Does anyone NOT run SCA's in their coolant

[gatorman21218]

Also I think the higher compression of the IDIs in particular makes them more susceptible to cavitation. I know a 7.3 PSD is 16 or 17:1. I dont know about the GMs or any others

 

[GOOSE]

High compression definitey attracts cavatation. Isn't the cost like nil compared to what can happen? Its too easy not to use for me.

 

[Diesel JD]

I don't think anyone would voluntarily not run SCA if they were in the know...but I remember shopping for an IDI, and except on this board, if you ask people about SCAs or cavitation, they will look at you like you have 3 heads. In many cases this includes people who you might think would have some clue what you're talking about. I guess the operative question is should anyone consider a used 7.3 IDI purchase if there isn't evidence of it's proper SCA and coolant maintenance. The only other thing would be if you had an engine you didn't care about and wanted to just experiment to see how long it would go...but that would be an expensive experiment...or not, and probably wouldn't be very repeatable. It seems like it is such a variable phenomenon. I wonder how come it isn't more consistent and predictable.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

IIRC Darrin had located a letter from Ford that was dated a few years back stating to those who had purchased a vehicle with the 7.3's needed to be aware that a cavitation issue was found to be a problem with that particular engine.

Whoops, just a few years too late.

 

[BigRigTech]

438,000km on my 91, just your plain jane poor man's green coolant in it....I don't know for how long - I just added some fresh stuff to top it up....I run the same stuff in the 92 too.....It's funny, some truckers swear by ELC, other's laugh and say the rads, hoses and head gaskets blow up too frequent to make it worth it....I tend to agree...In a highway tractor it's usually not in there all that long....