Coolant Filters ?

[Ray H]

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt_S:
Well, iron turns red when it oxidizes and aluminum turns white...

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Aluminum oxide is interesting stuff. In its pure state, it's water-white transparent when cut and polished. It's also called white sapphire. When certain contaminants are present, it can be a rather pretty gemstone - red (ruby) or blue (sapphire). It's also pretty hard stuff - 9.0 on the Mohs scale - second only to diamond for naturally ocurring garnets. Rubies are commonly used as bearings in precision instruments. Large pieces in the white clear state are cut and polished as crystals for upscale watches. Because of their hardness, synthetic sapphire watch crystals are less likely to scratch in use or break, though aluminum oxide is brittle and will break if struk hard enough. When not polished out as gems, watch crystals, or bearings, aluminum oxide is a terrific abrasive - corundum. If your aluminum engine and radiator are shedding small flecks of aluminum oxide, this is not something you want circulating around your water pump bearings and seals.

 

[kevm14]

quote:

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Originally posted by oilboy123:
The Tefba has a built in bypass that allows the coolant to flow if the filter clogs. I'll keep everyone posted on how I like it.

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That's what the marketing literature says, but I ordered one from Australia and believe me, there is no bypass on that thing. I also caught no particles while using it, so I took it back out. Then a couple days later, I got another one in the mail (duplicate shipment?). Now I have two that I don't use...

 

[Kestas]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ray H:
... aluminum oxide is a terrific abrasive... If your aluminum engine and radiator are shedding small flecks of aluminum oxide, this is not something you want circulating around your water pump bearings and seals.

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Interesting stuff about aluminum oxide, but the white corrosion is generally hydrated aluminum oxide - a totally different crystal structure. I doubt that it's as abrasive as the pure stuff.

 

[Dieselsite]

Guys, we have been selling the coolant filters for the Fords for a few years. We're kinda the coolant filter guys over there. They definately need it. The water pumps don't last too long.


But.... the point of this post was, I need a Duramax truck, and a few older Dodges for coolant filter kits. We built one for the 03-04 Dodge Cummins and I need to see if it fits the older versions. I will send someone the parts for free for nothing more than working with me to install it the way I want and to take all the pics I need etc. I'll even have custom brackets made if needed at my expense, etc. We just finished the Ford 6.0L kit and I used Stainless steel for the bracket I built. Very Sharp!

So, moderators, I hope this won't get junked as "advertising", but I just need a few guys to give a kit to at no cost.

Also, if anyone thinks they have an idea for another application and they think there is a market, let me know, I might work something out with you.

Thanks, Bob
888-414-3457

 

[Stinky Peterson]

Actually the materials that are filterable don't cause too many problems with waterpump seals because they are too big to get into the seals. What does cause problems is the solids that can precipitate such as those from hard water or adding too much additive. These precipitate in the seal when they come into contact with O2 and form a pretty good grinding compound.

Stinky

 

[Stinky Peterson]

I forgot to mention, the black stuff you are seeing could be black iron oxide. This forms when lots of O2 is present and is accelerated by heat. This is easy to identify because it sticks to a magnet.

Stinky

 

[trynew]

While the water pump is important, I would think that a more important reason for clean coolant would be to keep the engine block, head and the radiator clean. The following quote is from the RMI-25 web site:

quote:

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Just 1/16 inch of mineral deposit on 1 inch cast iron is equivalent to 4 1/2 inches of cast iron, reduing heat dissipation by 40%.
Corrosion deposits of any kind raise the engine operating temperatures.
A spot of rust raises the temperature inside an engine as much as 700 degrees, causing hot spots and loss of cooling efficiency.

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I have cleaned a significant amount of either rust or gray (depending upon the vehicle) colored slime out of my cars using a toilet-paper filter in the cooling system. I am not sure what the slime is. Maybe there is always a few molecules that escape from the combustion chamber through the head gasket into the cooling system, even if the gasket is good. Anyway, I am glad to get that out of the coolant before it coats the cooling system.

 

[oilboy123]

Well 2 of the Tefba's have been checked and I did not see much of anything. I did flush the old coolant when I installed them. Might have had better results if they had not been flushed.

One car went 1500 miles and the other 1000. I'll keep checking them from time to time.

 

[trynew]

I have a hunch that the particles I am seeing are too small to be picked up by a regular filter like the one you are using. Toilet paper can filter very small sized particles (submicronic - less than one micron.)