Do I need to use Deere CoolGuard II in my hoe or can I use Prestone yellow to top off my coolant system?
Assuming the Coolgard is a HOAT package, which I think it is, and the prestone is a conventional silicate formula, then the prestone will negate any advantage of the coolgard, it will have the life of the prestone, and will drop silicates if neglected or abused long enough. If you know it's 50/50 coolgard and has life left in it, then I'd add rainwater or distilled water before I added prestone, you can always bring it back to 50/50 with concentrate once you get the leak fixed. If you don't know what's in it, or don't know the concentration, I guess prestone concentrate would be better than water.
Is your equipment under warranty? If so JD usually has a clause that non JD fluids have half the service life and that negates any cost savings.
I’ll stick with Deere. Thanks.
I’m a big fan of using the factory fill coolant if you can ID it. also depending on your hours and age on machine/coolant it might not be bad idea to go ahead and do a full flush and fill with a quality coolant. You do not want to neglect coolant in a diesel it gets very costly.
It appears that JD CoolGuard II is a nitrite-free version of an OAT coolant, often referred to as an "ELC" or Extended Life Coolant. Basically there are two types of ELC/OAT - nitrited (containing around 500ppm of nitrites) & nitrite-free. It is important to know that there is a major difference between the two types and never to mix them in a cooling system. TBH you could use anything in the commercial 50/50 or 60/40 pre-mixed ELC line that met both the nitrite-free criteria and also typically ASTM Standard D4985. Here a couple of examples Shell Rotella ELC Nitrite-Free - https://www.shell.us/business-custo...iness/products/shell-antifreeze-coolants.html Peak Final Charge Global 50/50 - https://www.owi.com/commercial/brands/final-charge/heavy-duty-coolants/final-charge-global-50-50 The Peak range of products are exactly the same as what would be sold by a Cat dealer in a different container. Maybe they manufacture the JD Coolant as well, I have no idea.
1600 hours. No idea if it was ever changed.
IIRC most pre-mixed OAT coolants are claimed to be good for anything from 6-12,000 hours of operation or 6 years, whichever comes first. The JD product is listed as 6k hours/6 years. A coolant SOS analysis would confirm the condition if you don't want to simply drain, flush, & refill.
We stock the shell ELC in both versions, my main reason for keeping the nitrite free on the truck is deere stuff.
Coolant for diesel engines is an area fraught with danger for the ignorant. Most Deere engines if not all have liners for the pistons. This allows for an easy rebuild but requires coolant chemistry to protect them from cavitation erosion. I can't say which coolant is to be used. There are so many types now. Years past it was easy enough.
I agree completely. IMO it’s still easy enough. Get the OEM coolant technical data sheet and then go looking on the market for products that meet OEM spec. That’s what I did in the case of the JD coolant. As I mentioned above both the Peak & Cat products are manufactured by the same company, Old World Industries. AFAIK OWI is one of only 2 or 3 in all of the Americas that actually manufactures coolant. OWI products are sold in many different colored/labelled containers but what’s inside is exactly the same no matter what the container looks like.
The Deere dealer’s price was lower than the Internet, and the mechanic told me that draining out the coolant would only remove 5 gallons instead of the full 29 quarts. He advised changing it when I did the thermostats, which considering it is going to be 60 degrees, will be today.