Coolant problems

[kwted]

Ok so here is my problem, I top of my coolant to the full mark after running it goes to low. I see that the coolant comes from the overflow hose on the side of the water tank. I did an oil sample their is no coolant In the oil. The other thing I noticed is that when I take of the cap of the reservoir tank the level of coolant slightly rises.

[Hedley]

Sounds normal to me, if it is just fluctuating then that normal, if you are losing coolant then look for leaks around the water pump fittings, coolant filter, coolant tube on the right side of the engine behind the EGR cooler, ect...ect...ect.

[gearhead]

Ok after motor is up to temp crack the main cap on coolant tank and let out the pressure. Let it run for another 30 min. Crack the cap and see if pressure. There should be pressure the first time because of coolant going from cold to hot. The second time there souldn't be pressure because temp never changed. If you have pressure then you have problem of some sort.

[Crafter]

Mine has pressure after it warms up.. I did what gearhead said. Mine actually is so bad that at normal speeds, no issues, but the second I stop or hit traffic, all hell breaks lose and coolant spills out of my reservoir.

I too have done the oil sample and no coolant in oil. I did a Combustion Leak test and it didn't show anything. I also have blocked off my coolant lines going to my compressor and the pressure got a lot less but I'm still skeptical because I think it was my imagination. I'll do this again this weekend and see if it really did get less.

On the other hand, My little 290k 1994 toyota camry did the same thing for 4 months, no coolant in oil, but I had a bad head gasket which allowed gas to pressurize the radiator which made my toyota overheat every time I climbed a small hill.

So I'm torn. Spend $500-1000 on a new compressor head to see if that fixes the problem, or, tear apart my engine and figure out how to change the head gasket on the truck. 486k on CM871.

[Signature620]

You may have a cracked head or a dropped liner/blown head gasket. Does your truck have a bleed hose from the thermostat housing to the header tank? If so, put the header tank end in a bottle of water and run the engine with the fan belt removed from the crankshaft pulley (to take water pump pressure out of the equation). If you get bubbles in the bottle of water the cause is either a blown air compressor head gasket (unlikely) or a cylinder head/liner issue.

[Rawze]

Mr. Hag showed me a good trick not too long ago.

He used a coolant pressure test kit on a truck that had mystery coolant loss etc. just like this, only he did something different.

The truck would sit there all day and not build pressure in the tank, even if you revved it up hard, but ..

He extended the hose for the pressure test set and put the gauge inside the cab of the truck up on the dash. Then he took it for a test drive around the block and slammed the fuel pedal to the floor while holding the brake a bit to make it build boost.

Sure enough, the pressure went through the roof instantly. it made 0 to 20 PSI in about 30 seconds or so with no end in sight.

He did same test again, with coolant lines blocked off from the turbo at both ends. air compressor intake line was blocked off too. It Still made pressure.

- Bad head gasket.

[Hedley]

(02-26-2016 )Crafter Wrote:  Mine has pressure after it warms up.. I did what gearhead said. Mine actually is so bad that at normal speeds, no issues, but the second I stop or hit traffic, all hell breaks lose and coolant spills out of my reservoir.

I too have done the oil sample and no coolant in oil. I did a Combustion Leak test and it didn't show anything. I also have blocked off my coolant lines going to my compressor and the pressure got a lot less but I'm still skeptical because I think it was my imagination. I'll do this again this weekend and see if it really did get less.

On the other hand, My little 290k 1994 toyota camry did the same thing for 4 months, no coolant in oil, but I had a bad head gasket which allowed gas to pressurize the radiator which made my toyota overheat every time I climbed a small hill.

So I'm torn. Spend $500-1000 on a new compressor head to see if that fixes the problem, or, tear apart my engine and figure out how to change the head gasket on the truck. 486k on CM871.

doesn't sound all that complicated Crafter, no coolant in your oil and no compression in your cooling system...that is great news my friend, so the problem only happens in traffic or when you stop? is your fan clutch kicking in? is your radiator clogged with bugs?, whats your engine temperature reading when this happens?, is it over 215°F?, have you replaced your thermostats yet?, have your radiator flushed out yet?, don't have time to have your radiator flushed out at a radiator shop?, Cat makes a Radiator Flush that you add to your cooling system and run between oil changes, you then drain your cooling system and add fresh coolant, this work okay but getting your radiator flushed by a professional is better.

[simon999]

(02-25-2016 )kwted Wrote:  Ok so here is my problem, I top of my coolant to the full mark after running it goes to low. I see that the coolant comes from the overflow hose on the side of the water tank. I did an oil sample their is no coolant In the oil. The other thing I noticed is that when I take of the cap of the reservoir tank the level of coolant slightly rises.

We had one cummins n14 that had problem with coolant overflow. Coolant was overflowing out the cap. The problem was that coolant filter was never changed and the water line was blocked. I would replace filter and then see.

[overshot]

I had a 1989 3406 Cat that did the same thing.
Also, at idle the heater would also go cold. Rev it up some the heater would work again, then go cold.
It had a blown head gasket. Hopefully it's turns out to be simple fix for you.