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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 product. Be prepared to collect the fluid with suitable containers before opening any compartment or disassembling any component containing fluids. Refer to Special Publication, NENG2500, "Caterpillar Tools and Shop Products Guide" for tools and supplies suitable to collect and contain fluids on Caterpillar products. Dispose of all fluids according to local regulations and mandates. |
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Do not change the coolant until you read and understand the material in the Cooling System Specifications section. |
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Mixing Extended Life Coolant (ELC) with other products reduces the effectiveness of the coolant and shortens coolant life. Use only Caterpillar products or commercial products that have passed the Caterpillar EC-1 specifications for premixed or concentrate coolants. Use only Caterpillar Extender with Caterpillar ELC. Failure to follow these recommendations could result in the damage to cooling systems components. If ELC cooling system contamination occurs, refer to Operation and Maintenance, "Extended Life Coolant (ELC)" under the topic ELC Cooling System Contamination. |
Drain the coolant whenever the coolant is dirty or whenever foaming is observed.
- Open the access cover on the top of the machine.
- Slowly loosen the radiator cap in order to relieve the pressure. Slowly remove the radiator cap.
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| Illustration 1 | g01046450 |
- Open the access door on the left side of the machine. The drain valve is located on the bottom corner of the radiator behind a rubber flap in the tire well. Open the drain valve. Allow the coolant to drain into a suitable container.
- Close the drain valve. Fill the system with a solution which consists of clean water and of cooling system cleaner. The concentration of the cooling system cleaner in the solution should be between 6 percent and 10 percent.
- Start the engine. Run the engine for 90 minutes. Stop the engine. Drain the cleaning solution into a suitable container.
- While the engine is stopped, flush the system with water. Flush the system until the draining water is transparent.
- Close the drain valve.
- Add the coolant solution. See the following topics:
- Special Publication, SEBU6250, "Cooling System Specifications"
- Operation and Maintenance Manual, "Capacities (Refill)"
Note: If you are using Caterpillar antifreeze, do not add the supplemental coolant additive at this time and/or change the element at this time.
- Special Publication, SEBU6250, "Cooling System Specifications"
- Start the engine. Run the engine without the radiator cap until the thermostat opens and the coolant level stabilizes.
- Maintain the coolant level within 1 cm (0.5 inch) of the bottom of the filler pipe.
- Replace the radiator cap if the gasket is damaged. Install the radiator cap.
- Stop the engine.
- Close and lock the access covers.