Personal injury can result from hot coolant, steam and alkali. At operating temperature, engine coolant is hot and under pressure. The radiator and all lines to heaters or the engine contain hot coolant or steam. Any contact can cause severe burns. Remove cooling system pressure cap slowly to relieve pressure only when engine is stopped and cooling system pressure cap is cool enough to touch with your bare hand. Do not attempt to tighten hose connections when the coolant is hot, the hose can come off causing burns. Cooling System Coolant Additive contains alkali. Avoid contact with skin and eyes. |
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Care must be taken to ensure that fluids are contained during performance of inspection, maintenance, testing, adjusting, and repair of the machine. Be prepared to collect the fluid with suitable containers before opening any compartment or disassembling any component containing fluids. Dispose of all fluids according to local regulations and mandates. |
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Mixing ELC with other products reduces the effectiveness of the ELC and shortens the ELC service life. Use only Caterpillar products or commercial products that have passed the Caterpillar EC-1 specification for premixed or concentrate coolants. Use only Caterpillar ELC Extender with Caterpillar ELC. Failure to follow these recommendations can result in shortened cooling system component life. |
Some engines utilize Extended Life Coolant (ELC).
Reference: See the Operation and Maintenance Manual, "Maintenance Interval Schedule" for the proper service interval.
If an ELC was previously used, flush the cooling system with clean water. No other cleaning agents are required.
Change the engine coolant more frequently if you find any of the following conditions:
- The cooling system is heavily contaminated.
- The engine overheats.
- You observe foaming in the radiator.
- Fuel has contaminated the cooling system.
- The cooling system contains non-Caterpillar products.
Replacing the water temperature regulator is important to avoid unexpected failure. This action is a good preventive maintenance practice that reduces the chances of unscheduled downtime.
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Operating a machine with a faulty temperature regulator can cause severe engine damage due to overheating of the engine or overcooling of the engine. |
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Failure to replace the water temperature regulator on a regularly scheduled basis could cause severe engine damage. |
Note: In a situation that only requires the water temperature regulator to be replaced, drain the coolant from the cooling system so that the level of the coolant is below the regulator housing.
Draining and Flushing the Coolant System
The coolant tank cap is located below the access door on top of the engine at the rear of the machine.
- Slowly loosen the coolant tank cap in order to relieve system pressure. Remove the cap.
- Remove the rear bottom guard.
- Remove the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator . Allow the coolant to drain into a suitable container
- Put the drain plug back on the radiator.
- Fill the system with a solution which consists of clean water and of cooling system cleaner. The concentration of the cooling system cleaner should be 6 to 10 percent.
- Start the engine. Run the engine for 90 minutes.
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Illustration 2 g06099888 - Remove the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator.
- While the engine is stopped, flush the system with water. Flush the system until the draining water is clear.
- Check the seal and put the drain plug back on the radiator.
- Add the coolant solution. The maximum rate for filling the cooling system is
10 L/min (2.6 US gpm) . - Start the engine. Run the engine without the radiator cap until the thermostat opens and the coolant level stabilizes.
- Check the coolant level. Make necessary adjustment to the coolant level.
- Install the coolant tank cap.
- Stop the engine.
Illustration 1 | g06092652 |