Road salt is great for melting ice and keeping Canadian highways safer to drive on. However, over time, road salt can corrode your semi-truck’s heat exchanger and reduce its cooling efficiency.
In this blog, we’re going to break down how exactly road salt affects your haul truck’s or diesel engine’s heat exchanger. And, what winter fleet maintenance you can do to prevent negative impacts from it.
This Post Covers:
- Does Road Salt Affect Semi-Truck Heat Exchangers?
- How Does Road Salt Damage Transport Truck Cooling Systems?
- What Are The Signs Of Road Salt Heat Exchanger Damage?
- How To Prevent Road Salt Damage in Freight Trucks
- What To Do If Road Salt Damages My Highway Truck Radiator?
- Heavy-duty Cooling System Maintenance for Semi Trucks
Does Road Salt Affect Semi-Truck Heat Exchangers?
Yes. Road salt can negatively affect your haul truck’s cooling system.
Throughout winter in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, roads become increasingly covered in salt. While this helps prevent your truck from sliding on ice and sleet, it also can build up in your semi’s heat exchanger system and damage it.
How Does Road Salt Damage Transport Truck Cooling Systems?
A semi-truck driving on a winter road in Canada
There are a few ways road salt can negatively affect your semi or haul truck’s heat exchanger:
1. Corrosion
Because road salt accelerates the corrosion of metal, it can lead to cracks and leaks. Therefore shortening the life of your heavy-duty heat exchanger.
2. Reduced air flow
Since road salt can build up on the fins of your freight truck’s radiator, it can restrict the amount of air travelling through your radiator.
As a result, your diesel engine may overheat and cause your truck to lose power on uphill climbs and burn more fuel than usual.
3. Physical damage
As you repeatedly drive through salty roads, the abrasive salt and debris can physically wear down the fins and surfaces of your semi’s heat exchanger.
Physical damage to your freight truck rad can reduce heat transfer efficiency and eventually lead to leaks or your diesel engine overheating if left unchecked.
What Are The Signs Of Road Salt Heat Exchanger Damage?
There are a few signs that road salt may have damaged your heat exchanger.
Here’s what to look out for:
Visible damage
Corroded/plugged fins and visible cracks in your truck’s radiator is a telltale sign that road salt is damaging your heat exchanger.
Leaks and coolant issues
In addition to visible damage, coolant leaks and coolant discolouration may indicate that road salt has caused a crack in your truck heat exchanger that needs to get patched up.
Reduced heat exchanger performance
Restricted airflow and clogged fins from road salt can worsen your cooling system, causing your truck to overheat.
At any of our three locations in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Estevan, we can repair your damaged radiator. At our Winnipeg shop, we can remove your industrial heat exchanger ourselves, service it and then replace/reinstall it again.
Additionally, there are a few things you can do for winter fleet maintenance to ensure your trucks are ready for the salty roads.
How To Prevent Road Salt Damage in Freight Trucks
In spite of road salt’s corrosive nature, there are a few ways to help prevent salt from damaging your truck’s heat exchanger:
1. Regular cleaning
Wash your truck (and ensure you spray the undercarriage) to remove salt and other debris before it causes heavy damage to your semi truck cooling system.
2. Use corrosion-resistant materials
Ensure that your heavy-duty heat exchanger is a corrosion-resistant metal like copper-brass.
In addition to being corrosion-resistant, copper-brass heat exchangers don’t rust. Instead of rusting, copper-brass can develop a protective “copper oxide” that acts as a barrier against corrosion.
Aluminum radiators also create a protective “aluminum oxide” layer. However, aluminum oxide is less durable than copper oxide.
At West End Rad, we manufacture custom radiators out of copper-brass and aluminum. Furthermore, we build our heat exchangers for maximum durability, performance, and efficiency for the transportation industry.
For more information about our copper-brass and aluminum heat exchangers, check out our blog: Aluminum Radiators vs. Copper-Brass Radiators — Understanding The Differences & Advantages
3. Use rust-proofing sprays
Apply a yearly rust-proof spray on the exterior of your vehicle. Because this will help protect your heavy-duty heat exchanger from road salt corrosion.
4. Install mud flaps
Just like rust-proof sprays, mud flaps act as a barrier between salt and your semi-truck. Since mud flaps are usually rubber/plastic, they are effective at slowing corrosion.
5. Regularly inspect your heat exchanger for leaks
Catch cracks and leaks early to save thousands in potential diesel engine services.
When caught early, we can patch cracks in your heat exchanger for just a couple hundred dollars. This is a fraction of the cost of recoring or replacing your heavy-duty truck’s rad, which can cost thousands of dollars depending on the size of the part.
What To Do If Road Salt Damages My Highway Truck Radiator?
A shop technician at West End Rad’s Winnipeg location working on a half-day turnaround service for a semi-truck
If you suspect that road salt has damaged your haul truck’s heat exchanger, it’s best to bring it to one of our three locations in Winnipeg, Saskatoon or Estevan for inspection or diesel engine service.
Our Winnipeg location offers a complete remove and replace service. Our mechanics will first remove the industrial heat exchanger from your freight truck ourselves, service it and then replace/reinstall it again.
Additionally, you can also ship your heat exchangers to our locations from anywhere across Canada.
However, just because your radiator has damage, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get it replaced.
Often, we can repair or rebuild your damaged radiator. This can save you money, while ensuring your heavy-duty heat exchanger is able to reach its maximum performance.
Heavy-duty Cooling System Maintenance for Semi Trucks
West End Radiators Locations
We’re proud to service a variety of transportation heat exchanger OEMs such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Western Star, Freightliner, Navistar, Ford, Sterling, International and more.
Visit our parts catalog to see the full scope of aftermarket transportation cooling system parts we have available.
Whether you manage a single semi or an entire transportation fleet, our team provides expert heat exchanger repairs and heavy-duty cooling system maintenance to keep your equipment winter-ready.
Contact our team for more information:
Toll-free: 1-877-RAD-CORE (723-2673)
