lets talk nitrate free coolant

[slc6oh]

Working as an engine mechanic in the heavy diesel world (Detroit diesel on-highway primarily)
I see engines that go 100-150k a year if not more, in the past, nitrates have been added to the coolant to protect the wet liners in a heavy diesel engine, until recently with the new dd13/15/16 series of engines, nitrates and silicate have been blamed for clogging coolant filters causing very pre mature head gasket failure.

the 6.0 says it requires an ec1? certification for coolant , witch is just a regular elc, with nitrates, I believe the rotella elc does not have silica,

the new coolant we have been using is rotella elc NF, I have it at my disposal and its currently in my truck/engine...

anyone smarter than me see a reason that the 6.0 needs nitrates in the coolant? they say its to help form a barrier on the liner in a heavy engine to protect against pitting. and without a wet liner, what am I missing as to why its in the coolant that's "required" for our engines?

 

[Mdub707]

My understanding of the ELC's was none of them met the NITRITE requirement for Ford, not Nitrates.

Tons of people use a variety of ELC coolants in their 6.0's. I continue to use Ford Gold just to prove a point, but either way, you should have no issues with each. The problem is when people don't actually maintain the cooling system.

 

[slc6oh]

alright. just kinda an area of concern. but I think im putting too much worry into it.

 

[04cr450]

My understanding of the ELC's was none of them met the NITRITE requirement for Ford, not Nitrates.

Tons of people use a variety of ELC coolants in their 6.0's. I continue to use Ford Gold just to prove a point, but either way, you should have no issues with each. The problem is when people don't actually maintain the cooling system.

agreed. i use gold as well and will continue to.... in 177k miles i have never clogged and oil cooler etc, gold coolant is good.. maintenance is key

 

[Mdub707]

agreed. i use gold as well and will continue to.... in 177k miles i have never clogged and oil cooler etc, gold coolant is good.. maintenance is key

I was at 125k miles or so on the original cooler, no issues. I installed a coolant filter at around 75k. I monitored my EOT and ECT and it always stayed in spec, unless I hit a big hill and hammered on it, but that was mostly because I was driving around on blown headgaskets forever. I ended up doing a new cooler anyway when I did gaskets/studs, did a full coolant flush, new radiator, new waterpump (with metal impeller), it's been awesome. Temps are always really close together.

I kind of have an odd advantage on telling how well my coolant system is flowing based on how hot my WVO tank in the bed gets, since it's heated and taps into the cooling system. Before, even with the oil cooler working as it should, my "IN" line on my tank was warm, and the "OUT" line coming out of the tank back up to the engine was basically ambient temp. It just wasn't getting good flow. When I did all the new parts, I have HOT lines going IN and OUT now. I think the factory waterpumps are crap too, but I replaced so much I'm not sure if one thing did it or a combination of things.


To the OP, you are probably worrying more than you need to, a TON of people use the ELC coolants without issues. Like any coolant, just make sure you maintain the system and it will be fine.