DFC Diesel is the company behind the podcast intro. It usually means the show is connected to diesel parts and shop experience.
Concept
regulatory and emissions
Emissions rules can change how diesel engines are built and tuned. Those changes can also affect how the truck runs and what problems show up, including temperature and cooling-related issues.
Start-stop technology turns the engine off when you’re stopped (like at a light) and turns it back on when you start moving again. It helps save fuel, but it can also affect how hard the engine and related systems work day to day.
Concept
regulatory side
The regulatory side is basically the government rules about emissions and what cars are required to do. Car makers plan years ahead, so when rules change, it can be hard to know what will be required by the time a vehicle is ready.
A GPF is a filter on gasoline cars that catches soot from the exhaust. It’s mainly there to meet emissions rules, so if regulations change, the need for it can change too.
Company
Rizz loan
Rizz loan is an additives brand the hosts are talking about. In this conversation, they’re explaining how its products relate to leak-stopping additives like Bars Leaks.
Bars Leaks makes products you pour into a car’s cooling system to help stop small leaks. It works by putting a sealing material into the leak area while the coolant circulates.
The Lincoln Nautilus is a luxury SUV, meaning it’s designed to be comfortable and practical for everyday driving. It’s made by Lincoln, and it typically costs more than regular non-luxury SUVs. The podcast may mention it because the name “Nautilus” is also used in other contexts.
Concept
USS Nautilus
The USS Nautilus is a famous historical ship. The host is just saying they like that kind of history, not discussing car technology here.
BarzLeaks is a leak-sealing product you add to a system. The idea is that it flows to the leak, then hardens or forms a seal so the leak stops. It’s often used as a “stop the leak” approach.
A condenser is a heat-exchange component where a hot fluid releases heat to another medium. In the transcript, the condenser is described as having a leak, which matters because leaks in heat exchangers can quickly reduce cooling effectiveness and lead to overheating.
This is the idea of using a sealant to plug a leak from the inside. It can work for small leaks, but it doesn’t fix the real problem that caused the leak in the first place.
Term
DF fluid
“DF fluid” is a special fluid used in diesel systems to help them work properly. If it gets too cold, it can crystallize, which means the system can’t use it the way it’s supposed to. When that happens, the truck may warn you or limit operation until the fluid is corrected.
Crystallize means the fluid turns into crystals instead of staying liquid. If that happens, the truck can’t move the fluid through the system the way it needs to. Keeping the fluid warm enough and using the right product helps prevent this.
Your engine makes a lot of heat, and the cooling system is what keeps it from getting too hot. Coolant circulates through the engine and radiator to carry heat away. If you don’t pay attention to it, the truck can overheat and cause expensive damage.
Coolant is the liquid that helps your engine stay at the right temperature. It carries heat away so the engine doesn’t overheat. If coolant gets old or contaminated, it can stop protecting the engine and cooling parts.
DIYers refers to people who do maintenance themselves rather than using a shop. The segment highlights that modern cooling-system designs can be more difficult to access, which increases the chance of deferred maintenance. That can lead to overheating-related problems over time.
Corrosion is rust-like damage that can happen inside the cooling system. If the coolant isn’t fresh or isn’t the right type, it can stop protecting the metal parts. Over time, that damage can cause blockages and leaks.
Diesel trucks sometimes have to “clean themselves” by burning off soot. That cleaning process gets very hot, so the engine and cooling system have to work harder.
A DPF is a filter that catches soot from diesel exhaust. When it fills up, the truck burns the soot off, which creates extra heat and can stress the cooling system.
When engineers test trucks, they try to recreate tough real-life conditions. The goal is to see how well the truck’s cooling and other systems survive when it’s hot, climbing hills, or towing.
You generally shouldn’t just mix random coolant types. Some coolants don’t play well together and can cause sludge or less protection against rust. If you need to change coolant, it’s best to follow the vehicle’s recommended type or do a proper flush.
Glycol is the main liquid inside your radiator/cooling system. It helps keep the engine from freezing in cold weather and from boiling over when things get hot.
Electrolysis is a kind of chemical/electrical reaction. In a cooling system, it can make corrosion happen faster because different metal parts and the coolant can create an electrical effect that eats away at the metal.
Stray current is electricity that’s going somewhere it shouldn’t. When it flows through metal parts in the presence of coolant, it can speed up rust and pitting. Fixing the electrical connection/grounding can help stop the problem.
If two different metals sit in coolant together, they can act like a battery. One metal gets “sacrificed” and corrodes faster, which can create small pits. Using the right coolant and keeping metal contact/compatibility correct helps prevent it.
Pitting is localized corrosion where small holes or craters form on the metal surface. It’s a common outcome of galvanic corrosion and other corrosion processes in coolant systems. Pitting can weaken components and lead to leaks even if the overall surface doesn’t look badly corroded.
Mixed metals can rust faster when they’re both exposed to coolant. Coolant acts like a conductor, so one metal can corrode quicker than the other. Keeping the system’s materials and coolant correct helps prevent that.
SCA additives are chemicals mixed into coolant to help prevent rust and corrosion. Over time, the coolant can lose its protective power. If the additives break down, the cooling system can start corroding internally.
Mixing different coolants can make the protection weaker. The chemicals meant to stop corrosion may not work well together. That can let rust build up inside the cooling system.
That “check engine” light means the car’s computer noticed something wrong. It doesn’t always mean the engine is about to fail, but you should scan it for codes so you know what the problem actually is.
Diesel engines work differently than gas engines: they don’t use spark plugs to ignite the fuel. That difference can affect how the engine runs and what kinds of problems show up, especially around cooling and maintenance.
Coolant additives are liquids you mix into your engine coolant. They can help stop rust/corrosion inside the cooling system and can also help the engine run cooler if the coolant isn’t doing its job as well.
Overheating happens when the engine gets too hot because the cooling system isn’t working well. It can be caused by low coolant, blocked passages, or coolant that’s no longer protecting the system.
They’re saying some vehicles have cooling systems that aren’t quite big enough for how hard they’re used. If you push the truck a lot, the engine can get hotter than the system can handle.
They’re describing a tough driving situation: hauling near your truck’s limit and climbing hills in very hot weather. That’s when the engine can run hotter because it’s working harder and the air isn’t helping cool it down.
Aftermarket companies make upgrades for your truck, like performance tuning or turbo-related parts. The hosts are warning that these changes can create extra heat and stress compared to the factory setup.
“Turbos and tuning” means adding or changing turbo boost and adjusting the computer settings to make more power. More power usually means more heat, so the cooling system has to work harder.
Car
Ford 6 liter
They’re talking about a Ford diesel engine that’s about 6.0 liters. The point is that Ford made more power from it than some other versions, and that extra stress can lead to more problems—especially when the cooling system can’t keep up.
International Navistar is the company behind Navistar’s diesel engine family used in some trucks. Here, the hosts say Navistar’s version was “detuned,” meaning it was tuned for less output, which they claim helped it avoid many problems compared with the Ford-tuned version.
Detuned just means the engine is programmed to make less power. Making less power usually runs it easier, which can help prevent overheating and other stress-related issues.
They mean the engine was made to produce more power right from the factory. More power can create more heat, and if the cooling system isn’t up to it, you can end up with overheating or coolant problems.
These are aftermarket tools that try to make the diesel produce more power. More power usually means more heat and stress, so if the truck already runs hot or has coolant issues, tuning can make it worse.
When a boosted engine makes more cylinder pressure than the clamping system can handle, the cylinder head can lift slightly off the block. That can lead to combustion gases escaping, coolant leaks, overheating, and ultimately head gasket failure.
The head bolts hold the top of the engine (the cylinder head) tight to the engine block. If they aren’t strong enough for the boost/pressure, the head can start to lift and cause leaks or overheating.
Head studs are upgraded fasteners used to clamp the cylinder head more reliably than factory bolts, especially on high-boost or tuned engines. They help maintain clamping force and reduce the risk of head gasket failure from head lift.
Term
regular truck owner
The speaker is talking about a normal truck owner, not a race team. The takeaway is that common ownership choices—like changing how the truck is set up—can affect overheating and leak problems.
Monitoring temperatures means checking engine or coolant temps while you drive or run the engine. It helps you figure out if something you added or changed is truly helping cooling. But you have to compare fairly, like using similar RPM/load, or you might misread the results.
Engines make more heat when they spin faster and work harder. That’s why comparing cooling at the same RPM is a fair test. If temperatures drop at the same RPM after a change, it’s more likely the change is actually helping.
Concept
using fluid or additive to improve cooling performance
The hosts discuss a common question: whether running a specific fluid or additive will measurably improve cooling performance. The important nuance is that some products may only show benefits under certain conditions (like existing cooling system issues), and without proper temperature monitoring you can’t easily prove the effect. This ties directly into overheating and coolant-leak diagnostics—sometimes the “fix” is addressing the underlying problem rather than adding something.
The thermostat is like a temperature gate for your engine coolant. It stays closed until the engine warms up, then it opens to let coolant circulate. If you don’t have a way to measure temps accurately, it’s hard to tell whether anything is improving cooling.
A gauge is a tool that shows you what the engine temperature is doing. If you don’t have one, you’re basically guessing whether your cooling system is working better. With a gauge, you can compare temperatures before and after changes.
A dyno is a machine that lets you run the engine while it’s controlled and measured. Here, they used it to see how engine temperatures changed when they added a product versus not adding it.
Temperature sensors are small probes that measure how hot different parts of the engine get. Using several of them helps you see whether the engine is running hotter in certain spots.
Surfactants are chemicals that help a liquid spread and work better across surfaces. In a cooling system, that can mean the coolant transfers heat more efficiently so the engine doesn’t get as hot.
A 50-50 mix means you combine coolant concentrate and water in equal amounts. It’s a common recipe that helps the engine stay protected in both hot and cold weather.
Dosage just means using the right amount of the product for your engine’s cooling system size. Getting it wrong can mean it won’t work as intended or could cause problems.
This means the product is meant for a cooling system that holds about 20 quarts of coolant. Using it on a system with a very different capacity can make the additive too weak or too strong.
The radiator cap is what keeps pressure in the cooling system. You should only open it when the engine is cool because hot pressurized coolant can spray out and burn you.
Fuel additives are chemicals you add to gas or diesel. The point here is that using more than the recommended amount usually doesn’t help much and can be a waste.
Coolant doesn’t last forever. A cooling system maintenance interval is the recommended schedule for refreshing coolant so your engine stays cool and doesn’t rust inside the system.
An oil cooler helps keep oil from getting too hot. If it fails, oil can leak into the coolant and cause overheating and damage because the coolant system wasn’t meant to handle oil.
If oil gets into your coolant, it can act like the wrong chemical for the cooling system parts. Even if you replace coolant, leftover oil residue can still cause damage and leaks.
Seals are the rubber or gasket parts that keep coolant from leaking. If oil gets mixed into the coolant, it can damage those seals and cause leaks to keep coming back.
After a transmission problem, tiny metal bits can get stuck in the cooler. Flushing it helps push that dirty fluid out so the new transmission fluid doesn’t immediately carry debris back into the system.
When a transmission breaks, small metal bits can get carried by the fluid. Some of those bits can collect in the cooler, and then they can keep causing problems unless you clean them out.
They’re asking whether old buildup inside the cooler is worth cleaning out. Sometimes it’s just normal wear, and sometimes it’s heavy contamination that can shorten the life of new parts.
The head gasket is a seal between the engine block and the cylinder head. If it goes bad, exhaust gases can leak into the coolant, which can quickly damage the cooling system and lead to overheating.
Normally, exhaust gases stay in the engine. If they get into the coolant, they can make the coolant chemically harmful, which can rust and damage parts inside the cooling system.
Power flushing is like a more forceful coolant cleaning. It’s not always needed, and if your system already has problems, the extra agitation can sometimes make things worse.
Your cooling system runs pressurized so the coolant boils at a higher temperature. If something is wrong—like exhaust gases getting in—pressure can rise too much and cause overheating and leaks.
Car
Power Stroke
“Power Stroke” is the name Ford uses for many of its diesel engines. They’re bringing it up because different trucks may use different coolant formulas, and you want to make sure the product you add won’t react badly.
Car
Duramax
“Duramax” is GM’s diesel engine name. They’re asking if the coolant product you add is compatible with the coolant your truck already uses.
Car
Cummins
“Cummins” is the name of a diesel engine used in many trucks. They’re asking if the coolant product works safely with the coolant those trucks are designed to use.
Compatibility testing means checking that a coolant product is safe to mix with the coolant your truck already uses. The goal is to prevent corrosion and other cooling-system problems.
Brand
4GM
This looks like a misheard “GM.” They’re basically asking whether the coolant product works with the factory coolant recommendations from major truck makers.
“Big Three OEMs” means the biggest car manufacturers in the U.S. When a supplier stays connected to them, they can learn about new coolant requirements earlier and test products to match what new vehicles need.
OEM means “original equipment manufacturer.” An OEM division makes parts that go into the vehicle when it’s being built, not parts you buy later to fix or upgrade it.
“Heavy duty” means machines that are built to work hard for long periods, like trucks and construction equipment. Cooling and leak problems matter a lot because these machines run in tough conditions.
Caterpillar is the company behind a lot of the big machines you see on construction sites. They also use diesel power in heavy equipment, so it’s a good example of the “heavy-duty” world.
Company
Kamatsu
Komatsu (often misspelled as “Kamatsu” in transcripts) is a major manufacturer of construction equipment and diesel-powered machinery. Mentioning Komatsu reinforces that the conversation is about industrial/heavy-duty engine and equipment ecosystems.
Company
GE
GE is a big industrial company, and in this context it’s tied to train locomotive engines. It’s mentioned to show the discussion includes diesel power used in transportation and industry.
A heater core is like a tiny radiator that sits inside the dashboard. Hot engine coolant flows through it to make warm air for the cabin—if it leaks, you can lose coolant.
A remanufactured engine is a used engine that gets taken apart, inspected, and rebuilt with new or good replacement parts. The goal is for it to run like it should, not like an unknown used motor.
ISO 9001 is a quality-management standard that focuses on consistent processes—how a company builds, tests, and controls products. When an aftermarket remanufacturer says it meets ISO 9001:2015, it’s signaling disciplined manufacturing and documentation, not just “good luck” quality.
“Testing validation” refers to the verification steps used to confirm components and finished engines meet required performance and durability expectations. In an aftermarket reman context, this helps reduce the risk of repeat failures by ensuring the engine is checked before it’s shipped.
A warranty is the promise that if the engine has problems, the company will cover repairs or replacement. “Industry leading” usually means the coverage is better than average.
OEM means “factory original.” A basic OEM engine rebuild is meant to match how the engine was originally built, not necessarily to fix weaknesses that caused earlier problems.
Concept
speed of air series
They mention a “speed of air” engine series. The gist is that it’s a special diesel setup meant to make the engine burn fuel more efficiently, which can help power and fuel economy.
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Welcome to the Diesel Podcast presented by DFC Diesel.
Clayton and Eric, welcome back to the Diesel Podcast. How are you guys doing?
Doing well. Thanks for having us back.
Yes, doing great. Thank you.
I love chatting with you guys. There's a lot of information that I learned last year.
We had some really awesome episodes that were really popular talking about diesel fuel, DF fluid,
a bunch of other things that I think people on these newer trucks,
they may not have the education or know where to find the information.
And you guys had a lot of great info there.
So for anyone that didn't check those out, definitely head back on YouTube or a podcast app and check them out.
But I thought it'd be great to see what you guys are up to here in 2026,
where I can't believe we're almost done with the first quarter.
We're pretty close and heading into spring and summer.
So what have you guys been up to?
We continually work on new product development, looking at existing vehicles, how things are changing,
talking about cooling systems, different coolants,
trying to keep our finger on what's happening with regulatory and emissions
between administrations and how that will affect things short and long term.
So it's been a busy few months, actually.
How crazy has that been?
I didn't think to ask you that question, but it was something in the back of my mind,
like over last summer into the fall into recently where we've seen potentially these massive changes with DF fluid
and not just for trucks, but like equipment and things like that.
Is that really hard to strategically plan for?
Because I imagine this stuff is years in the making when you're testing products,
inventing testing, getting it to production.
And then I never thought I'd see the day where we would talk about start-stop technology,
not being enforced and asking the big three,
hey, what are you guys seeing for these kind of failures?
So it seems to be definitely different than I've been used to in 10 years of doing podcasts.
It sure is.
COVID was a unique time in of itself, but with multiple things going on right now,
it seems to be almost that on steroids.
But on the regulatory side, the car companies are working also so far in advance.
So there's vehicles right now, we can talk about in the future,
but that have GPF filters on them, gasoline particulate filters.
So yeah, with regulations changing, will they actually be needing them?
That's to be determined, but they're already ordering components
and have all the stuff designed and ready.
So the stuff's happening.
The diesel side, with the 27 regulations,
we were hearing things about possibly two DPFs going to be needed on these vehicles
and increasing the injection rate of the death fluid so that it was going to be higher.
The truck people are probably in about the same boat.
Maybe they can pull back on some of these things if it truly goes away.
But then you have the states that are going to be,
I think there's 16, 18 states that follow California regulations.
So if the states implement something,
then if there's enough of the states to do that,
the auto companies are going to have to follow through on it,
even if it's not a federal regulation.
I think something interesting to follow throughout the year
and chat with you guys once a little bit more is known.
Something that was really cool when we were talking before the podcast a bit
is about the history of bars leaks and Rizz loan.
And there's a really deep, rich history there.
And I kind of geek out a bit on history in general,
but especially with companies and their evolution.
I thought it would be cool to start there today and talk about,
educate us on the two companies, the relationship and then the history
and the experience with both of them in serving the automotive market.
Sure. Yeah, I'd love to do that.
I think we mostly talked about Rizz loan.
I'm not sure if we have been talked much about our sister company,
bars leaks, but you know, Rizz loan pretty much any of our additives
go underneath that side and then stop leaks for the most part
go underneath the bars leak side.
But we all fall under the same umbrella of our parent company that's family owned.
The Rizz loan as we talked last year is 100 plus years old.
Bars leaks is now almost 80 years old.
So old time brands been around a long time,
seen a lot of change in the industry,
but then we even have other brands that fall underneath that parent company
that we do industrial or the OEM business,
where we make a lot of the OEM products that are used on the assembly line
and then we private label for the OEMs too.
So the bars leak side, we definitely know cooling systems.
We know about all the stuff like products,
even though a chunk of it is focused on automotive,
it definitely falls into heavy duty industrial construction in that side too.
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I had seen a bit about the USS Nautilus and again,
being a history aficionado, I love that kind of stuff.
What was the details like with that and BarzLeaks?
And I think that kind of from the research that I did,
it's sort of, I don't want to say put the company on the map,
but it kind of introduced the company to the marketplace.
Yeah, I mean, I've been around the company 32 years or so now.
So definitely wasn't alive back when this all happened,
but the company started in 47 for BarzLeaks side, that division.
And then the Nautilus, which was the first nuclear submarine
and they were going to make a trip underneath the ice underneath the North Pole
because they figured if they could find a way to get under there,
they could get to places a lot easier.
And the problem was they had a leak in the condenser
for this nuclear reactor that was powering the sub
and they tried solving it and they couldn't solve it
and they went up to, made it to the port in Seattle
and went out in civilian clothing and bought up all the BarzLeaks that they could.
They put half of it, circulated it through the system
and kept the other half just in case something came, a leak came back, sealed it
and I never had a leak issue on that again.
It's kind of what basically happens with most of the automotive too.
This is a permanent solution once the material penetrates and seals the leaking area.
There's so many questions I have about cooling systems
and that specifically is you think of the demands
and probably the intensity of the situation
and the money that was involved in that
and what they were trying to do
and then trying to find a solution for it
was probably, there was probably a lot of pressure on people
to be able to figure that out
and to relate that back to the truck side
and this is a question for you Eric
because when we chatted last year
you were the guy who was doing a lot of the testing
and getting a lot of the data
and checking out trucks
and I remember you telling me about cubes of DF fluid
and when they start to crystallize
and sometimes can even do that at the store
where they're being stored.
What I guess to start off is like, as a diesel truck owner
what do we miss with cooling systems
or cooling in general
specifically like with the fluid itself?
Yeah, essentially you know
that's the system that we see
that is one of the most neglected systems out there
you know a lot of people they don't even think twice
unless they go somewhere
and they're getting the oil change
and they tell them their coolant is bad
so I would say you know first step is just following
the manufacturer's recommendations
on how often you should change that coolant out
in your radiator
and then obviously using the correct kind of coolant.
I know Clay has a little bit more knowledge on that stuff
but you know a lot of these manufacturers
have specific types that they want you to use
and obviously how much
but you know these vehicles
they're getting harder and harder for DIYers
to service themselves.
You know the majority of newer vehicles
don't even have a radiator cap
or it's covered up completely
so you have to take out a bunch of parts out to get to it
so the cooling system just ends up being neglected
and I would say you know electrolysis
and then the breakdown of the actual coolant itself
can start to occur as it's no longer as effective
but also corrosion
and then just dirt and debris is still kind of
you know certain spots can still get in there
so you know keeping the system clean
topped up with the correct coolant
that's at least my go-to for advice for anybody.
Is it even more demanding on trucks
like post 2007 and a half
because of the heat
that the engines are generating with regeneration
and DPFs were rasking a lot
of the cooling system
that maybe wasn't there on something
20, 30 years ago
but in like the lab setting or the R&D setting
Eric do you find that
that should be even more of a focus
with you know
either a diesel truck owner or enthusiast
is not neglecting that
cooling system because of the demands
that the trucks put on them today.
Yeah, yeah when we do our testing we try to go
as stringent as we possibly can
so you know to the very extreme
so you know maybe you got a big heavy-duty truck
you had you tow a lot
maybe you're going up into the mountains
and you're in a hot you know desert climate
so there's a lot of factors but that's what we try to do
is you know between the extremes
in temperatures and pressures and things like that
just so we can make sure
you know on the average everyday vehicle
our product works as intended
but then we also hit those extremes as needed as well.
What would you guys say
I like to think of things
in terms of I own
a diesel truck and I kind of
watch some videos and do a little bit of
reading but I'm not really
heavy in researching all the different products
and you know
I think for those people
even if you're a performance enthusiast
you want your vehicle to last as long as possible
and there's a tendency
I think for people to believe that coolant
is coolant and there's not much difference
between them so to take like a general
or overview of it
what should I understand about different types
of coolant how can they vary
can they be mixed
where should I be focusing in on
the fluid itself
I can add a couple things on that
and build on something else you just said
you're talking six figures even if for a light
what I would call a light duty
you know RAM
Cummins the you know Ford power
stroke GM Duramax
I mean
that's a significant amount
of money way more than
I paid for my house originally
for your vehicle so you know as far
as trying to keep them
longer and make sure that they last
I think it's
much more important than it even
used to be in the past so
yeah making sure you're using the right type
of coolant just keeping the coolant topped
off I mean that's definitely one
you know we're talking to
you know certainly operators of these
trucks some of the cases going to be owners
definitely the fleet side
that they usually try to keep a little
bit better eye on it but yeah
if you're continually having to top
off the coolant
and you don't see
a leak well you still there's a leak somewhere
even if you don't see it and it's funny
when we'll get people will call
our tech support line and say I don't
have a leak but I keep having to add coolant every
week well the human
thought is I don't see it
leaking so it's not leaking but
I keep having to put the coolant in there so
just the first thing is just making sure
that you keep it full and just check it I mean
it's easy as that and then
you'll react to if you are seeing
it get low and if you do see it get low
make sure you use the right
coolant you know a lot of these
ELC extended life coolants
you really got to make sure
that you're using consistently
the same what you're what you're putting in the vehicle
some you know the glycol part of it
as far as freeze protection
that pretty much lasts forever
it's the
additives in there that protect
that cooling system
are really the important piece
and when you mix different coolants they can fight each other
and not work as well
or we even see some compatibility
issues where it starts turning
into almost a goo or a gel
and it will start
building up inside the cooling system just because
that I think of all the different places
that coolant goes in an engine
from going through the heads
to the EGR coolers and there's a lot of different places
you can get a leak that it might not drip
down onto the you know the driveway
or something and and you might not
see it but I think that
from like
just talking with
our listeners or people that have questions
I find a lot of time it comes down to something
else
there's a leak it's not necessarily in the radiator
it's somewhere in that system
which is pretty complex
involves a lot of different
components and they can be tough
to track that down or like you just mentioned
Clayton with it kind of mixing and starting
to turn into a sludge and
that sort of stuff but Eric you mentioned
corrosion
where does corrosion come from in a cooling system
is it going through the metal components
that it can build is it water
where does that come from
yeah a little bit all of the above
essentially you know I mean you still
have water in there for the majority of the part
and you know water going against metal
for any extended period of time is just never
good
but another thing that can happen and there's actually called electrolysis
that can cause some corrosion
and you know in some
occasions you know maybe get a stray current
from the battery if your connection isn't great
and it's interfering somewhere else
but actually just having liquid
contacting two different types of metals
one can work as an anode
and the other as a cathode and they can actually
one can rob
microscopic bits from another one
and you'll see pitting and things like that
so you know mixed metals dirty
old coolant it's just not doing its job
as well you know they have the SCA additives
that help against the corrosion
and like Clay said when that stuff starts to break
down it's just not doing its job
or if you mix too many different
types then like he said they could be fighting
each other and you're not getting the proper
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I know that you guys take a real
a real strong approach to research
and development and then solving issues that
your customers
have on different levels with different types
of diesel engines
when we look out there in the marketplace
or when you guys looked out there in the marketplace
did you see any
gaps or shortcomings and then
like got together
to be able to address those
like through a product
like what would be the shortcomings that would be out there
and then like the second part of follow up to that would be
what product
or products did you guys
look at being able to offer to solve that
you know we've talked about a few of those
over the past year
but since we're mainly talking about
cooling systems let's
stick on that side
cooling system additive
that adds corrosion protection
but also helps with overheating
as one that was on our radar
for quite a few years
and what we ended up doing
was buying the leader
in that segment back in
2018
was a 50 plus year old company
out of Seattle called Hyperloo
and they had this super coolant product
so what we wanted to do
is we bought them brought it into
our fold
and then put it that one that particular ones
are now underneath the Rizlo brand but it's called
super coolant
because we know that there's lots of problems with overheating
it doesn't matter from
small stuff up to big stuff
it can be various reasons some of it's just because of
neglected cooling systems
older vehicles and trucks
that haven't been taken care of like they should
sometimes it's just
the size of the cooling system compared to
the vehicle
and then what you're intending to do so if you've got
a truck and you're
pretty much maximum load that you're hauling
and it's
115 in Arizona
or Nevada
or wherever you might be and you're climbing some hills
yeah there's
a line there that the manufacturers
say yeah this thing's going
to be able to work with it but
if you're at the top of your weight
you're going up a grade and the temperature
is so high they're just not
effectively able to function so this
product actually
helps with that
one of the big
things that I think with that
is
I don't think the majority of the market but there's definitely
a sizable segment of it which has built
a bunch of these aftermarket companies
as you get this power stroke Cummins
or Duramax you drive it stock till the warranty
runs out and then they start
talking or call these companies that I might have
on other episodes that do turbos and tuning
and
what I've learned is that
these engineers at 4GM
Ram or Cummins they design
these trucks for a particular power level
particular use and now we double
the power of it and now we start doing
these other things that really can tax
that system so I imagine that
coolant and the
cooling system becomes even more
crucial once
someone who owns one of these trucks may add
a bit more power to it
that's a very good point besides
just taxing you know that everything's
at the maximum of a stock
vehicle yeah then you do something
else a good example that would be
the Ford 6 liter which I know
is such a bad name for
so many people did own
did own one too
for the most part international
Navistar you know their version of it
detuned if you want to call it that
didn't have a lot of problems
and the Ford version
had a lot of problems because they really
bumped up the power stock
on that 6 liter and that didn't
even take people putting the power
adders programers
on that vehicle
so what would happen with it
is the head was basically lifting off the
block under boost because
the head bolts
in that were designed by
international that they would
work under this intended application
Ford bumped it up and then you had
consumers bumping it up even more from there
and that would be
a good example of that unfortunately
in that particular case
for our types of products
no we can't solve
a mechanical issue like
that you need to put studs
head studs in the vehicle
to fix that one just in that example
when
we take like say that
hyper cool super cool
it for a second and
you have just a regular
truck owner and
they swap
up to that product they start using it
is it something
if they were monitoring the temperatures
they might see it a little bit lower because
it's more efficient at heat dissipation
at a given RPM is it a difference
that they could measure
or no and I find that question happens
a lot with listeners they'll say okay
if I run this fluid or use this additive
am I going to notice a difference and how
can I tell if it's
performing better helping my
truck better so I thought that would be a good question to ask you guys
Eric
yeah
so some of that might matter
depending on what type of capabilities
some people have
for the most part the thermostat that's stock
in your vehicle it mostly works
at temperature and not at temperature
so unless you have some type of gauge
it's giving you more exact numbers
but with this product that Clay is talking about
I know all your viewers can't see
but this is our super cool in here
from the Rizzle and hyper cool
it's our part number HPC
100
and we formulated this we actually did do
a little bit more recently
we did an upgrade to it from what it was
originally when we picked it up
and what we did was a dyno
test where there's temperature
sensors in 14 I believe
different locations of the engine itself
and then they ran it
for a certain amount of time and then took those temperature
readings with with and without our
additive and what was
found was essentially the type the special
surfactants that we have in there
they essentially just do a better job
of carrying heat and colder
energy so it'll take more
heat away from the engine
and then it will help it to dissipate faster
in the radiator so it essentially
just makes your entire cooling system
operate at a slightly lower temperature
so overall through the cooling system
we say this product if you added
the correct dosage it's going to decrease
overall 30 degrees Fahrenheit
but at the actual cylinder head
we saw a temperature reduction
of up to 75 degrees
and it's actually
formulated it's not specifically
four diesels but works well in gas
and diesel applications
it is racetrack compliant so there's
no additional glycol in it
because you have to have just water
essentially at racetracks because the glycol
can be too slippery if it spills
and actually this product
water itself is by far the best coolant
that's out there but
does not have the protection against corrosion
and then obviously if you live in some of the northern
states you don't want your cooling system
freezing over in the middle of the night
so this product works
best in water but it works
in any sort of other type of coolant that's out there
that's glycol based like your typical
50-50 mixes
How would I use the product?
What's the dosage or the
proper way that
someone should use it?
Yep, so we have a chart on the back that shows
it gives a little bit more information
about some of the testing that we did
and then we do have a lot of technical data sheets
and things like that on our website if people
are interested in finding out more information
about it
but there's directions on the back so you would add
one bottle will treat a 20 quart system
and you're
going to basically just dump it right into where your coolant
goes if the overflow if you don't
have a radiator cap making sure it's cool
before you open the system up
but yeah, no you just dump
it in and you're good to go
and if you next time you change out your coolant
you can always add another bottle
and the answer to the question
that a lot of people ask is well if I had two
will it reduce the temperature even more
and the answer is no this is formulated to be
exactly what we recommend for the dose
and most bang for your buck that way
That's probably one of those
Is that always better?
That's a real common question
I imagine you guys get a lot is
if this particular
measurement is good if I double up on it
is it better but I remember we talked about that
with fuel additive products
and they're just being a limit
to what you can do
Now the big question is
I think about that truck that's reached that mileage
where the manufacturer states
it's time to change your coolant
What is the best
practice
or process because we hear lots of different terms
out there with coolant flush
or cleaning the system
and then I think
it's really tough because like if I take my truck somewhere
and I just say it's time for the coolant
they just I pay the bill they give me the keys
and I go down the road I don't know what they actually do
right so what
in your guys opinion is the best way to handle
a cooling system maintenance interval
I'm glad you mentioned that one
too because we've seen
some cases mainly
in the lighter duty automotive side
where some of these shops
they're actually just sucking out
your existing coolant adding some dye
to it maybe measuring it
see if it needs any inhibitors
added and then it's going back in the vehicle
there's definitely places
that are doing that but then
what majority of the other places are
do they're basically sucking out the coolant
they put the cooling system under a vacuum
and you're putting new coolant back in it isn't a
it isn't a flush it's just a change
is what most places do
if you're doing a
especially myself say if I'm doing
a coolant change I'm going to
go ahead and clean the system out
there's definitely good cleaning
products that are out there
if you've had a problem let's say
maybe you've had an oil cooler take a dump
and you started you got some oil in your cooling system
I know there's different products that claim
they'll take care of those
what I still see especially in the heavy duty
side dawn is probably
the number one flush for the cooling system
when you have an oil cooler problem
because you really that stuff
just gets into everything and if you leave it
in there it's going to attack the radiator
hoses and some of the seals and components
in there that's not designed
to be compatible with with
oil so you that one
is even more important you really got to make sure
you get those systems clean if you have a
have a failure some issue
one of the things I'm more familiar
with is when it comes to
trucks is transmissions
and I bring this up to ask this next question
is a lot of times when I talk with a
transmission builder and they say if you have
a failure you need to hot flush
the transmission cooler because all that
metal and debris is going to settle at the bottom of the
the cooler install a new transmission
the fluid gets going it pumps it back
through this five to ten thousand
dollar transmission that you just bought and it's going to damage it
does it the cooling
system or the cooler itself like does it
operate the same way with
the say the corrosion
or just the stuff that's in it for
fifty thousand hundred thousand miles do you get
that collection of
debris or deposits where
cleaning it would
it would be worth it for long-term longevity
if you have an issue that happens
let's say I mentioned the oil cooler
before but even let's say a head gasket
or there's some reason that you're getting
combustion gases into the
cooling system yeah that
that will definitely attack and cause
other issues can basically
start turning that coolant into an acid
that'll start eating things
but you don't have the where
components so it doesn't
mirror transmission in that same
way sometimes
you'll take a thermostat out
and when you're actually doing a flush
most of the time you don't
need to do it power flushing if you do
have an issue besides just again
draining it out and putting new coolant
out where you're getting pressure in there
and circulating it by far
is the best
Eric I just thought of a question to ask you
I should have asked you a couple minutes ago but when I
had asked how you use
the super coolant
and the dosage
I know someone listening is going to go well I've got a power stroke
or I've got a Cummins or I've got a Duramax
is it compatible and I want to
ask you more of a general question of
the R&D or the testing that you guys do with
that product and its compatibility
with what might either be
an OEM coolant
we could just stick with OEMs
you know for that but how does
with what you do
how do you guys test the compatibility
of that product with
what 4GM or RAM might recommend for their
OE coolant?
Yeah we will actually purchase
a whole bunch of off the shelf
you know you go down to your kind of big box
store and there's you know the multiple brands
you can pick up there but you know a lot
of the OEMs sell their actual coolant as well
so we have a big stockpile
of all of these and we freshen them up every
so often just you know making sure that it's
it's fresh and so we can
test on I mean
sometimes upwards to like 20 different types
of coolants
so we can run these through our machines and then
sometimes we'll even take a look at okay let's
check you know not just specifically
this product but anything that you're going to be putting
into your cooling system that we make
you know we want to test with some
older warm fluids and we want to test
with you know brand new stuff as well
so just that way we can cover the entire gamut
of different types of coolants
and really any type that might be
in any vehicle out there at any given time
and that's the nice thing about our proximity
here to a lot of the big three OEMs
is you know we get some of this news
and we do have a communication channel
with some of them so we're able to get a little
bit of a head start on a something new
and exciting that might be coming out so that
we're ready by the time that comes around
to being out on the market
it has a good point Eric what you mentioned
there that I mentioned that we
have these different divisions and one of them being
an OEM division so we
do have products that are used
in brand new vehicles
when they go down the assembly line
including equipment and heavy duty
and then we private label
for a lot of those too
so not really
that I can say everybody that we're doing now
but if you just want to think on
the heavy duty side I mean you're talking
the International Navistar
Caterpillar, Kamatsu
even
GE with their train locomotive engines
you know we
we work with them
on existing
platforms but then they also
will come to us when
some new type of coolant or some new
type of component you know maybe it's a heater core
and they're now like 0.9
millimeters I mean these passages inside
are so small so then
we would be mounting them on our cooling system
simulator machines
that run some ASTM tests
and then they'll be like okay so what
if somebody puts a dosage in
and then it gets another dosage
so I know in one manufacturer in particular
we were tested four times dosages
of the one product that we
sell to them to make sure that there's
no unintended consequences
of the
the product being used
so we do we do get
a good insight from that
OEM side.
Common question we get from you guys a lot is
hey I need a diesel engine I either
you know I can't wait this long to get one
or normal place I get stuff from it
it just takes too long or I don't
they don't have the parts in it that I need maybe my truck's
not stock or I tow heavy with it
I don't want to go back with just a stock engine
DFC diesel is
a sponsor of the podcast we worked with them
you know hand in hand on doing episodes
answering technical questions
they have a complete lineup of Cummins, Duramax and Powerstroke
remanufactured engines
that are set to a standard of ISO
9001 2015 standards
which is a huge deal in the aftermarket
and there's certain levels of quality
testing validation that are required for that
so you know when you get one of those engines
the type of quality that's built behind it
with an industry leading warranty
that's really comprehensive
and you know the other thing with that
is
you know sometimes the options that are out there
it's just it's a basic OEM engine
you want a little bit more you don't want to have the same failure
again so there's a bunch of different series
of engines that they have
from core
street, tow haul
and also the speed of air series
which we've covered on the podcast before
there's a lot of really cool benefits to it
and if you have questions about that reach out to them
if you don't know the type of engine that you're looking for
if you go to dfcdiesel.com
there's a ton of info there you can send an email
or you can reach out to them
also they're working
with speed of air pistons
which it's the only piston that pays for itself
and there's a lot of really cool technology behind it
so you can add that into your build
and be able to get better fuel economy
you know increased power, increased torque
and better engine life out of it
you know some of the most common engine
applications
series of engines that they have
with that lead time a lot of them are in stock
or they have really short lead times
so you can check your favorite retailer or go to dfcdiesel.com
check them out
see what's in stock, see what you can get
if you have questions maybe you want to do
something that's outside of the normal series of engines
they have tons of choices for rods
cranks, pistons
valve train upgrades, tons of different things
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that's so important it's like if I
especially early on
when I became a diesel enthusiast
and I bought a new diesel truck
and I didn't know a lot what I would do is go to the owner's manual
and I would look for what it recommended
and then if I was going to do some service
on it myself I bought exactly what was
listed in the owner's manual
to do it and
you know I walk into a store, a retail store
and I see all these products I don't know the background
of the R&D or the testing I don't know
any of that I just see a logo
a colorful bottle and
then I stop and I just
I wouldn't use it because I didn't
I didn't have that information so being able to have
like a conversation like this or a podcast
to understand
testing like you just mentioned
Clayton is really helpful
when I'm going to be servicing something
like you mentioned beginning of the podcast the truck
that is easily six figures it's very easy
to get one there
and wanting to protect it long term so I think that
science and testing
is really important
you guys talked about that last year with a bunch of episodes
we did but specifically with the cooling system
that would help me make a decision
you know as far as using
the products. Yeah this
when I mentioned our OEM side
this is around the world that we're selling
this isn't just in USA or
North America so when we're testing
products we're pulling stuff from Australia
we're pulling stuff from South Africa
in Europe and looking at their
coolants and different additives that are even
in the marketplace and something
you might see from a lot of them
the OEMs is they'll just be saying
don't use anything like this
you know
we don't recommend it even though they sell it
you know so there could be their own brand product
in the most the biggest
reason they do that is because there's a lot of bad stuff
out there around the world
that could cause issues you know
it can be a company that's in business for a few years
you know make some money causes some issues
and then you know they're gone and out of there
and that's you know I certainly
appreciate our many years
and we're planning to be here many many
more years so
we want to be able to take care
of the majority of the problems that we
can and not cause people any issues
the big question
with cooling systems and we've touched on it
throughout the podcast so far whether it's
with six liters or EGR coolers that might leak
or I can go back to the
third gen Rams and the heat exchanger they used to have
to warm up the transmission fluid
and have the coolant pass and they would leak
what do you do if you do get a leak
and it's
I guess it could be sort of
I want to say an emergency situation but maybe you're on
a job out of town or you're
hot-shotting or something like
that and we hear about those stop-leak products
like I don't know a lot about them
where should I start
what do I need to know about that
well we have a couple different
options you know partly depends on kind
of where you're at but we do have one
great product that Chloe was alluding to that
we've been doing for a really really long
time and it has been another
OEM you know tier one two three part
that we've created but right
now off the shelf from ours from bars leaks
again I'm gonna show it I know not everyone's
watching but it's these
little stop-leak tablets and we
we make all these we do all the packaging ourselves
right here in Michigan
and this is part number 1177
and
what these are is they're just little tablets that you're
going to drop right into your radiator so if you
have a small leak that you know of
that you maybe can't find very easily
but you're still able to you know run
the vehicle without you know other issues
that are occurring you're going to put into
two of these tablets per
per gallon of coolant
so this is a great one too because
there's the shelf life is extremely
long so it's one of those things I
you know my vehicle I have no concerns
about radiator leak or any sort of issues
but I just have one in my glove box at all
times because it's a great you know easy
stop-leak it's been around for a long
time tried and tested and you know if it's
good enough for the OEMs when it's being
made it's good for that further down
the line. Yeah it's much more
than a stop-leak I mean thanks and more
in that the OEMs aren't
using these just because
they have a bunch of vehicles that are leaking
on the assembly line
yeah it seals up porosity
seepage if you've got cast iron
aluminum porous metals
coolant can seep through those
it seals up those pores
imperfections
of castings maybe a mating surface
where it was machined
even though they're much better today than they used to be
you can still have little things there
a core plug a fitting
you know a thread of a fitting headbolt threads
that's a big one that a lot of
racing guys love those tablets because of the
seal can seal up any of the
headbolt threads that go into a water
jacket but it's also a water pump
seal lubricant a rustin scale
inhibitor and it helps with
electrolysis and liner pitting
in the heavy duty side too
so yeah we have a whole chart
you can use it as a preventive maintenance
you don't need to only do it when you're
having a leak or an issue
and like Eric said earlier though
the cooling system is neglected
people don't think about it until a gauge
goes to H or something
or at least he's deep coming out
how can you guys
help me understand how it works
like not getting into
formulations or anything proprietary but just
how does it do
what it does
yeah and I'll give a first
I'll let you know about some other stuff that we've seen
in the marketplace you'll see people
it'll be ground up corn
shocks you'll see
wood basically sawdust
or wood pulp that they're putting in products
that are stop leaks sometimes
they're liquid sometimes they're powder they'll paint
them silver color until you put it
into a water and you see all the silver
actually comes off the product
and all those products do is dam it up
you're basically you got a little
hole you're damming it up
will they stop leaks
a lot of times they will
it's usually very temporary because it's just a dam
and it's just going to get washed away eventually
but then you have to worry about those
products causing
other issues clogging
in the system too because of how big
some of those particles are
the OEM spec
is very very tiny
I mean this product
it's just the tablet
we're talking about that one it dissolves in water
you drop it in a cup of water it's going to dissolve in a minute
and it's just the powder like an aspirin pill
would be
but this product's design it penetrates
the leak so these
particles are so tiny they're able
to penetrate and fill in so if you've got
a crack or a little hole
or like a thread it's going to penetrate
right in there and it dries
and it expands slightly it's a super
unique formula
been the same really since back when
in to 47
Eric mentioned we grind all our raw material
we process it all it goes through
a lot of different testing that's required for the OEMs
same product on the after
market is the same exact product that we do
sell to the OEMs but
that allows it to be a permanent
seal because it's something else
that's got to move like if it's a
head bolt thread just using that one
that thread but you'd have to be taking that bolt out
otherwise that product
stay in there if it's a crack
and the crack gets longer
the product stays active in the cooling system
heavy duty side
probably more like 5,000 miles
it doesn't mean
where it's sealed is going away
it's just what's there's
it's equally distributed in the cooling system
inevitably just the particles
get smaller and smaller until they're worn away
but there is so if another leak opens back up
it's able to seal it
the what you mentioned Clayton
about some of the other products out there with
wood or other
sort of things it kind of dam it up
I think about the the tolerances
inside of
just say like a diesel head or heads
and
that kind of stuff going through it that would
that kind of stopped me in my tracks
I think because of the precision
that these heads are made out of
and other parts of the cooling system
how does this product know
well not
certainly know but like how does it function
in the sense of
not narrowing the passages
where there is no crack there is no
porosity or something like that
and being able to congregate where there is an issue
yeah
good question that we get a lot on our tech
line is people asking about that too
so it depends on the type of leak
so if it's an external leak
it's a little bit of a crack
or something in the radiator
it'll
the outside air is what does it the products are
flowing through the crack area
building up in there and then the outside air
is actually drying it
combustion chambers would be another one
that you could have leaking into
and the heat of the combustion chamber
is actually burning the particles
and then drying them that way
coolant oil leaks is another
one that we do see usually porosity
mainly on that particular side
but the same type of way as it penetrates
into those into those pores and the rest
of it's just basically floating around
the cooling system
it's equally distributed in all the cooling
yeah and Patrick we do
you know like I was saying we've got a good relationship
and you know with with parts kind of ever
evolving and passages getting smaller and smaller
you know even
existing products that we have that you know maybe
the formula has been set from a few years
back we do kind we do
continuously kind of look back if we
hear word that maybe there's a new type of oil
cooler or something and maybe they have a smaller
package passage we're able to take
those formulas whether it's new or existing
and kind of retest things just to
make sure that it's still going to do what we
say it does but it just like you
said that it's not going to restrict any flow
so there is an ongoing thing with that you know
we don't we never just set a formula and
let it go you know there are times that
we hear things and we we all we will take
a look back and just see if things need to
be tweaked to make sure it's effective yet
safe.
It's really helpful
I find a lot of
a lot of listeners or just even friends that I have
they have multiple diesel trucks and one
might be from the 90s early 2000s
and one's a brand new one and
they're so they're so different with
how they operate but
we like to streamline
the products that we use so I think being able
to know
what I might use on my 2003 truck
I can still use on my
2024 or 2025 because
the continuous testing as new models roll out
and new you know engine platforms or changes
the OEMs might make you guys are staying on top
of that.
Sometimes it's being backwards
compatible can be at times the
harder one is that yeah you're making
this one to work on the newer vehicle
but still make sure it's effective on
the older side kind of like motor oils
that you see with
all the new you know lower zinc phosphorus
oils and that that are out there
there's sometimes I think they say
they're backwards compatible but
even the OEMs those vehicles
aren't under warranty anymore so
I wonder but that's
it that's it that's for a different episode
I hear that a lot especially
with engine oil from these guys with older
trucks and what they can buy now
and they you know wish they could go back in
time and get the stuff that they used to have and
I imagine the backwards compatibility is
really trying because there's a huge
year range of trucks you're dealing with
with different emission standards
how many miles are on them
what's the condition of it
and you know you're designing a product
and making it work with a 30
40 year year range it's probably pretty
tough yep
the uh
as far as
no one goes to Hanks for his spreadsheets
they go for a darn good pizza
lately though
shops been quiet so Hank decides
to bring back the one dollar slice
he asks co-pilot in Microsoft Excel
to look at his sales and costs
to help him see if he can afford it
co-pilot shows Hank where the money's going
and which little extras make the dollar
slice work now Hanks has
a line out the door Hank makes the pizza
co-pilot handles the spreadsheets
learn more at m365
co-pilot.com
the
like I was thinking short-term long-term
and I think you guys definitely answered
it but I wanted to ask it anyway
is so with the stop-lead product
to me it sounds like a long-term
solution a long-term fix for it
versus a short-term with some of the other
products that were out there and
I love that damn analogy
that you gave Clayton because it made perfect sense to me
but this would be a long-term
fix for an issue somebody
might be having the majority
that is the case so if you
have I mean sometimes it
depends on what caused the leak to happen in the first place
we may see something that's
a radiator leak it's got a crack
maybe it's where the tank
connects to the
the core itself
you know okay so what's actually
caused that to happen is there a bad mount
okay so yeah you've got
vibration in happen you vibration
happening and
okay yeah we're able to seal it up but then
it comes back or it happens in another
place inevitably
in that particular case you're going to need
to fix what caused the problem in the
first place but with a lot
of products even like our head gasket products
and we sell quite
a bit through truck stops on our
head gasket because it's the same type of way
somebody is just trying to
get that load to the destination
you know they're basically
stuck there and it isn't going to be that it's going to be
repaired right there
there's some of those you know we'll
we call them permanent and we're always open
and honest with our with our customers
so what does permanent
mean well not temporary you put a head gasket
on whether it's
an automobile or a heavy truck
inevitably that head gasket is going to go again
but we've many many
times where you're talking two three years
of extra life that they've been able to
get out of a vehicle and
with you know with the products
and we again we will call that permanent or
long term there's other times
being open and honest we're not able to
solve the problem you wouldn't
necessarily know why and let till you
tore it apart you know the engine of
the head gasket on it in that using that
scenario you know
anybody that's going to tell you they're going to take care of
it every time is lying to you
well there's a lot of
I think of with with head gaskets and
some issues that I know any diesel
truck inhabit some of them are more prone to it
you start to get into machine work and
and warped heads and
it's you're going to need a machine
shop and you're going to need you know a labor bill
to be able to take care of that
but being able to have something to
you know maybe get that
load or whatever you're towing to the next destination
and being able to do it is
you know better than being stuck in a town
where you're not from there and you got to wait two weeks
to get into the shop and you know
all that sort of stuff so I think having
a solution
to be able to do that's really
helpful for people that
are working their trucks out there
construction you got a piece
of equipment a dozer
earth mover whatever it might be that's out
and on a site
that you're trying to get somebody maybe
out there to take a look at it
or you're having to load this thing up
and you got the downtime so there's
lots of other areas where their
agriculture is another another big one too for us
I know I've really focused this
in on the pickup truck side because that's really
like the core of our audience listens for pickup
trucks but a lot of these
listeners they have equipment or their
farmers or they have construction equipment
with talking about like
the
super coolant and you know even the stop
leak are they compatible
with stuff that's
not on road you know whether
it's farm equipment
or you know a diesel generator
you know stuff like that is that do you
guys go that far as well with testing
and compatibility
yeah yeah pretty much you know anything
that has an engine on it you know we
the majority of our business is obviously
on on road vehicles
for the most part but you know we'll get inquiries
from people that maybe they want like a bulk
size of something just because you know if
they have an entire fleet so we do have
a lot of products that we market towards
heavy duty that's you know
the same product but we might be a bigger
size there might be a different dosage
that we recommend but yeah we look at
all that stuff when we're testing as well
and you know we've got a couple of things
that we we understand people
you know maybe you've got a a million
dollar tractor and so you're even more
nervous than you know your six-figure
truck on the road probably
so you know we're not in the business
of screwing up vehicles but we do a
lot of extra technical data
specifically for those people that
have those types of pieces of equipment
mainly because you know some of it the people
on road if as long as it does what we say
they're good with it but these guys you know
they really want to make sure that you know
this thing's going to be effective and not
cause any issues so we'll put out a whole
lot of information like that too for people
that you know want it.
Yeah it could be a reefer trailer
where you have that unit mounted on the
front of the trailer we've been OEM
with some of those some of the leading
manufacturers that make those
units with with cooling system
additives in particular
you make sure that they don't have any issues
stationary engines
is another one you're thinking about
whether they're pumps
you have all kinds of different stationary
engines out there generators in that
you know that's a pretty good one too
we're used a lot of rebuilders
that rebuild engines both OEM
and aftermarket where they put our tablets
right in behind the corp plug
when they're doing a remanufactured engine
just to just to seal up
anything that might be
you know again a casting imperfection
or something else in those so they're
it's a it's a pretty wide range
even industrial coolants
stuff that's used in HVAC
or maybe an ice rink
the underneath the ice you have
cooling loops we have specific things that are
aimed at that side so we're
testing those fluids and systems
too with a little bit different
product than what we sell to the aftermarket
in that particular case but a lot of industrial
stuff. Yeah and I know on
you know like on the mining and some of
those you know bigger operations that are kind of
out in the middle of nowhere you know
there's a lot of government standards for those too
so you know maybe you have a cool leak
and the vehicle is still functioning
fine and you know you could normally just kind of
top it off but on a
lot of those sites they consider one
drop of liquid hitting the ground
as a spill and it has to be handled
as such so you know you're out there in the
middle of nowhere you know these types of
products are great not just for fixing the
issue with the vehicle itself
but also helping with some of that environmental
potential where that stuff's leaking out on the ground
so it can kind of have a
two-fold piece to it for some of those applications
I didn't even think of that but
I can imagine that would be
really important
to be able to
prevent that
as a permanent maintenance
aspect too. I think like with cooling systems
I know they're not
like a bright shiny turbo or
a lifted truck with nice wheels they don't
have that like instant appeal but
every
every podcast I've ever done with anyone
in the diesel industry who builds
anything always talks about heat being
the enemy of it whether it's turbos
whether it's transmissions whether it's pistons
whether it's
axles, differentials
everything and I think
being able to
help with those temperatures
like you guys had went through
with the super coolant is
is really helpful as far as being able to pull that heat out
and then have it dissipate
at a better rate than what
the standard fluid might do
it's really helpful especially as we
modify these trucks like that's kind of what we talk
about a lot whether it's for towing
or having fun whatever it might be
nearly everyone
that I know has
something that adds power to their truck and
how it can eclipse what the
systems can do so it's really helpful
this was really insightful to be able to
talk with you guys about products that you
guys have and the approach that you take
to being able to help
diesel truck owners out there
I know a lot of people when we talk about products
they say well where can I learn more
how can I ask questions where can I find it
so I wanted to ask you guys
where's the best place for people to
find the product be able to buy it
and then if they have technical questions maybe on a specific application
or maybe they want to know it's compatibility
with their own engine
where should they go
we've got a couple spots
sorry go ahead and click
I was just going to say
for the product side
pretty much
anywhere automotive
light
or duty stuff
our distribution is probably second to none
it's pretty much everywhere
growing in the heavy duty but
farm and fleet all your farm and fleet
locations
some of the heavy duty
truck dealers we're getting more
and more into those locations too
yeah but
product specific I know we touched on it
in some of our previous ones but we've got a really great
website it's really user friendly
you even have the ability to just kind of go up
and go through a menu to see
this is my issue and these
are the products that it recommends
and then from there we've got more technical data
you can look at and things of that nature
but we have an 800 number on there that you can call
these people are sitting here in the
same office that Clay and I are in right so you're not getting
another country
and they're all
very very knowledgeable so they can give you
plenty of information and between them
and the website there is an area where you can
put in your location and it will tell you
exactly where you can go that's nearest
to you to pick up that exact product
I love your guys's website
because it's so
it tells me what I need to know which product
I need how to it's all
right there and it's so easy to find I don't have to
sift through a bunch of information I don't have to watch
a video first or anything
it's just like right to the point and I think
with a lot of these products
that's why we're on the website because we have
an issue we're trying to find something to fix it so
I think you guys did a great job with the website
and I appreciate you guys chatting with me today
I really enjoyed
the history side and learning about the
USS Nautilus
the fix back in the
50s for it and then how that
I think that approach is
in 2026 is still
a core part of
what automotive enthusiasts or diesel
truck owners are facing so I appreciate
the time and the expertise today Clayton and Eric
is great to chat with you guys
thanks for having us
don't forget diesel fans make sure and head on over to
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podcast listeners also want to give a shout out to
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we appreciate all your support here in your 10 of the
diesel podcast and look forward to bringing
you more of the content that you want to hear in
2026 until next time
keep the shiny side up
About this episode
Rizlo and Bars Leaks history meets modern diesel cooling reality as Clayton and Eric dig into overheating, coolant leaks, corrosion, and how today’s trucks stress cooling systems more than older designs. They discuss regulatory churn affecting emissions hardware, then pivot to practical guidance: use the correct coolant, don’t mix incompatible types, keep systems full, and understand corrosion sources like electrolysis and mixed metals. Eric explains R&D testing behind Rizlo’s Super Coolant (heat-carrying surfactants) and Bars Leaks stop-leak tablets (penetration-based, long-lasting sealing). They also cover coolant maintenance best practices and what to do when leaks happen.
This time of year is when trailers come out and trucks start towing more
in warmer temperatures. It’s also when a lot of owners see coolant
drips on the ground, rising engine temps, and other issues. Rislone
joins us today to talk about what can cause these issues, proper
maintenance, and products that can help in an emergency.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
