Jwebb1981 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I have an 03 customer states that there is an coolent leak. Looked all over the engine could not find one. Finally opened the degas bottle the coolent was black but not milky. Opened the oil drain plug did not see any coolent come out, but the oil didn't feel right to me. It was slick and shiney on my hand like a mirror. Any surgestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGM Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I guess we would need to know more about the truck.. Is it a heavily loaded work truck? Used for towing? How does the customer identify coolant leaking? Is the degass bottle overfilled? Black coolant?? is it oily? Are there any symptoms other than loss of coolant? There are TSB's for headgasket and EGR cooler leaks, they may be related, but you need to answer these questions before going nuts on a diag(in my opinion).. Some of the other guys may have seen one like this, but these are questions I would ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwebb1981 Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 F250 with a work bed so it is a heavily loaded work truck. I don't know about the towing. The customer says that he can smell coolent in the cab of the truck but not all the time. And that the degas bottle needs to be filled ever once in a while. The coolent is very slick feeling and it stinks. This is probley the worse smell I have every smelled. The coolent level now is a the min mark. I did have a code in PCM CMDTC for ICP low pressure but has no other symptom. I saw the tsb for head gaskets but don't see anything on the outside to the engine. I looked real good knowing that they are know to blow out. I didn't see anything on the EGR either. Also check the heater core, hoses, water pump, heater hoses, oil pan, and radiator. Customer has never actually seen the coolent on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 You did not mention whether coolant is blowing out of the de-gas bottle. My experience with unexplained coolant loss/usage has always ended up being the EGR cooler... so far. Typically there are other detectable clues to this, smoke/steam during warm-up, coolant stains or wetness at the right manifold particularly near the #8 and #6 cylinders respectively. I would recommend that you start by reading TSB 06-3-8 and begin the procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasgasman Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Some of the early 03s were having concerns with the head bolts. At certain temps, the head bolts would "stretch" and cause a head gasket leak. By the time you got around and pressure checked it, the bolts would have cooled off and the gaskets resealed. You can make a coolant pressure tester that "T"s into the hoses on the coolant bottle. If the pressure goes past 18lbs, you have a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Are head leaking gaskets usally in early 03's? What about later 03's, and 04's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanik Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 By the way, I have seen a couple egr cooler hoses that only leak when cold. And it is a very good leak. "DRIP...DRIP...DRIP..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I had an 03 F350 belonged to a utility contractor. He complained of antifreeze smell inside of the cab for a month or so before the heater core started leaking enough to see a leak. It has 61000 mile on it when we replaced it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Don't forget guys that "they" make ultra-violet tracer dye for coolant too! If you are successful in tracking down oil leaks you should have good luck diagnosing coolant leaks as well. Be advised that the dye will turn the Ford gold coolant a nice vibrant green color just like regular antifreeze. I use Tracer Line products . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Keith is right... and this makes proper cooling system maintenance a real bear.... For my part, trucks that call for gold, get gold but we can never be sure that someone else hasn't looked at the colour and added green instead... Jason mentioned that the coolant had a bad smell.... if it is a "burned" type of smell, take a good hard road test while monitoring EOT and ECT.... I can't remember the allowable difference (hotline can help) but it is fairly low... Seems to me that a difference of less than 20 degrees F is enough to warrant EGR cooler and oil cooler replacement.... Word I get is that there are some restricted oil coolers out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwebb1981 Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 I have already started tearing it down I really believe it is the egr cooler. Let set over night when I fired it up. The engine ran rough and alot of white smoke came out the back. Also the coolent is soild black. Ran into a problem with the metal heater hose that comes around the alternator. It broke off next to the timing cover. After inspecting the hose it looked like the metal was weak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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