Engine Maintenance Tip of the Month

It's important to make sure that your compact diesel engine has a clean radiator with the correct mix of H2O and antifreeze. I had a guy come in the shop the other day with his engine. The radiator was plugged up with all kinds of debris causing his engine to overheat.

By not properly cleaning your radiator or adding the correct mix of water and antifreeze, you risk overheating, damaging the engine or cracking the head. With this in mind, here are a couple of preventative measures:

1) Clean your radiator fins on an as-need basis. Some guys clean their radiator fins once a week while others once every 5 years. Of course, this will depend on the environment and the application.

2.) Make sure that you use a 50/50 water antifreeze mix. Believe it or not, I've seen guys use straight water or antifreeze which resulted in their engines overheating. Check your operator's manual to see how often you need to change the radiator fluid.

Hope this helps.

Scott