What's spilled on this engine's hood?

[sd45elect2000]

1) anti freeze is expensive. You would need 125 gallons to properly protect most engines.

2) Anti freeze is corrosive to seals, especially neoprine. If for example a leak develops in a water jumper on a power assembly and gets into the crankcase anti freeze will also strip the babbit and finish off of the main engine bearings.

3) If a hose or coupling blows the water plus the expensive anti freeze will be lost.

Randy Stahl

[peteski]

Ok, so like with everything else, it is all about the bottom line (cost).

[sd45elect2000]

of course

[Angus Shops]

I’ve heard that diesel coolant systems aren’t really all that watertight and coolant water could end up in the lube soil, and that glycol in the bearings is fatal. I assume that a little water in the oil could be managed, but not glycol. Plus, as noted, it’s expensive, it’s toxic, and diesels constantly need a cooling water ‘top up’ and it would be hard to keep an accurate record of the water/glycol ratio. I’ve also read accounts of engines breaking down, or derailing, or cases of fuel starvation out on the line in the winter where the crew would have to find the energy to drain the coolant system of the shut down engines before calling it a day. Can you imagine: you’ve just plowed into the weeds and now you need to crawl into the mess to drain the engines, at 30 below, in the dark?!
Geoff

[sd45elect2000]

I’ve heard that diesel coolant systems aren’t really all that watertight and coolant water could end up in the lube soil, and that glycol in the bearings is fatal. I assume that a little water in the oil could be managed, but not glycol. Plus, as noted, it’s expensive, it’s toxic, and diesels constantly need a cooling water ‘top up’ and it would be hard to keep an accurate record of the water/glycol ratio. I’ve also read accounts of engines breaking down, or derailing, or cases of fuel starvation out on the line in the winter where the crew would have to find the energy to drain the coolant system of the shut down engines before calling it a day. Can you imagine: you’ve just plowed into the weeds and now you need to crawl into the mess to drain the engines, at 30 below, in the dark?!
Geoff

Been there, done that.

[fire5506]

As was said most of what looks like black streaking is the paint worn clean. The streak below the red circle on the lower side is spilled fuel, the red circle is where the fuel fill is. The streak at the bottom of the doors that appears to be over the fuel filler from this angle is from either oil leaks or the air box drain.

Anti-freeze isn't used as it is very expensive to use in a locomotive and is detrimental to the bearings in the engine. There are always coolant leaks on locomotives. The additive that we used was a green color and we had a color chart that you put by the sight glass and compared the colors, that gave you an idea on how much additive to add. Most of the leaks are external so not a real problem for the engine, but the oil is tested regularly to look for problems developing in the engine. The boron level gives you an Idea how much water is leaking into the engine.

In the winter the engines are left running, they do not start easily when very cold. Some of the newer engines have on board heaters for the engines and coolant. The real newer engines have an auto start system that when certain parameters are met the engine will start itself and run until everything is okay to shut down again. The older engines if they couldn't be kept running in freezing temps then the coolant was drained.