Engineering Bulletin 94-13

	ENGINEERING BULLETIN	94 - 13
October 11, 1994

Supplemental Coolant Additives for Medium Duty Ford Diesel Engines
Ford 7.3L diesel engine users are reporting incidents of cylinder wall pitting from cavitation erosion. These engines operate in a somewhat different environment and under different operating conditions than automotive gasoline engines. Diesels are typically used to carry heavier loads and accumulate mileage rapidly. They operate at higher cylinder pressures which create cylinder wall vibrations much greater than that in a gasoline engine. It is the vibration of cylinder liners in wet sleeve engines which ultimately can result in cavitation erosion failure. Without proper coolant additives, this corrosion can cause holes in the cylinder wall and allow coolant to leak into the combustion chamber and lube oil. Medium duty engines such as the Ford 7.3L will also benefit from the use of supplemental coolant additives (SCA's) because of these circumstances. Ford recommends a maintenance program for these engines which is consistent with practices advocated by Baldwin Filters. The cooling system should be drained and flushed with Baldwin CSC5012 to remove dirt deposits, oil and rust particles. Next, the system should be precharged with water, antifreeze, and SCA. Using Baldwin BTE (CS5008), 2 pints (8 units) should be added to the system (29 to 31 quart system capacity).		At maintenance intervals of 18 months or 18,000 miles, a maintenance dosage of SCA should be added to the system to replenish the SCA which has been naturally depleted with engine operation. The required maintenance dosage of SCA should be 8 to 10 ounces. Engines which are used in extreme duty situations or experience extensive idling may require more frequent SCA addition. Use a Baldwin CTK5026 or CTK5027 test kit to determine the need for this possible increased maintenance. The cooling systems in these engines should be flushed and precharged at regular maintenance intervals of 36 months or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first. If you are currently using liquid BTE additions and want to change to spin on coolant filters, the engines need to be fitted with a coolant filter base (CFB5000). The BW5139 (8 units) is installed as the precharge filter after the drain and flush is completed, with the BW5136 (2 units) used for the ongoing maintenance filter. Using Baldwin BTE at the recommended service intervals and performing ongoing system monitoring using a Baldwin test kit can prevent the type of engine failure some Ford customers are reporting. Supplemental coolant additives are a beneficial addition to the cooling system treatment package for any diesel engine.

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