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For years I have had people wanting better oil, wanting a special additive, the latest and greatest...sheesh!
My answer is we no longer have high pressure wear points like the old non roller v8 engines, unless you are building something with those kind of stress points why??
Barring loss of oil the head gasket will fail first. This can destroy the engine at worst, at best a major engine repair. These same people wanting to teflon there internals or what ever will be the ones with rusty water for coolant!! Every time!! Fortunately this toxic waste is usually dumped on the road somewhere before it gets to the shop, What am I supposed to do with stuff this bad??
Okay, ranting about a power stroke with toxic coolant that corroded out the metal around the oil cooler orings and then pumped 2 gallons of engine oil into the radiator before the engine died, while passing a line of cars on hwy 97. Yes..the truck is covered with diesel oil and army faded green coolant, as is the line of car!!
What does a head gasket have to do with coolant?
If you rub your finger inside the radiator or the engine chances are you will have a finger full of scum. This coating is just like a coat on you , it keeps heat in. This means that all things cooled by coolant run hotter as this scum starts to build. Your temp gauge will never show this because the coolant is still the same temperature.
As internals run hotter oil becomes a coolant and it darkens sooner than when the engine was new. The poor head gasket has no oil to cool it so it starts to break down. Other gaskets designed to hold in oil also age much sooner than a clean engine would as hotter oil breaks down and besides cooking gaskets and seals it carries more acids than it would if the engine were new.
The first thing to do would be to get a cooling system cleaner like Mercedes, Cummins and many others supply their shops with to remove this scum and restore cooler temps to engine parts. This proprietary stuff looks and acts just like cascade dishwasher machine detergent. Most shops in the know use this, a few use things like simple green or oil eater but hey, if a dishwasher with hot water, orings and plastics last for 10 years or more on this stuff it has to have some good things in it. Run a day, rinse and repeat until the water comes out clean. Before you ask, NO a bottle of radiator flush will not clean like this. It also may leave behind harmful chemicals unlike dishwasher detergent. After you have clean metal for excellent heat transfer both in the engine and in the radiator you are ready for new coolant.
New Coolant? There are so many options, but there was this guy that writes way better than I do and he knows what he is talking about. Highly recommended read for those wanting to learn something.
Cool!
My answer is we no longer have high pressure wear points like the old non roller v8 engines, unless you are building something with those kind of stress points why??
Barring loss of oil the head gasket will fail first. This can destroy the engine at worst, at best a major engine repair. These same people wanting to teflon there internals or what ever will be the ones with rusty water for coolant!! Every time!! Fortunately this toxic waste is usually dumped on the road somewhere before it gets to the shop, What am I supposed to do with stuff this bad??
Okay, ranting about a power stroke with toxic coolant that corroded out the metal around the oil cooler orings and then pumped 2 gallons of engine oil into the radiator before the engine died, while passing a line of cars on hwy 97. Yes..the truck is covered with diesel oil and army faded green coolant, as is the line of car!!
What does a head gasket have to do with coolant?
If you rub your finger inside the radiator or the engine chances are you will have a finger full of scum. This coating is just like a coat on you , it keeps heat in. This means that all things cooled by coolant run hotter as this scum starts to build. Your temp gauge will never show this because the coolant is still the same temperature.
As internals run hotter oil becomes a coolant and it darkens sooner than when the engine was new. The poor head gasket has no oil to cool it so it starts to break down. Other gaskets designed to hold in oil also age much sooner than a clean engine would as hotter oil breaks down and besides cooking gaskets and seals it carries more acids than it would if the engine were new.
The first thing to do would be to get a cooling system cleaner like Mercedes, Cummins and many others supply their shops with to remove this scum and restore cooler temps to engine parts. This proprietary stuff looks and acts just like cascade dishwasher machine detergent. Most shops in the know use this, a few use things like simple green or oil eater but hey, if a dishwasher with hot water, orings and plastics last for 10 years or more on this stuff it has to have some good things in it. Run a day, rinse and repeat until the water comes out clean. Before you ask, NO a bottle of radiator flush will not clean like this. It also may leave behind harmful chemicals unlike dishwasher detergent. After you have clean metal for excellent heat transfer both in the engine and in the radiator you are ready for new coolant.
New Coolant? There are so many options, but there was this guy that writes way better than I do and he knows what he is talking about. Highly recommended read for those wanting to learn something.
Cool!
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