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SAE TECHNICAL 961818


PAPER SERIES

A Perspective On Extended Service Intervals And


Long Life Coolants For Heavy Duty Engines

R. Douglas Hudgens and R. D. Hercamp


Fleetguard

SAE
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961818

A Perspective On Extended Service Intervals And


Long Life Coolants For Heavy Duty Engines

R. Douglas Hudgens and R. D. Hereamp


Fleetguard

ABSTRACT the norm for heavy duty diesel engines powering semi trucks
An overview of extended service interval (ESI) and long life and many off highway units. For most
coolant (LLC) and how these topics are related to engine type
and duty cycle, to coolant chemistry, and to coolant TABLE 1
maintenance practices is presented. For purposes of this paper, LD VS HD COMPARISON(Typical Values)
ESI is defined as a minimum of 100K miles between routine LD HD
additions of supplemental coolant additive (SCA). A brief Engine Life to 150,000 Miles 750,000 miles
description of Fleetguard ESI/LLC products is given. first overhaul
Finally, a brief status report of work being done to develop GVW per HP 30 lbs 200 lbs
industry standards for ESI/LLC products is presented. Load Factor <30% ~70%
Usage rate, 10,000 - 15,000 120,000-180,000
INTRODUCTION Miles/Year
In 1990 the first ESI coolant maintenance system for HD Total Expected 200,000 miles 2,000,000 miles
(heavy duty) engines was introduced. [1]* Two other ESI Life of Vehicle
systems have since become commercially available - one in Uses Wet no yes
late 1994 [2] and the other in 1995. [3] In recent
Cylinder Liners
years labor costs and costs associated with disposing of used
Cooling System 2-3 Gallons 10-15 Gallons
coolant and coolant filters have increased. Furthermore,
Volume
many fleets following conventional heavy duty (HD) coolant
Engine Manufacturer's Max Recommended Coolant
practices have struggled with chronic, severe cooling system
Life
problems. Additionally, conventional coolant for HD
Before 1995 30-60,000 240,000 Miles
engines, which is a mix of light duty (LD) low silicate
Miles
antifreeze (AF) plus supplemental coolant additive (SCA),
requires constant attention to maintain the coolant in 1995 100,000 Miles 300,000 Miles
accordance with engine manufacturers recommendations. Typical User 50-150,000 240,000 Miles
Mileage For Miles to Life of the
For the above reasons, ESI coolant systems for HD engines Coolant Engine
have gained much attention because they have the Replacement
potential to reduce cost and improve performance while being Maximum Service Interval for SCA Addition
more easily managed. But ESI systems can achieve this Before 1995 No SCA Used ~40,000 Miles
potential only with a properly designed maintenance system 1995 No SCA Used 150,000 Miles
where coolant products are properly formulated and used. automobiles this is not the case. It should then be obvious
that we need to separate the two categories as we discuss
ESI/LLC. For light duty service, LLC effectively means
"never replace the coolant". ESI has no meaning for light
BACKGROUND/PERSPECTIVE duty because periodic SCA additions have not been a part of
Table 1 compares LD (automobile engine) and HD (semi truck recommended coolant maintenance programs for light duty
engine) on highway service. The values are 5 to 10 times service.
greater for HD service. Also, the use of wet cylinder liners is

____________________________________________
* Numbers in brackets designate references
at end of paper.

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LLC vs ESI - For heavy duty service, most users today do not [11] RP328 was the first commercial purchasing specification
replace coolant, even though heavy duty engine manufacturers for SCA. ASTM D5752 “Specification for Supplemental
recommend this be done at 200,000 to 240,000 miles. Instead, Coolant Additives (SCA's) for Use in Precharging Coolants
they continue to make periodic SCA additions to extend for Heavy Duty Engines” [12] followed in 1996. This earlier
coolant life. So in effect, heavy duty vehicle users today lack of a specification for SCA's allowed the sale of poorly
already have LLC, using conventional coolant maintenance formulated products which did not always perform well even
systems and products. Yet relatively few use ESI maintenance in routine HD service. Although ASTM D4985 was
programs. ESI is very desirable from the HD user's published in 1989, it was only part of the answer. Coolants
standpoint because it reduces coolant maintenance cost by that meet this specification were compatible for use with
reducing labor and disposal costs due to much less frequent SCA's from a silicate gelation point of view, but they were
SCA additions. not necessarily specifically formulated for HD use. They
still required the use of a precharge dose of SCA to provide
Historical Development - A short history of coolant for HD cylinder liner cavitation corrosion protection and to provide
engines is necessary to understand why ESI/LLC is attractive scale inhibitors to reduce hot surface scale formation.
to users of HD equipment. Until the late 1940's, coolant used Furthen-nore, because D4985 AF and SCA's contained many
for HD engines was the same as that used for LD engines. At common ingredients, total dissolved solids (TDS) and silicate
that time cavitation corrosion of wet cylinder liners became a levels in the freshly supplemented coolant were higher than
problem for HD diesel engines. [4] It was found that addition necessary. These excesses could promote water pump seal
of certain additives, chromate in particular, controlled or leakage problems due to seal face deposit formation. [13, 14]
reduced this type of chemical/ mechanical attack. [5] This was
the beginning of use of SCA's. Later it was found that CONCERNS WITH CONVENTIONAL COOLANT
coolant life could be greatly extended with the use of MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS
properly formulated SCA's. These SCA's were typically Use of today's conventional coolant maintenance system
formulated to work well with both water and inevitably results in a significant percentage of units being
antifreeze/water coolants. This borate/nitrite type of SCA operated on coolant that is either undertreated or overtreated
began being widely used about 1970. In 1984 a low with SCA. This is not surprising if one considers the current
silicate/low nitrite SCA, DCA4, was introduced by “mix and match” requirements to maintain good quality
Fleetguard to alleviate some of the problems of engine coolant:
overtreatment. [6] However, DCA4 could not compensate for 1. Start with a source of good quality water, low silicate
either undertreatment or gross overtreatment of SCA. These antifreeze and SCA.
two chemistries form the basis for most of the SCA's used 2. Mix 50% by volume water and antifreeze to fill the
today in conventional HD coolant maintenance systems. cooling system and add a precharge dose of SCA (which is
3-4 times the amount of the normal service dose of SCA).
Most users of HD vehicles today use the conventional coolant 3. Top up with a 50/50 mix of low silicate A/F and good
maintenance system. Conventional coolant maintenance quality water. (Don't forget to also add the correct
systems consist of mixing low silicate antifreeze (which does amount of SCA)
not contain additives for cylinder liner cavitation corrosion 4. Add a maintenance dose of SCA at each engine oil change.
protection or hot surface scaling protection) with good (This dose is designed to compensate for additive
quality water and a precharge dose of SCA. Then a service depletion and some dilution, for example, for not adding
dose of SCA is added to the coolant at each oil change to SCA in step 3).
replace additives lost due to depletion and dilution. The
precharge dose of SCA is 3-4 times larger than the service This is compared to a “mix and match” system with
dose. Liner cavitation corrosion protection and glycol levels lubricant. The user would be told to find a good quality base
are frequently checked for each vehicle in the fleet and stock oil, viscosity index improver, and an inhibitor package.
adjusted if required. Each time he needed lubricant to either top up or to replace
the used lubricant, he should mix the three ingredients in the
INDUSTRY SPECIFICATIONS correct proportion. Early failure of the lubricated
There were no industry-wide product specifications in place components under these conditions is not in doubt. Instead,
for HD low silicate antifreeze or SCA until 1989 and 1995, engine lubricant for heavy duty engines is recognized as a
respectively. ASTM D4985 “Standard Specification for Low performance fluid and is fully formulated for use in heavy
Silicate Ethylene Glycol Base Engine Coolant for Heavy duty engines. There is no thought of using a “mix and match”
Duty Engines Requiring a Precharge of Supplemental Coolant system for lubricant.
Additive (SCA)” [7] issued in 1989. It was issued as a direct
result of silicate gelation problems encountered with the Because coolant for heavy duty engines has not historically
overuse of SCA in LD high silicate antifreeze. [8] High been accorded the attention of a performance fluid, the push
silicate antifreeze was required by automobile manufacturers for specifications for SCA and fully formulated
in 1984 to protect aluminum heads in LD engines. Because antifreeze/coolants developed in 1987.[15] Even though fully
there were no specifications for separate products for HD formulated antifreeze/coolants have been commercially
engines, engine users purchased whatever AF was available at available for about 15 years, few HD operators use them
the best price. AF suppliers resisted handling two types, so because it has been difficult for the HD engine manufacturers
high silicate AF found its way into HD use. to promote and recommend their use without industry
specifications. Less than 4% of HD truck fleets reported they
In 1995 The Mainttenance Council issued 3 coolant use fully formulated antifreeze/coolants in a recent survey.
recommended practices; RP328 [9], RP329 [10], and RP330. [16]

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Figures 1 and 2 show the results of using the current


conventional system of mix and match coolant maintenance.
[17] Analysis of many random coolant samples in this large
rental leasing fleet show the expected bell shaped curve
response for glycol content, Figure 1. However, note that the
SCA level, Figure 2, does not show the same expected bell
shape curve. The SCA level in the large fleet was out of
control.

Figure 3. The Effect on SCA Levels Due to Use of Low


Silicate Antifreeze (D4985) to Replace Lost
Coolant, At Various Dilution Rates

Another part of the problem is that the precharge dose of


SCA is 3-4 times the amount of the maintenance dose, Figure
4. These facts contribute to the results shown in

Figure 1. Ethylene Glycol Levels in a Large Heavy Duty


Rental Leasing Fleet

Figure 3 demonstrates the primary reason why the SCA level


gets out of control, which is coolant top off without
appropriate SCA adjustment. Each unit has its own coolant
loss rate and, in fact, that rate is also variable with time.
However, the SCA maintenance dose is designed to
compensate for an average coolant loss rate. Therefore, those
units in a fleet which have a coolant loss rate near the
designed average will be found to have the desired SCA level.
Those units which have higher coolant loss rates will have
less than the desired level, while those units which have
lower coolant loss rates will have more than the desired
level. Figure 4. Comparison of SCA Dosages

Figure 2. Occasionally the wrong filter is installed, e.g. a


precharge filter is used instead of a service filter at routine
service intervals. This results in a higher than desired SCA
level. Or, a service filter is used after major coolant loss has
occur-red, such as, a coolant hose rupture, radiator or water
pump failure, or any number of other problems which cause
the major portion of coolant to be lost. This results in an
inadequate level of SCA.

A check of fleet maintenance records showed that the fleet


referenced in Figures I and 2 topped up with a mix of low
silicate antifreeze and water containing no SCA. A service
size coolant filter was installed at each (relatively short) oil
change interval regardless of the amount of coolant loss.
These practices caused some vehicles (with little coolant
Figure 2. SCA Levels in a Large Heavy Duty Rental Leasing loss) to become overtreated with SCA while other vehicles
Fleet (with large coolant loss) became undertreated.

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Table 2 summarizes the problems which can result from over


and under treatment of SCA. TABLE4
TABLE 2 Comparison of OAT and Conventional Additive Chemistry
Problems Due To Incorrect SCA Treatment Levels OAT Conventional
Organic/Inorganic 80/20 to 100/0 10/90 to 20/80
Undertreatment Ratio
Liner Cavitation Corrosion Buffer System May contain Borate/Phosphate
Hot Surface Scaling Borate
General Corrosion
Silicate Level None to 0. 1% 0.05-0.20%
Overtreated Typical Organic Sebacate, Ethyl Tolytriazole;
Water Pump Seal Leakage Additives Hexanoate, Mercaptobenzothi
Solder Corrosion Benzoate, Adipate, -azole
Silicate Gelation Tolytriazole

To try to help control SCA levels in the current mix and OAT type coolant products can be formulated to give a
match coolant maintenance system, on site testing methods "world coolant". Conventional coolants are not globally or
for coolant were developed. [18, 19] These have helped the universally acceptable because certain OEM's want to avoid
user to properly maintain the glycol and SCA levels in his some common inorganic additives. However, the issue of
fleet. However, they have added another layer of complexity world wide acceptance is not important for most North
to the maintenance of HD engine coolants. American heavy duty equipment users. In the past two years
the advantages of OAT type coolants for heavy duty
Another shortcoming of current conventional coolant applications have been grossly exaggerated. [20] It is clear
maintenance, even if done well, is that the low silicate that OAT is not required to obtain either long life or
antifreezes and the SCA's contain overlapping ingredients extended service intervals.
such as buffers and several corrosion inhibitors. Historically
SCA's have been formulated to work with either water or Coolant Life - Coolant life has NOT been limited by coolant
antifreeze/water based coolants. This means that the "mix chemistry. Much has changed in the past few years besides
and match" coolant will contain a higher than desirable chemistry to promote the idea of long life coolants. For
concentration of those components. Total dissolved solids many years a conservative approach to coolant life was used
(TDS) and silicate will be higher, compared to a fully by both automobile and antifreeze manufacturers. This
formulated coolant (which is designed to provide liner worked because, in general, antifreeze availability was good,
pitting and hot surface scaling protection without addition of prices were reasonable, and there was little concern about
a precharge dose of SCA). disposal of used coolants.

In summary, to date coolant for HD engines has evolved to However several things have occur-red more recently to cause
the current conventional system which is complex and vehicle manufacturers and customers alike to adopt a far more
difficult to control, as summarized in Table 3. liberal attitude to coolant life. These include:
• Growing conservation ethic
TABLE3 • More rules and regulations governing used coolant
disposal
Conventional System of Coolant Maintenance • Years where antifreeze availability was limited and
prices high
• Precharge vs. maintenance dose of SCA • Growing trend by automobile manufacturers to use
• Overlap of additives in SCA and low silicate A/F reduced maintenance as a sales feature (eg 100K mile
• SCA's were oversold -when in doubt use more tune-up and coolant change).
• Heavy emphasis on "on site" coolant testing
• Trade off liner pitting for water pump seal leakage, There has been a general misconception that conventional
• control one at the expense of the other coolant chemistry is not suitable for long life applications.
Adamowicz and Falla, based on the results of a passenger car
field test, concluded that "current (conventional) North
ORGANIC ACID [OAT] VS. CONVENTIONAL American and OEM factory fill coolants can be extended far
COOLANT TECHNOLOGY beyond previous expectations". [21] Mercer reported results
The following section of this paper deals with OAT vs. from a 100K mile passenger car test at a recent ASTM
conventional coolant chemistry issues that are of particular D15.21 Long Life Coolants meeting. [22] Five vehicles each
importance from the HD perspective. were run comparing GM-6043 with an OAT type antifreeze.
The conclusion was that the conventional coolant (GM-6043)
In the past 20 years coolants with organic acid additive provided equivalent corrosion protection and water pump
technology (OAT) have become increasingly popular. Table 4 life. Further, Weir in his review of organic acid technology
compares typical 1996 North American OAT additives with patents found that no claims were made relative to "long
those found in conventional North American coolants. life" coolants. [23]

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Figure 5. Nitrite Depletion Rates in a HD Field Test of OAT Figure 6. Large Variation in Sodium Nitrite Depletion Rates
and Conventional Chemistry Coolants (Reported
as Sodium Nitrite) But when these variables are eliminated, the results in Figure
5 are obtained. The nitrite depletion rates are the same for
An alleged weakness of conventional coolant is poor stability OAT and a phosphate-molybdate-nitrite conventional
or high additive depletion rates. However, most cases of formulation.
excessive additive loss are really the result of dilution and
not depletion. No additive chemistry is immune to the effects Water Pump Leakage and Silicate -Water pump leakage has
of improper system top-up. When systems are properly been a constant problem for both light duty and heavy duty
topped up, conventional coolants are capable of long life. OEM's. Many of these failures are caused by water pump face
Data from the dynamometer test run by Davis and Christ seal deposits, and to a lesser extent, face seal wear. In the past
show only a 2-5 percent reduction in the level of nitrite after few years silicate has been blamed for much of this problem.
250 hours (equivalent to about 10,000 miles). [24] The Most conventional North American coolants contain silicate
coolant in this test was GM-6038 plus a borate-nitrite SCA in the 0.05 to 0.20% range as Na2Si03. The OAT type coolants
which is an AF/SCA combination commonly used for the last in this country usually don't contain silicate. This is being
20 years. driven to a large degree by new GM and Ford antifreeze
specifications that prohibit the use of silicate. However,
Figure 5 shows results from a field test using Caterpillar most European OEMs have not yet seen any need to eliminate
3406 engines. Sodium nitrite concentrations are compared for silicate; therefore, OAT type products in Europe often
an OAT coolant to that of a phosphate-molybdate-nitrite contain silicate.
based product. Comparable depletion rates of nitrite are
shown by both type products. It should be noted that the new Water pump seal leakage problems are far more complex than
OAT coolant had about 2600 ppm sodium nitrite while the whether the coolant contains silicate. In our judgment the
new phosphate-molybdate-nitrite had about 1800 ppm sodium presence of silicate in a coolant plays, at best, a small role in
nitrite. This accounts for the vertical displacement of the most water pump leakage problems. John Crane recently
linear regression best fit lines drawn through the data in finished water pump seal bench tests where conventional
Figure 5. coolants were compared to organic acid based coolants both
with and without silicate. [26] There was very little
The reason that nitrite depletion was incorrectly reported to difference in any of the coolants. Cummins' work [27, 28]
be much slower in OAT coolant compared to conventional plus others reported in the literature [29, 30] show that water
forinulations is that Washington, et al, [20] compared field pump face seal deposits are composed of a range of inorganic
test results in Caterpillar and Detroit Diesel HD diesel as well as organic additives and contaminants. One needs to
engines to Ford LD simulated service test results. As question why silicate is singled out. One possible reason is
Washington, et al, report, even they found different nitrite that the silicon seen by some SEM/X-ray work may be the
depletion rates for the Detroit Diesel HD field test compared silicon of the ceramic face seal itself.
to the Caterpillar HD field test. Clearly, it is necessary to
compare nitrite depletion rates in the same fleet with the We have identified several factors which play an important
same engines, as was done for Figure 5. We have also seen role in face seal deposit formation and water pump leakage.
different nitrite depletion rates for conventional These are shown in Table 5.
formulations run in different fleets with different engines
using different coolant top up practices, Figure 6.

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TABLE 5 products. Table 7 shows results from an earlier study [28]


where the effect of filtration on water pump leakage was
Factors in Face Seal Deposits established. Fleets in on highway service that used coolant
• Face Seal Materials filters had 70% fewer failures.
• Face Seal Temperature
• Coolant Insolubles TABLE 7
− Overuse of SCA [Results in high TDS (total Water Pump Failure for Major Fleets With and W/O
dissolved solids) and excess silicate] Coolant Filters
− Excessive water hardness
Total Repairs per
− Hose/elastomer degradation products and elastomer
Engines Failures Hundred
additives
(RPH)
− Improper coolant storage ( In field and at OEM)
Engines with 5,700 204 3.6
− Dirt and debris Coolant Filters
• High glycol levels (> 70%) Engines without 5,903 735 12.5
• EG vs PG Coolant Filters
Figure 7 shows the dramatic effect of face seal material on In severe on highway service we have Cummins fleets with an
water pump seal leakage. Seal face materials A and B were average water pump life of 550 to 600K miles. [32] In another
operated in exactly the same environment, yet face seal situation a customer is obtaining up to 1M miles water pump
material B had 7 to 8 times greater life compared to seal life on Caterpillar 3176 engines. In these cases coolant filters
material A in ethylene glycol based coolant. [31] are used and care is taken not to over dose or over use the SCA.
These results are being obtained on conventional silicated
Table 6 shows the effect of face seal temperature on warranty coolant in conjunction with regular silicate containing SCAs.
repairs per hundred engines. Engines A and B are operated If silicate is THE cause of water pump leakage, it would not
primarily in over the road service and the water pump seal is be possible to obtain water pump life in the 600K to I M mile
the same in both these engines. However, slight design range. Mercer's field test [22] also supports this point of
changes in the water pump in engine B result in 8ºF lower face view. GM-6043 coolant with a relatively high level of
seal temperature and a 60% lower failure rate. silicate had the same water pump failure rates as an OAT
coolant with no silicate.

Liner Pitting - Washington, et al, concluded in their recent


SAE paper ...”Organic acid corrosion inhibitors, when
properly maintained, can be used with or without nitrite to
provide excellent protection against cylinder liner
cavitation…”. [20] The facts outlined below do not support
the conclusion. Historically chromate and nitrite have been
used to provide optimum liner pitting protection. These
oxidizing type inhibitors rapidly form a thin tough oxide
layer on the liner surface. This oxide layer remains in place
despite the heat and shock waves generated at the liner surface
by the cavitation process.

The general consensus of EMA (Engine Manufacturing


Figure 7. Estimated Water Pump Seal Reliabilities for Association) members is that OAT type coolants require
Various Seal/Coolant Combinations nitrite to provide optimum liner pitting protection. The
OAT chemistry needs the help of nitrite to protect liners in
TABLE 6 engines/service that are severe from a cavitation standpoint.
Historical Warranty Data (Actual, lQ91-4Q93) Caterpillar has sold an OAT type coolant for HD service for
the past two years. The product contains nitrite. Their field
Seal Face Temp. RPH (Repairs Per Hundred) testing showed that the organic acid based coolant provided
better liner pitting protection when it contained nitrite. [33]
Engine A: High 6.5-13 (avg: 9) Deere has recently evaluated coolants with an accelerated
Engine B: 8oF Lower 2.5-7 (avg: 3.5) dynamometer cavitation test using their 10.11 engine. [24]
Coolant pressure and temperature were reduced to make
cavitation more severe. In addition piston to liner clearance
We have found over the years that insolubles in the coolant was increased which increases piston slap and aggravates liner
from whatever source contribute to face seal deposits and pitting damage. Results from this series of tests are
water pump leakage. Insoluble particulates in the coolant presented in Figure 8. It is obvious that coolants that contain
come from a number of sources - SCA overdosing, water nitrite give far better liner pitting protection than a nitrite
hardness, coolant hose degradation, dirt and corrosion free OAT product.

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were run per ASTM D-2809 “Cavitation Erosion-Corrosion


Characteristics of Aluminum Pumps with Engine Coolants”
by the same independent laboratory. In this test procedure the
higher the rating the better the cavitation erosion protection.
The Fleetguard product, which contains a more conventional
additive package, provides better protection than the OAT
coolant. Many involved in the formulation of engine
coolants feel that conventional inorganic additives such as
phosphate and silicate provide the best aluminum water pump
protection.

Figure 8. Engine Dynamometer Cavitation Test Results

Solder Corrosion - Heat exchangers on heavy duty cooling


systems are usually of copper/brass construction. This should
be contrasted with light duty where the majority of radiators
are made with aluminum. For heavy duty, the issue of solder
protection is still important especially with the high lead
solders used by some manufactures in the United States.

The original OAT coolant was based on the use of sebacic acid Figure 9. ASTM D-2809 Water Pump Cavitation Test
and benzotriazole as the only additives. [34] Over the years
this basic composition was optimized and/or cost reduced. EXTENDED SERVICE INTERVALS
One of the organic acids used to replace much of the sebacic is Reducing service/maintenance cost is a priority for many light
ethyl-hexanoic acid. This choice is not the best when it comes and heavy duty operators. One way to accomplish this is to
to high lead solder protection. Table 8 gives ASTM extend maintenance intervals on the engine fluid systems.
glassware results on a coolant containing ethyl hexanoic acid. Many heavy duty fleets have been slowly extending the
[35] lubricating oil/filter change interval for the past several
years. Further, most no longer change the coolant per OEM
TABLE 8 recommendations. Coolant is often used 500K+ miles or
until engine rebuild. While coolant life has been extended 2
Weight Loss in D 1384 Glassware Test to 4 times over OEM recommendations, HD coolant service
Antifreeze Concentration High Lead Solder Weight Loss intervals (where a coolant filter is changed or liquid SCA is
33% /volume 10 mg added to the system) have only marginally increased.
50% /volume 72 mg
By the late 1980’s Cummins/Fleetguard became aware that
Normally one would expect weight loss to decrease or at 90% of cooling system problems were caused by improper
least not change with increased coolant concentration. The system top-up practices. It became obvious to us that the only
fact that weight loss significantly increased with solution for HD coolant maintenance was a true heavy duty
concentration is a good indicator that the coolant is in itself coolant that did not need to be precharged. Fleetguard has
corrosive to high lead solder. Mercer concluded in his recent sold this type of product for about 15 years. When customers
ASTM paper that ...”ASTM D-1384 gave a good over-view of start and top-up with this type product, cooling system
the ability of aliphatic monoacids and diacids to protect problems are dramatically reduced. For these reasons we have
common cooling system metals. Aggressive behavior of helped lead industry efforts to write specifications for true
octanoic and 2-ethyl hexanoic acid toward solder was heavy duty antifreeze. The first recommended practices to
observed in these tests. Fleet testing of coolants 1 and 2 issue were TMC-329/330.
(both contained ethylhexanoic acid) showed several
interesting effects. There was continued aggressive behavior The use of a true heavy duty antifreeze is the foundation of an
toward high lead solder...”[36] Mercer also reported results extended service interval maintenance program. This one step
from a field test of an ethyl hexanoic/sebacic acid coolant at a will allow many operators to get control of the coolant
recent ASTM sub-committee meeting. In this case high lead chemistry and allow service interval extension from the
solder weight loss amounted to 1200 mg which was the entire normal 15K to 20K miles out to 50K to 150K miles. Table 9
weight of solder coated onto the brass substrate. contrasts a conventional coolant maintenance program to an
extended service interval program.
Aluminum Water Pump Cavitation - Figure 9 compares
water pump protection of Fleetguard’s ES coolant to a
coolant with a full organic, OAT type additive package. Tests

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TABLE 9 Our experience with true heavy duty antifreeze at mine sites
has been very positive. In this type service vehicles are
ESI/Conventional Coolant Maintenance Contrast usually serviced at one location which makes proper cooling
Conventional ESI system top-off relatively easy. Owner-operators or fleets
that have much of the service done on the road will find it far
Antifreeze ASTM-4985 TMCRP329/330
more difficult to control how the cooling system is re-filled.
Low Silicate True Heavy Duty
For some of these operators, extended service intervals may
Service Intervals 15-20K 50-150K
cause more problems than are solved.
SCA Type Conventional ESI Type -
Fully
Washington, et al, [20] conclude that organic acid based
Formulated- Formulated only coolants eliminate the need for precharge and frequent SCA
Establish to off-set
additives. This statement is incorrect. Instead, true heavy
concentration depletion & duty antifreeze which meets TMC 329/330 and proper system
maintain
top-off eliminate the need for precharging and frequent SCA
concentration
addition. ESI coolant maintenance will succeed based on
Control Focus Coolant testing Proper system sound maintenance practices and a system of products built
top-up around coolant which meets TMC-329/330. ESI is NOT
TDS in Coolant Can exceed 5% Stays below 3% dependent on any particular type of coolant additive
Silicate Drop-out Occurs due to SCA Little -no chance chemistry.
overtreatment of this problem
Proper System Important Critical FLEETGUARD'S ESI SYSTEM
Top-off Fleetguard's ESI system contains the following components
or features:
In the ESI maintenance system control of the coolant additive 1. Robust true heavy duty coolant meeting TMC-329/330
level lies primarily (75-80%) with the antifreeze. which is compatible with other HD coolants
Conventional systems rely primarily (75-80%) on the SCA 2. ESI type SCA designed to offset depletion
to establish/maintain concentration. Using true heavy duty 3. Robust filter design with slow release additive
antifreeze also allows the composition of the SCA to change. chemistry
Historically SCAs have been formulated to establish 4. Annual, 150K mile, or 4000 hour filter change or ESI
concentration and offset the effects of coolant dilution. In SCA liquid addition
the ESI system this function belongs to the antifreeze so the
SCA can be formulated to offset only depletion. This Coolant - The coolant contains increased levels of nitrite and
eliminates redundancy between the antifreeze and SCA molydate to provide an increased margin for liner pitting.
additive package. This concept is best illustrated by the Greater safety factor is advisable when service intervals are
additive nitrate, which helps provide solder and aluminum increased as much as 10 fold (15,000 to 150,000 miles). The
protection. Nitrite in the coolant is partially or slowly “units” as Cummins Engine Co. measures the level of liner
converted to nitrate. Furthermore nitrate has a very slow pitting protection has been increased from 3.0 to 5.0 in the
depletion rate. In a cooling system that is filled and topped coolant concentrate. The buffer system has also been
off with a nitrite containing antifreeze, nitrate levels either optimized to increase the expected coolant life to 500,000
build up or deplete little, if any, with time. This means: that miles. The coolant can be described as a partially organic
the ESI Extender/ SCA need not contain nitrate. product. However, it is still compatible with other products
which meet the TMC 329/330 specification.
The combination of true heavy duty antifreeze and ESI
Extender/SCA provides the following advantages: ESI type SCA - The liquid product as well as the additives
• Significant extension of service intervals package in the coolant filter has been designed to make-up or
• Reduced material and labor cost replace those additives lost to depletion. Therefore, the
• Eliminates additives overlap/redundancy between SCA additive package contains relatively large amounts of the
and antifreeze faster depleting components. This type product is designed to
• Reduced disposal costs maintain NOT establish coolant chemistry, therefore, it
• Reduced liner pitting and seal leakage should not be used in types of service or climates where water
• Reduced need for coolant testing alone is used as a coolant.
• Limits the build up of dissolved solids Filter - The filter has two main features, the first of which is
• Eliminates silicate drop-out the slow release of additive into the coolant. This is desirable
with extended service intervals because it maintains a more
Although there are many potential benefits and advantages level chemical concentration with time and prevents slug
from the use of a true heavy duty coolant and extended service feeding of chemical into the coolant. The filter has also been
intervals, these benefits are only realized when the system is made more durable to withstand 1 year or 150,000 miles of
properly filled and topped-off with a prediluted true HD service (see figure 10). Some of the features are:
coolant meeting RP 329/330. No coolant chemistry or • Thicker nut plate for increased vibration resistance
maintenance system is immune to the effects of improper top • Synthetic, layered polypropylene media with high
off. Proper top-off is absolutely critical to the success of an efficiency and greater durability. Conventional cellulose
extended service interval program. media degrade in coolant when in service past 75,000
miles
• More chemically resistant gasket and epoxy adhesive
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• More corrosion resistant shell and spring to prevent rust predominantly the faster depleting
out in neglected, corrosive coolant additives.
• The coolant filter spec would need to be
written to recognize the much extended
usage compared to the conventional coolant
filter.
2. Field Tests of ESI/LLC Systems
a) Modify ASTM D2847 [38] or
b) Use Caterpillar EC-I [391 or
c) Must be approved by at least one HD engine
manufacturer, and then the others will
accept.

3. Bench Tests
• ASTM must develop
• Clone SAE 952551, “Developing Heavy
Duty Diesel Lubricants to Meet the
Extended Service Interval Challenge.” [40]
Develop a battery of bench tests which
Figure 10. Cross section of ESI Coolant Filter correlate to field test results.
STATUS OF ESI/LLC SPECIFICATIONS FOR None of these approaches are easy and quickly do-able. They
HEAVY DUTY ENGINES are listed in their order of difficulty and amount of
Sub-Committee ASTM D15.21 “Long Life Engine Coolants” development time required, with Bench Tests taking the
has been primarily focusing on LLC coolants for light duty longest and being the most difficult.
engines. The main issue seems to be the development of a test
method for evaluating coolants that can discriminate between SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
“normal life” and “long life” coolants. The Sub-Committee 1. ESI/LLC systems provide less costly to maintain, better
has also discussed how a “long-life engine coolant” might be performing HD engine coolants. These systems are much
defined. easier to manage than conventional systems.
2. ESIALLC is NOT dependent on organic acid or “OAT:
Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) Coolant type additive chemistry.
Committee has listed ESI/LLC specifications for coolants for 3. ESI/LLC can be obtained using conventional coolant
Heavy Duty engines on their list of future work to be done. additive technology.
However, at this writing, active effort has not yet 4. ESI is dependent on filling and topping-off the cooling
commenced. system with HD coolant which meets TMC-329/330.
5. OAT type coolants require nitrite to give optimum liner
The Maintenance Council (TMC) of the American Trucking pitting protection.
Associations (ATA) formed a Task Force on Long Life 6. Silicate free coolants are not necessary for extended
Engine Coolant for HD engines. The Task Force first met in water pump life.
October, 1995. It agreed to focus on ESI and defined that as : 7. ESI/LLC systems for HD engines shift the main emphasis
“ ESI will be defined as any system of coolant products that for maintenance away from the SCA toward the fully
provide for one year, 120,000 miles or 3000 hour minimum formulated coolant.
coolant maintenance interval.” The Task Force decided to set 8. Industry standards for ESI/LLC for HD engines will not
a goal of using coolant condemning limits to establish be easy to develop; therefore, the EMA Coolant
coolant life, beginning with RP326 “Recycling Engine Committee should probably determine the approach to be
Coolant” and refining it. [37] The Task Force has not yet taken and provide the required leadership.
decided whether a specification or an advisory type
Recommended Practice (RP) for ESI/LLC for HD engines ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
should be written. We extend our appreciation to Bev Fitzpatrick and Kim East,
who did all the word processing of the manuscript and its
As can be seen above, work on industry standards is in its numerous revisions, for their patience and kind help. Also, we
early phase. However, in any of the groups working on HD appreciate the support of Fleetguard as we prepared this paper
ESI/LLC standards, a decision must be made on the approach and the work of Gary Spires in monitoring and reducing the
they wish to use. Several come to mind: field test data.
1. Build on existing specs
• Coolant must meet RP329 or RP330 and
the liner pitting protection level must be
somewhat higher.
• Extenders must meet some portion of
RP328, but not all, because the extender is
not intended for use with water. The
extender composition would be

9
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NOTES
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NOTES

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