which antifreeze should i be running

steven in Tn · Jan 27, 2016

i have always just ran regualr prestone antifreeze in everything i have including vehicles and tractors, im rebuilding my caterpillar 941 and wondering what is supposed to be used in it? will regular work ok or do i need the heavy duty stuff for diesels with sca added, or add some kind of additive to reg antifreeze or??

NCWayne · Jan 27, 2016

To my knowledge the majority of my customers run the plain old green stuff in their machines. The rest typically run one of the extended life types. In more than 25 years of working on equipment I've only known one to have any issues. In his case electrolysis ate a pin hole in one of the liners. Thing is he'd had the same problem once before, so we chalk it up to a water quality issue rather than a problem with the antifreeze.

Beyond that, I hear the hype about all the different kinds of antifreeze, but have yet to see the use of any one type over another cause any problems for anyone. That's not counting mixing incompatible types, thus causing an oily sludge that had to be flushed several times to remove, before putting in all one kind.

My advice, pick a type, keep it monitored, and stick with it.

John M · Jan 27, 2016

The Ultra is a VERY good diesel antifreeze.
See here.

dpendzic · Jan 27, 2016

I use Cat antifreeze in my 941B---it was only a few more dollars per gallon and has performed extremely well

Mike M · Jan 28, 2016

All you need to do is add the sca or dca additive to it.

Bill(Wis) · Jan 28, 2016

I use the long life stuff because the years go by so quickly. John Deere Cool Guard II is what I've been using for whatever reason. Good for 6 years or 6000 hours. If you get the concentrate, mix it 50/50 with distilled water. Their statement says it was developed for heavy duty diesel engine use. I'm sure Cat has something just as good.

fixerupper · Jan 28, 2016

Another vote for Cool Guard 2. It's gotta have better water in it than the water that comes out of my well.

which antifreeze should i be running

steven in Tn

Member

NCWayne

Well-known Member

John M

Well-known Member

dpendzic

Well-known Member

Mike M

Well-known Member

Bill(Wis)

Well-known Member

fixerupper

Well-known Member

Similar threads