Troubleshooting - Baldwin Filters

Troubleshooting

The following is a listing of the six most common problems seen in today's cooling systems. Along with each problem is a description of how it occurs, how it affects your engine and, most importantly, the cure.


Problem	How It Happens	What It Can Do	Cure
Rust	Oxidation within the cooling system	Clog the system, causing accelerated wear	The inhibitors in a quality Supplemental Coolant Additive (SCA) prevent the oxidation necessary for rust to occur. It should be noted that rust can appear even within a chemically protected system when oil is present in the coolant. If you do notice the presence of rust, the oil cooler should be inspected for possible leaks
Scale	Present in all tap water are salt minerals, especially calcium and magnesium. These minerals can solidify and adhere to hot metal surfaces	1) Clog system passages and 2) Deposit on high temperature areas and reduce the heat transfer rate causing hot spots. This results in uneven metal expansion, scuffing, scoring, accelerated ring wear and eventually, cracked heads and/or blocks	The SCA keeps salt minerals in suspension so they cannot deposit on engine metal surfaces or clog passages
Acidity	1) Ethylene glycol antifreeze reacts with oxygen in the air and forms acids, or 2) A loose head gasket or other leakage can allow sulfuric acids formed by the burning of fuel to leak into the cooling system	Corrode iron, steel and aluminum	A quality SCA neutralizes acids to prevent corrosion
Pitted Cylinder Liners	Constant vibration of the cylinder liner causes a momentary vacuum to form on its surface. Coolant boils into the vacuum and vapor bubbles implode on the surfaces of the liner, penetrating unprotected liners	Cause pits which can extend, over time, through the thickness of the liner and allow coolant to enter the combustion chamber or crankcase	The SCA coats the liner with a thin oxide film to protect it from erosion without impeding heat transfer
Foam	Foam, the aeration of coolant, occurs from air leakage into the system	Adds to the cavitation erosion problem, particularly in the area of water pump impellers	Today's SCAs have an anti-foam agent to prevent formation of air bubbles. This foam prevention agent is effective at all temperatures, including startup
Pitted Water Pump Impellers	Flow rates and turbulence are high at the impeller blade. This causes cavitation. In addition, there is a possibility that abrasive particles are present in the system	Causes loss of pump efficiency and total pump failure	The SCAs protect the impeller from cavitation erosion and the filter holds particulate matter to reduce wear on cooling system components

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Baldwin Filters, a CLARCOR company, headquartered in Kearney, NE
4400 East Highway 30 • Kearney, NE 68847 • Phone 1-800-822-5394 • Fax 1-800-828-4453	© Baldwin Filters, Inc.