I'm very happy to have found this forum. Perhaps I can finally get some answers or at least advice.

I have a vintage 1972 Newell motorhome which was repowered in 1981 with a Detroit 8.2L Fuel Pincher turbo diesel. This is my first diesel engine. As of today this 33 year old engine has about 60,000 miles on it. I've done some research on this engine and it is known for blowing head gaskets. This would be really unfortunate since in the last year I haven't been able to find anyone with the tools to set the mechanical injector heights should we have to pull a head. Many other forums get nasty to people who have questions about this engine so I politely ask that I not be told to dump this engine in a lake....it runs great, has low mileage and with proper care I expect it to continue running for my lifetime since I can't see putting another 50k on a motorhome.

When I purchased it last year it had some very old coolant in it. Everything was rusty so we flushed it and put in some of the pink Diesel coolant we got from Advance Auto Parts. Shortly thereafter the radiator sprung a leak so I had it re-cored, changed all the hoses, new thermostats, flushed and refilled the cooling system with new coolant (again the pink stuff).

I have years of experience using DexCool in my vintage gasoline engines and LOVE it. I change it every 4 years and my cooling systems look like new. I've never discovered any corrosion issues when using DexCool. I'd like to use it in my Detroit, but any Diesel mechanic I talk to (besides telling me to change engines) says to use the pink stuff. I'm not convinced that this coolant is anything but expensive window cleaning solution and I'm worried that additional corrosion will compromise the head gaskets in my engine.

I've contacted Detroit and they sent me to Diamler who in turn sent me to MTU who in turn sent me back to Diamler who said they don't have any engineers left familiar with the 8.2.

Does anyone know if I can I use DexCool as a coolant in my Detroit? What are the risks?

Thank you very much!

Bob Kopicki
1972 Newell Motorhome with 1981 Detroit 8.2L Turbo
1976 GMC C1500
1967 Triumph TR-4a