L2800 coolant volume

[JMMorgan]

I have just drained and flushed the coolant in my L2800 but I must be doing something wrong.

The operator's manual lists the coolant capacity as 6 L (not counting the recovery tank). But I can only get out and back in about 2.5 L. I have removed the radiator drain plug, fill cap and disconnected the lower hose.

I filled it once with the cooling system cleaner and ran the engine till warm and flushed and warmed twice with plain water. But since I am apparently changing less than ½ the fluid each time, I don't know what kind of mix I will have when I put new coolant in. What am I doing wrong??

 

[JMMorgan]

I made a mistake in my original post, it is 3.5 L I have been able to get in and out. Corrected below.

I have just drained and flushed the coolant in my L2800 but I must be doing something wrong.

The operator's manual lists the coolant capacity as 6 L (not counting the recovery tank). But I can only get out and back in about 3.5 L. I have removed the radiator drain plug, fill cap and disconnected the lower hose.

I filled it once with the cooling system cleaner and ran the engine till warm and flushed and warmed twice with plain water. But since I am apparently changing a little over ½ the fluid each time, I don't know what kind of mix I will have when I put new coolant in. What am I doing wrong??

 

[Stubbyie]

I'm not familar with your machine.

You're probably getting some fluid trapped behind the thermostat where the top radiator hose enters the block.

Does your machine have a block drain petcock? I don't know about yours; some do, most don't.

If you're CERTAIN about the total required volume you can measure what comes out, make sure you have enough unfilled volume in the system, and just add enough antifreeze to make the entire system a 50-50 mix.

If you've got a 6-liter system, add 3-liters of pure 100% antifreeze and you should be close to a 50-50 mix after the system gets hot and circulates for a while. Remember a liter is approximately same as a quart.

I use WM purple-top distilled water in all my rolling stock as the water portion: something like a buck a gallon is cheap insurance for your coolling system.

In summer, if you're going to really clean the system (might not be repeated between ever and twenty years)--fill with distilled water and run and empty multiple times until you're pretty sure only distilled water is trapped in the block. Then add the required quantity of antifreeze.

After running a while, use an inexpensive floating-ball hydrometer to check the antifreeze mix in the system and then gradually adjust it by adding either water or pure antifreeze.

You don't want too much antifreeze because it can flip the freezing point in the opposite direction----50-50 mix is just right.

Please post back how you proceed and your experiences so we may all learn.

 

[KubotaHawg]

Bumping this old thread with an answer, after searching forum for similar question on same tractor model:

Did the flush and fill yesterday on my L2800. After the first flush with radiator cleaner/rust remover (ran engine 30 minutes), drained and flushed with just water 3 more times. Third flush with water finally had minimal if any greenish tint remaining.

Each time refilled and drained the radiator it was right at 4 liters/quarts. This tractor radiator capacity is 6 liters. This little 1.3 liter diesel likely has about 2 liters of coolant in the block and hoses, so there is the extra that does not drain each time opening the drain on the right side of the radiator. This engine does not have a block drain to drain the fluid from the cooling channels in the block, like the Chevy 350 and 454 marine engines I have owned in boats previously.

Here's the point: if you refill the cooling system with 50/50 mix after multiple flushes with plain water, you will always be safe on the mixture (water > ethylene glycol), with around 1.5 to 2 liters of nearly clean water already in the system. As someone said in another thread, water is the best conductor of heat, and antifreeze/coolant is to extend the freezing point lower and boiling point higher. I live in Northwest Arkansas so extreme cold not an issue enough to freeze an engine block with at least 70/30 or 60/40 water to ethylene glycol mix.

Hope this helps someone--I know this thread was a long postmortem bump, but it ended without the question answered.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Your l2800 does have a drain: