Anyone tried Evan's waterless coolant?

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GTSSportCoupe

GTSSportCoupe

2LTE abuser
10 Year
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Threads
242
Messages
9,545
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
I've been pushing my 2lte too hard towing this past summer. I pull a 3200lb (loaded) camper trailer with it. I think I'm running on borrowed time. Power is good enough, but on hot days the water temps are borderline. I think I might pull the head this winter to make sure it's ok (will replace if not), and at the same time I'm considering going to a waterless coolant. I believe this would eliminate the possibility of a cracked head from boiling around the pre-cups and between the valves in the coolant passages.

Just wondering if anyone here has tried the stuff in a race car or any other special application. What are your thoughts?

I really like the LJ78 except for the damn heat absorbing IDI head. I've considered engine swaps, or just going to an HJ61 or HDJ81. Maybe even a UZJ100. I really like the LJ78 for the coils and narrow body (for wheeling) though, and I think I'd regret it if I moved on. Might give the evans a try before moving on.
 
I've used it on my '69 Mustang. Stuff works very well. You are right, it has a very high boiling point and due to the chemical
composition of the coolant it has no water, therefore it does not cavitate like water coolants. It's expensive, runs $45 / gal.
You have to use an aluminum radiator, copper not allowed. I've got all the brochures and paper on it at home. I get home
Oct 2. I thought of using it on the 12HT, just can't justify the cost of new rad right now. The other thing is, it's lifetime.
Should not have to replace it. It will allow your engine to run hotter, not sure how it would work out on your engine.
Jon PS I think I even have a couple of gallons kicking around
 
Thanks for the feedback Jon! We'll have to get out wheeling when you are back on Oct.

I think the new stuff is ok with copper now (according to their web info). If it wasn't, that would be a real PITA, as I'd have to deal with the heater core in addition to the rad.
 
Good with copper?? Hmmmm.. That would be interesting and make me reconsider. Unlike your engine, I don't have
any issues of running too hot, rather the contrary.
 
Water wetter is the s@$!. Used it for years in a few applications. Mix it w mostly water and just a bit of antifreeze and watch the temps drop. :cheers:
 
Motorcross kids use the stuff, they swear by it....those engines see some abuse...

I built a 450 Yamaha with over sized piston, ported head and even had the gears polished which reduced the friction thus adding a couple hp...hardly worth the couple hundred I thought at first, then I rode it and the gear box shifted so darn smooth.... Anyways a little of topic, but it was rejetted and we put a pipe on it and it started getting real hot, so we changed out the thermostat and threw in the waterless coolant..

FIXED...
 
Diesel Cruiserman said:
Motorcross kids use the stuff, they swear by it....those engines see some abuse...

...threw in the waterless coolant..

FIXED...
Click to expand...

Sounds like pretty convincing experience there. I think I might try the stuff. Sort of suprised other 2lte owners haven't tried it. In theory should solve the head crack issue. I'm about 100% certain the cracks occur from regular localized boiling around the pre-cups and between valves due to thin metal and epic heat loss there. The vapour then provides insulation between metal and coolant, so the metal over heats and eventually cracks.

For the fun of it, comparison of 2LT head cross cut vs. VW 1.6TD cross cut; both heads cracked in the little divit between valves. 2LT has way too thin metal around the pre-cups and especially between valves (where it cracks). Also interesting, the VW only has water jacket on one side of the pre-cup, while 2LT has water jacket all the way around. Probably why 2LT suffers more loss of heat into the coolant.

2LT:
forumrunner_20130818_182800-jpg.794748


VW:

pre1.jpg
 
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I am sure this question has been asked before Nick..........but why is when we installed a 3L head we had shat loads of smoke on start up and under acceleration once installed?

My guess was something with the fuel delivery but could not figure out the drastic change?

Rob
 
Hey Rob, my initial guess would be a difference in compression, or flow characteristics of the pre-cups. I know the 3L cam has different timing specs too; suited more to normally aspirated diesel operation. I think they are sensitive to head gasket thickness too.
 
I was just going through the Evans website, I forgot that it also runs on very little pressure. I'm still reading.
I emailed tech, asked about using copper rad. Should have an answer by morning.
 
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GTSSportCoupe said:
Hey Rob, my initial guess would be a difference in compression, or flow characteristics of the pre-cups. I know the 3L cam has different timing specs too; suited more to normally aspirated diesel operation. I think they are sensitive to head gasket thickness too.
Click to expand...

That makes sense with the cam and naturally aspirated engines, never really put two and two together.. fuel pump delivery for factory cam.. you think playing with the pump timing might of cleared this up?

Little off topic... but hope you continue to prove the 2L haters wrong..:beer: Even Wayne...
 
Diesel Cruiserman said:
That makes sense with the cam and naturally aspirated engines, never really put two and two together.. fuel pump delivery for factory cam.. you think playing with the pump timing might of cleared this up?

Little off topic... but hope you continue to prove the 2L haters wrong..:beer: Even Wayne...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's possible the smoke could have been cleared up by tuning the motor a bit. Maybe increasing boost, turning down fuel, playing with timing etc. There is actually a lot of easily tuned variables on the 2lte.

To be honest I'm getting tired of fighting the inevitable. My 2lte is tuned awesome for just moving the truck (not matter the conditions). But once I hook up a 3200lb brick to the back in hot summer weather up long grades, it's a loosing battle I'm afraid. I'm at a crossroads right now, trying to plan for next summer. A new cruiser, new engine, or maybe just the evans coolant is in the future. If money were not an issue, I'd be swapping a tweaked 1HDT into an HZJ77 and calling it a day. But money is tight.
 
Nick, there are starting to be a few 12HT powered HJ61's reaching a cancerous end to their lives, a donor might be out there.

On a better note on topic: Reply from Evans cooling

Jonathan...............you don't have to go to aluminum radiators, but
they are a better choice for flow than a copper/brass one. The heater
core is not a problem but I would check it for wear and core fatigue due
it being so old. If the core checks out fine, then using our coolant is
good to go.
Thank you for your inquiry,
Evans Technical Support
888-990-COOL

I had commented on the fact that our Land Cruisers were 30 yrs old, and finding replacement aluminum radiators was a genuine problem.
 
Hey Jon, thanks for sharing the response from Evans; good to have that confirmed. I think the reason they like the better flowing rads is the evans coolant starts to jell a bit when temps get really low (-30C or lower). High flow rad will reduce chance of issues. Not a big deal in our west coast climate though.

Yeah, there is a 12HT on the lower mainland for sale for $2500. But I'd need to switch to the heavy duty front end (longer) to make space for a 6 cylinder, which is a bit of a PITA. I wonder if a 13BT would stand up well to abuse? Bit of extra boost and fuel and I know it would make the power.
 
I'm glad to see someone considering this. I have thought for years that I'd like to try Evans in a Prado and run the crap out of it to see how it would do. I had a German LJ73 with two broken heads before anybody even thought about importing JDMs. The problem used to be that Evans was only good down to -25C so folks around here were reluctant to try it but I think it is reformulated now to lower temperatures.

SBC heads will break at 250F like clockwork and yet the race guys run them over 300F all the time with Evans. That's saying something.
 
lowenbrau said:
I'm glad to see someone considering this. I have thought for years that I'd like to try Evans in a Prado and run the crap out of it to see how it would do. I had a German LJ73 with two broken heads before anybody even thought about importing JDMs. The problem used to be that Evans was only good down to -25C so folks around here were reluctant to try it but I think it is reformulated now to lower temperatures.

SBC heads will break at 250F like clockwork and yet the race guys run them over 300F all the time with Evans. That's saying something.
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for your input. There was one LJ78 owner on the forums here who used the evans waterless coolant (handle - dberwin). I tried to message him to see how it worked for him, but for some reason my message was blocked. Searching through his posts, I did see that his head had failed at one point, but I don't know if that was before or after the evans. Wish I could contact the guy. Found his phone number through google, haha, but imagine he'd be a little wierded out if I called him.
 
I'm going to be switching to the Evans when I get home. I realized that I'm about 2 yrs and 20k on my current coolant and was going to do a
change when I got home before winter anyways.
Now the dealer I knew when I bought Evans was a guy in Edmonton, with a son in Ladysmith ( believe it or not) so he actually comes down fairly regularly and actually phoned me and brought it to my house. Saved a fortune on shipping. I'll contact him and see what current situation is.
I will need to order the prep fluid, make sure I get the block and heater cores flushed properly. 3% residual water max it says to maintain proper performance. The mustang was a fresh block so it wasn't an issue then.

I do have 3 or 4 gals from when I was running the Mustang. BTW it had an elec fan,
and although the engine ran hotter than a normal 351W it ran smooth always, and that was a couple of high speed runs up the island ( ~ 100 mph )

I don't remember the concern about it gelling at -25 or below. I guess I've jumped that issue - Webasto!!

Nick, if you have no intention on the 12HT, and if you want, please pm me with contact info. I have a friend with an 80 looking for a conversion.
Might keep Rob busy all winter yet! 13BT would be great for you Nick, but I don't know if it would pull a trailer as well as a 12HT, there are others
with more experience than me on that, Lowenbrau would know I expect.
 
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