Need help with coolant!

[bigbeanbus]

We are planning on heading out tomorrow and while checking my fluids I noticed that the coolant was getting very low.

I had a shop do a coolant flush for me a couple months back and the info they gave me was that they used 'Alliance OAT ELC 50/50' , a red coolant, to fill it; however I cant find much information when searching for the same product.

Can I top it off with a similar OAT 50/50 red coolant or does it need to be the exact same thing?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

OAT is Organic Acid Technology. ELC is Extended Life Coolant, which has OAT, which makes the ELC extended-life.

Here's the deal. Most, if not all ELC is designed for extended run cycles prevalent in cross-country trucks with heavy duty commercial diesels. Such engines are run nearly night and day, and the OAT helps to prevent corrosion under these conditions. It is generally not suited for vehicles that sit a lot and aren't run much, and it tends to become acidic under such conditions after a couple years.

That being said, OAT ELC is fairly generic in the sense that OAT can be mixed with most other OAT at this point, just don't mix it with ethylene glycol or it will cause a chemical reaction between the two that will cause the coolant to solidify and clog up your cooling system.

[bigbeanbus]

Originally Posted by CHEESE_WAGON

OAT is Organic Acid Technology. ELC is Extended Life Coolant, which has OAT, which makes the ELC extended-life.

Here's the deal. Most, if not all ELC is designed for extended run cycles prevalent in cross-country trucks with heavy duty commercial diesels. Such engines are run nearly night and day, and the OAT helps to prevent corrosion under these conditions. It is generally not suited for vehicles that sit a lot and aren't run much, and it tends to become acidic under such conditions after a couple years.

That being said, OAT ELC is fairly generic in the sense that OAT can be mixed with most other OAT at this point, just don't mix it with ethylene glycol or it will cause a chemical reaction between the two that will cause the coolant to solidify and clog up your cooling system.

So the Alliance coolant is not ethylene glycol based? I cant really seem to find the exact specs for it anywhere. The Detroit Diesel manual recommends ethylene glycol coolants so I figured thats what the shop would have added.

It seems like my best bet is to try and call up some shops to get my hands on the Alliance coolant to avoid any mistakes.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

I don't think any OAT / ELC is ethylene glycol. Calling some shops is definitely a good idea.

[schoolbuscraig]

The coolant needs to meet spec 93k217
Peak final charge global is the proper coolant! Old World Industries is the manufacturer for Detroit, the same company that makes Peak!

[FlexyXJ]

Originally Posted by bigbeanbus

We are planning on heading out tomorrow and while checking my fluids I noticed that the coolant was getting very low.

I had a shop do a coolant flush for me a couple months back and the info they gave me was that they used 'Alliance OAT ELC 50/50' , a red coolant, to fill it; however I cant find much information when searching for the same product.

Can I top it off with a similar OAT 50/50 red coolant or does it need to be the exact same thing?

You should be able to find Alliance brand coolant at your local Freightliner truck dealer. Alliance is Freightliner's own brand of parts.