Losing coolant

[Banshee365]

Hey guy's. I'm guessing you should be able to see coolant at the neck of the top of the radiator. It appears that the level is going down. I keep refilling 1/4 gallon at a time and it still seems to seep it's way down. No visible leaks on the cooling system. I have a, what most say, minor oil leak at the heads. I see no drop in oil level but it drains down the side. I must assume the lost oil is replaced by fuel from wet sacking with all of the idling turbo deuces do after start and before shutdown. I can't help but wander if I'm losing coolant throught the heads into the cylinders. The smoke isn't white. Mine actually smokes less than most I see. Smokes alot of start because of the cold combustion chambers but as it warms up the smoke almost disappears, until you hit the gas of course. What do yall think?

Also, I was planning on flushing the cooling system as P.M. I bought a bottle of radiation flush and a couple gallons of anti-freeze. Anything special for doing that?

-Kelly

 

[doghead]

Pressure test your coolant system and you will know if you have a leak and you will most likely find it(leak) too (if you have one).

 

[cranetruck]

As far as reverse flushing, this is from the TM.

 

[jwaller]

I find that during the summer if I over fill it. it will come out the overflow while driving and leave no trace. make sure your not overfilling.

 

[houdel]

Also, I was planning on flushing the cooling system as P.M. I bought a bottle of radiation flush and a couple gallons of anti-freeze. Anything special for doing that? -Kelly

Just make sure your anti freeze is labeled for HD Diesel use. Regular automotive (gasoline engine) anti freeze should not be used; HD Diesel anti freeze has special additives required for Diesel engines which is not included in the regular stuff.

 

[acetomatoco]

RE: Re: Losing coolant

Let it go for a while... the normal add point is a gallon.. do not worry about a quart at a time.. It may stabilize at a level it likes...and you will have no more worries...you have to have a lot of room for expansion, otherwise it pukes out the overflow..

 

[Banshee365]

RE: Re: Losing coolant

Scratch my comment that there are no visible leaks. Coolant is constantly dripping out of the truck killing the grass under it. It does not appear to be coming from any hoses. It's collecting in the bottom of the shroud then running which ever way gravity leads it. What's a good recommendation? Take the radiatior out and have it pressure tested? I poured a bucked of water in the thing and it didn't come close to filling it, you could see the level but hear it draining into the rest of the unit. This sucks!

-Kelly

 

[WillWagner]

RE: Re: Losing coolant

Pressure test the radiator with it still in the truck.

 

[m35a2cowner]

Coolant leak

I have a Stant cooling system tester that I got from the Snap on man (some larger NAPA Stores are loaning tools, you have to leave a big deposit, you might be able to get one there. Make sure whatever you get fits the radiator opening, take the cap with you) Its basically a hand pump connected to a cap that fits on the radiator. You fill the radiator and put the tester on (engine not running) and pump up the pump to the same psi as the radiator cap relief point (point at which seat on cap raises and blows coolant out overflow tube. Then look for leaks. Actually you might be sort of lucky if the radiator is leaking. Much easier to fix than a head gasket. If you need to have the radiator fixed have it rodded out (passages cleaned) while its out being fixed. Its money well spent. Also check to see if the leak might be coming from the water pump. Usually its ,hopefully, one of the two.

 

[Banshee365]

My main problem with pressurizing the system is the overflow tube on the neck is broke off. I guess I need to solder that back first or something. Is the radiatior hard to remove? I wouldn't think so on that truck.

-Kelly

 

[Armada]

RE: Coolant leak

Lee, what will the consequences be if a person were using the standard Prestone Antifreeze in a diesel engine? Is the green Prestone in the yellow bottle safe for diesels? A friend of mine wants to know.... not me.

 

[houdel]

Re: RE: Coolant leak

Lee, what will the consequences be if a person were using the standard Prestone Antifreeze in a diesel engine? Is the green Prestone in the yellow bottle safe for diesels? A friend of mine wants to know.... not me.

The SCAs in diesel coolant contain a number of chemicals to improve performance speciifcally for diesel use. Probably the most significant is improved surface wetting capability. The unique vibrations of a diesel can create standing waves which cause air pockets to form on the inner surfaces, resulting in internal rust. There are documented cases where this rust has eaten completely through the walls of wet liners (the Deuce has dry liners). Use only antifreeze marked "For Heavy Duty Diesel Use" or words to that effect.

Here is a link to a Fleetguard brochure which give a little information on SCAs. If you google SCA or antifreeze there is a wealth of information if you have the time to look through it.

http://www.fleetguard.com/pdfs/product_lit/americas_brochures/LT15559.pdf

 

[WillWagner]

RE: Re: RE: Coolant leak

Banshee365, you won't need to solder the tube back on, the pressure tester seals at the bottom of the neck.
Armada, The coolants for HD diesels are also low silicate. Diesel cooling systems have a tendancy to make the silicates drop out and cause issues within the cooling system, w/p seal leakage, radiator plugging, a gooey coating inside the radiator that lessens the efficency of the system. Try to stay away from ELCs..extended life coolants...the red stuff. Older engines that have rubber items in contact with the coolant, including rubber based silicone gasket stuff, will have issues of the rubber components being eaten away then you get a leak.

 

[Banshee365]

RE: Re: RE: Coolant leak

The pressure testers I looked at online use a cap and don't cover the neck. What type of tester do I need to find to cover the neck?

-Kelly

 

[WillWagner]

RE: Re: RE: Coolant leak

They need to cover the vent or the pressure you're trying to put in the system will go out the vent.
try this....http://www.stant.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2945&location_id=183
You'll need #'s 12450 and 12451 to test the radiator/cooling system. The 12450 has the adaptors for the rad/eng., and the adaptor to test the cap. The 12451 is the rubber donut that will seal the adaptor to the lower neck. Try using the Member locator to see if there's someone close to you that might have a kit.

 

[Banshee365]

Autozone has a tester they'll loan me. I drove the truck today and did some more troubleshooting. I got it up to operating temp by driving it around the 2 mile loop in my farm community for several laps. The first sign of leaking coolant shows up in the bottom of the shroud. I drove it for a while and it was just barely wet down there. After idling for a while it started leaking just a tad more. I'm talking drops. I shut the truck off and go inside for a while. I got back outside 20 mins later and the pressure from driving the truck is still there and now the shroud is slowly getting wetter and wetter.

What seems to happen when it sit's is the 95 degree heat expands the coolant and builds pressure in the radiatior causing it to leak the coolant out. I feel like the leak is something like a pin hole. What is a pressure tester really going to tell me? Since it's collecting in the bottom of the shroud that kind of knocks out the possibility of the pump or hoses to me. What do yall think? Should I still pressure test it or take it out and fill it with water and some pressure and hit the spot with some solder?

-Kelly

 

[Banshee365]

Also, my temp gauge hardly ever get's above 150 degrees or so. Is that normal?

-Kelly

 

[FreightTrain]

Yea,use only Diesel rated Antifreeze and/or SCA additives.You must check the coolant with Test strips to determin if there is enough protection.Do not mix different types of SCA cause some will create a thick brown sludge.The SCA stops Cavitation.Cavitation is when the Cylinder walls in High compression engines(Not just diesels but diesel have the highest so they are more susceptible) engines actually bow out durring compression and suddenly snap back when compression or combustion pressures are removed due to exhaust valves opening.The sudden snap happens in miliseconds creates a pure vaccumn bubble on the outside of the cylinder walls in the coolant jacket that collapses almost instantly.The sudden collapse causes a tinny shock wave that over years of running actually eats a hole from the outside in to the Cylinder like a tinny jackhammer.The Ford 7.3L IDI was very suseptable because of the high compression(21.5-1) and thin cylinder walls.The SCA and Test strips can be found at any truck parts supply house and Napa.

 

[cranetruck]

Also, my temp gauge hardly ever get's above 150 degrees or so. Is that normal?-Kelly

That's normal.
At idle, you probably never reach op temp of 180F. Even driving, when you get to a long downhill run, the temp will drop as much as 20 to 30 degrees.

It's not difficult to remove the radiator, just take it one step at a time. Flush it clear of debris and check the lower rad hose for accumulation of core sand or whatever.
An oldfashioned radiator shop may be able to fix the leak for $25 or so if you bring it to them all cleaned out.

 

[Banshee365]

I'll probably pull it out and have a shop look it over since new ones are so expensive before any kind of long road trip. One thing did cross my mind though. Is it possible my minor head gasket leak is pressurizing the radiation forcing the coolant out of somewhere along with the heat expansion? I'm going to have my oil change analyzed this summer. I only have about 100 hours on the oil so I may not get alot of information. I want to check for abnormal bearing wear and coolant. I know there will be tons of fuel in it.

-Kelly