That Tuesday last spring where three diesel trucks rolled in with the same exact issue

I swear it was like some weird curse struck the same fleet. Three Ford 6.0 Powerstrokes from the same landscaping company came in all in one day, all with blown EGR coolers. First one I figured okay bad luck, second one got me scratching my head, third one I started checking the calendar for Friday the 13th. Turns out they had been running the same batch of coolant from a bad supplier and it was eating the cooler tubes from the inside out. The shop owner spent like two hours on the phone with the coolant company before they finally admitted a bad batch. I ended up doing all three EGR cooler replacements in three days flat which is normally a two week job if I was taking my time. Wish I had charged more but hey the fleet manager bought us lunch all three days. Has anyone else run into a bad batch of coolant that wrecked parts like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_singh720d ago

I read somewhere that some coolant batches have had issues with the silicate package settling out, kinda like what you described. That would explain why the tubes just got eaten away from the inside instead of a typical external failure. Sounds like you got off lucky only losing a few days, I heard a shop in Oklahoma had to do eight of those before they figured out the coolant was the problem.

cameronschmidt20d ago

Man, that Oklahoma shop story gives me chills. In my experience, when the silicate settles out you get that weird crystal formation that just chews through soft metals like butter. I'd highly recommend shaking the hell out of any new coolant jugs before you pour them in, just to make sure everything is mixed back up. Also, if you ever see a batch that looks kinda cloudy or has stuff floating in it, don't even risk it, just send it back.