure sensor. Both are / can be used to alert the operator to engine cooling system issues. One is the level and pressure switches can be used together to show the tech / you the cooling system level / 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗎𝗋𝖾 is high / low which leads you to a blockage, bad pump, or even high level and pressure telling you combustion gasses are in the cooling system due to a cracked head, block, cylinder liner, or blown head gasket. This switch and sensor are / can be used for engine protection shutdown and / or engine protection torque derate with yellow check engine light (CEL), red stop engine light (SEL) and even yellow malfunction indicator light (MIL). The CEL and MIL are both used on newer cummins vehicles due to any engine / aftertreatment system fault that impacts the environment. Of course the mil light only goes out once a certain number of trips / KOER cycles have been completed. There are a lot of similarities between gasoline, diesel and natural gas engines, but natural gas and Diesel engine use them not only to alert the operator but also the tech to as what the severity or duration of the fault(s) have occurred.
TMC RP ... stands for The Maintenance Council Recommended Practice number whatever. When changing out the coolant, definitely drain the block. 17 psi cap is OK, as it just raises the boiling point of the coolant a little bit. If bleeding air out of the cooling system is necessary, use the air bleed line at the block point you mentioned. because the thermostat does not need to be open to accomplish that; whereas, at the coolant outflow hose/pipe equipped with the pipe plug, the thermostat needs to be open, and it is still not the highest point in the system where air can collect. I would have recommended that you use Cummins approved extended life coolant, which does not require the addition of Diesel Coolant Additive (DCA).
I’m from Pittsburgh too and own an American Coach. Good stuff
Hey Dan you should look into the cummins InLine 6 program which is basically Cummins Insite program that diesel techs use to diag these cummins.
Im a tech work on cars everyday thanks for being so detailed and persistent you doing great job and i started to diagnose more because of ur video so I decided to buy your book hard copy 👌👍
Thank you so much!
Np let u know when i read it and digest it lol 😂
It's not really a book you sit down and read. It's more of a field manual.
Hi brother. I'm happy you are getting your site set up. Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless You and your family. Billy
Thank you Billy!
Diesel, a rarity here. More diesel vids would boost your channel BIG.
Enjoyed the rv video I enjoy all your videos..
great work!!! our 8.3l is on a l8000 tandem dump truck
Emil said it the way I always did it when I worked on Simi trucks and cranes.
A coolant filter, wow that's heavy duty.
Even though video was recorded awhile back, it was very informative Paul. Go Scanner Danner Premium
A well deserved break Paul.
Unfortunately this was filmed in April or May of 2016, so the "break" has come and gone a long time ago :-)
ScannerDanner
Yes, I was aware of that....
I love scannerdanner videos and i love Ivan videos too.
Ivan is a great guy to follow! Tell him I said hello. He doesn't hang out here much anymore :-)
If you look on the tag with the test instructions has 16# cap on it.
seeing that plug in the filter makes me want to confess .I changed my inline fuel pump on my bmw outside my house in the rain. removed the old one installed the new one ..... car ran again but really bad . lots of swearing remove new pump nothing wrong look in fuel pipes .... 2 transparent caps to keep dirt out of pump did I feel stupid
at least they were transparent and not a "HUGE" black rubber plug :)) (poke poke stab stab)
Nice vídeo 😃
Did you see the 16# cap spec on the metal tag next to the radiator?
I did not.
12:50 into the video, it says to use 16# pressure cap on the rad. That's "rad" said Pittsburg style! haha
15lbs/16lbs close enough, now if there was only a 7lbs on there, I'd have been worried why
agree
Please address changing the coolant that would be in the hoses all the way to the heater in the front of the coach.
I was told that Cummins is NOT a wet sleeve engine therefore the usual diesel antifreeze additives are not required. Regular Prestone can be used. Maybe the 8.3 is a wet sleeve but the 5.9 Cummins are not. Correct me if I am wrong.
I have no idea, just doing what my factory Cummins owners manual tells me to do.
correct 8.3 L is wet sleeve 5.9 is not wet sleeve
Exselecte teacher. Work.
Beautiful coach.....
Paul, I think that you did it the right way. That plug on the head may likely be seized in there, you might break your tols trying to remove it. I use a method to burp the system of air, by using the spill free funnel~ g35driver.com/forums/attachments/engine-drivetrain-forced-induction-diy/105511d1241072845-diy-fix-coolant-air-bubble-heater-not-working-temperature-jumps-loud-boom-lisle-221501.jpg. I fill the system, then attach the funnel and fill it halfway up. Then start the engine and let it warm up to operating temp. Once the thermostat opens, i keep an eye on the level as the air comes out and refill as needed to keep the funnel from running dry. I'll also bring the rpms up to about 2500 to push what air is left in the system out for about a minute, let it idle for a minute, then repeat several more times. That burps the majority of the air out. There may still be a little bit, but the overflow bottle can take care of that, just keep an eye on the level for the next few days. I've had too many instances where the plug won't move, or the bleed screw is in a plastic housing and trying to open it causes the entire screw and insert to come loose. After a couple of times with those problems, i use the funnel method exclusively.
If you check with Cummins you will find that you need to be sure that you're using the correct antifreeze and that it meets their specifications. (appears that you checked that). Recommend using a 50/50 mix. Diesel engines are unique in that they are a sleeved engine unlike most automobile blocks. There are many dissimilar metals in in higher concentrations in the cooling system and most require a special antifreeze. (If you use the wrong antifreeze it can cause cavitation, or pitting. Most shops today use distilled water, the reason why is that many local water sources have impurities that will shorten the antifreeze life and could do damage to your engine over the long haul. When a vehicle come off the assembly line the antifreeze in most cases is a 50/50 mix with distilled water. Before you say BS, think Love Canal, and why do you need to use distilled water when topping off you battery?
Good video!
HAHA, that plug gets 'em every time! And the best and fastest way to do it is with a vacuum lift. Don't listen to no bull from somebody else, pull a vacuum, place the hose in your fresh coolant, turn the valve, when the gauge reads zero you're full, same with cars and light trucks.
Hey I have the same engine on the use RV I just bought 2008 Gulf Stream 381 diesel bounty hunter 😊
Make sure you follow the playlist I created for this. Especially the one with the algae build up in the transfer pump
very good my friend
I'm not going to do this myself so when I take my 1994 DP with 8.3 Cummins to get flushed what should I be sure the shop takes care of ? I'm going to call Cummins also.
Make sure the engine block gets drained too. There was a drain valve that I missed on the block when I did mine.
exelente
that appears to be a charge air cooler hose not a intercooler hose
a charge air cooler cools air and a intercooler flows coolant and not air
glad to see you using fleetguard filters next time you could use fleatguard red coolant from your local cummins or international dealer
That would be the surge tank my good man
Great video thanks.....
You're welcome!
cool thank's scanner danner for sharing!!!!!
The last time you played with this machine, you had a coolant bath.
Actually, this was filmed BEFORE the high temp water switch went bad. :-(
This was either April or May of 2016 when I filmed this.
same as a QSC marine version except for radiator?
That would be awesome to have this engine in a boat. Be a hell of a boat.
I forget shut valve off before replace filter that why after i replace filter the coolant leak behind the pump how can i reset the valve to normal i appriciate it.😢😢
Are you saying your shut off valve is leaking now?
@@ScannerDanner leaking arround housing ,and behind the pump have screw cover by plastic nut ,it leaks from that screw too,my engine is cummins isx15
@@soluuhuongyhik can't really offer any help on that, I'm sorry
saludos cordiales ING cuidese mucho super
Scannerdanner, is this a mechanical P7100 pump engine or electronically controlled?
8.3 ISC, CAPs fuel system?
I work at CalibratedPower.com, want to tune that hotrod for economy? Can also update you to newest factory calibration. Does it have a 9 pin diag plug?
Should be a caps fuel system
No but I would like to tune it with a little more power. I know you can on these but I don't want to hurt my tranny. I'm not sure about the DLC offhand and I have no access to it until the end of March 2018. I just put it in storage in an underground limestone mine.
ScannerDanner , we do power too. ;) Sending a message.
My book says lubricate the o ring with antifreeze
What did I use? Probably a little oil. It's been fine with the oil. It didn't swell the o-ring or anything. I know this because I've changed the filter 2 more times since I did this. Good tip though, as that was a risk.
Hola saludos desde chile
Hola amigo
Wonder if Terry Bradshaw ever learned to speak Pittsburghese? By the way Bradshaw in college was backup to Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty until Robertson dropped out of La Tech.
I know! That's crazy.
That’s one hell of a veeheecul...
RAHdiator sound cool, I heard EricTheCarGuy saying it like that too. It's like potAYtoes and potAHtoes, tomAYtoes and tomAHtoes... btw. does somebody remember that song by Ella Fitzgerald? :)
Should I say 320th... 🙄 so funny to see the coolant spray horizontal.... 😵 and than realize the camera position...
Lol..that plug...best tip a man could give....is to remove it..
Look up Cummins QuickServe
Luke Mccoy yes very good information and handy to have as a app on your phone too
So that new radiator cap... doorman?
Don't think so. I showed the label I pealed off of it. Said Spartan on the label.
ScannerDanner I was trying to create a nagging insecurity about its quality... ☺ just kidding..
lol
"doorstop " is a better term for dorman =p
hard to say whom made the cap, since it had labeling of spartan. could be anyone :)
Definitely a Stant radiator cap; I've used them many times.
well, your arm pit was cooled properly =p
lol yes it did
Rad dee ator's are rad oh and cool two2.
lol
Second....
first haha
ScannerDanner me thinks I smell a cheat!
LOL!! I thought I was first ... then I refreshed the page to hundreds of comments ... LOL!