84 KW, 350 Big Cam Cummins, Red coolant?

That is a old CAT Extended life coolant.

Flush it, pull hoses back flush everything. And do not mix with any other red coolant should it still be available. There is nothing that says you cannot use ordinary 50/50 green or other as long it's water based.

Double check and see if CAT still makes the Red coolant for that engine.

It's been a life time since I dealt with the big cams and am more towards replacing sensors and stuff on those things back in the day leaving the cooling fluid to someone else. If I remember right, it was always the green and water mix. Slop it into the rad in the morning before rolling. The smell is instant recognizing when there was a blown heater core as happened a few times that leaked like crazy.

 

I wouldn't pay CAT prices for Extended-Life coolant, but at the same time, don't go to an auto parts store either. Use a good H.D. coolant from your truck supplier. Coolants can be mixed, but if you go with E.L. coolant, don't mix reg/green because it will downgrade the E.L properties. Put some DCA in too with your new coolant filter.

 

ive run the walmart green for years with no problems

 

Yep, you can, but the HD stuff has better corrosion properties and other stuff I can't remember right this second.

 

Red and green don't play well together. Some people say they don't mix and others say it becomes sludge. Either way its not good.

 

Im inclined to follow the majority here in favor of no green into the Red ELC.

Ive had very limited experience with coolant because for the most part I fixed bad gauges, sensors or blown heater cores where necessary, heavier repairs went to the shop. Ranging from a bad radiator cap to a water pump. The water pump failure was detected in philly by smell on 95, I did not stop thinking about it until Kenly Carolina and shut her off for bunk. Next morning she had dumped it all into a lake. It was a green lake and a small 350 cat.

Thinking about coolant colors and so forth I simply do not have enough to work with. I thought the Red Coolant had gone away over the decades to history.

 

An older Cummins is designed to run green with a DCA additive and that it all.

 

I decided to change everything to extended life coolant some years ago. Only when a major refile was required with the goal of only having one anti-freeze that is supposed to be superior. Lost a few water pumps and stopped unless water pump is changed. Old Blue to the left is still green with the original radiator.