How critical is it that the liquid in the degas bottle be in between the cold fill lines?

 

do you want it to suck air? IMHO very critical. You leave no room for error running it low.

What if you have a hose leak or something?

 

I am not certain if there is a leak. I have not seen an evidence beneath the vehicle or hose fittings.
I just had the truck serviced and I am on the road pulling a travel trailer south. Stopped in West Virginia (Tamarack: Beckley) over night and checked the level in the morning. It was slightly below the lowest line but the tee could still draw liquid. I checked the level when the engine had warmed up and of course it was now above the lowest mark. We are parked for the night in Mt Airey so I'll check it in the morning. If it is low I'll look for a Ford dealer and take care of the issue. Any suggestions if I cannot find a Ford dealer here.

 

bare min...go to napa and get two bottles of the coolant. They sell the ford spec stuff.

Always carry some with you. Fill it to the full line and pop the hood at every fuel stop and check it.

Be careful...if you remove that cap under pressure it may puke.

I had an upper hose leak on me once going to fl. found it in NC. Filled it a couple of times enroute but made it just fine.

 

Thanks. I'll follow your advice. Always carried coolant for the gasoline engine in my previous truck. Made the wrong assumption about the diesel.

 

watch thru the drivers side wheel well at the coolers. That is where I noticed the white splatter on mine. It was dripping down from the upper radiator hose.

 

Will do and I'll let know how this turns out.

 

My degas drives me nuts. I ran for months and every time I checked it was right on the money. A couple weeks ago I noticed it running about half way below the max fill mark. I kept an eye on it for a few days and it stayed put, so I topped it off to the max cold line. A few days after that and the damn thing is running over full by almost exactly the amount I added in the first place.

Its a communist conspiracy I tell ya...

 

Either a conspiracy or a cruel attempt by Ford to drive us nuts. Maybe the white smoke I sometimes see coming out the exhaust originated from the degas bottle.

 

Isn't the fill line on the updated degas bottle below the "T" ?

 

Not on mine. The cold fill line marks are above the level of the tee. Otherwise the tee would suck air all the time not just when the level was low.

 

Do you have the updated degas bottle?

 

For those of you who might have been following the thread I started yesterday, here is an update. (If you so care.)

I checked the level this morning, just as yesterday, and the fluid was below the cold fill line margins. In fact it looked a little less full than yesterday morning. So I found a Ford dealer here in Mt Airy, took it to the service department, inquired about the Ford recommended coolant and explained the issue. The service manager, Vernon Norman, checked the degas bottle and suggested we talk to a mechanic. The mechanic looked at the bottle and then with his flashlight inspected the upper radiator hose connection for leaks. Sure enough he noticed a small leak, due to the infamous O-ring problem, and told me I should have both upper and lower O-rings replaced with the new double O-ring solution. The truck is in the service bay being repaired.

My wife and I travel extensively: almost full time pulling a trailer. Fortunately I purchased the Premium ESP insurance when we took delivery of the new truck. I am not going to bore you with all the repairs but I am glad we have the 7 yr 75000 mile insurance.

Last, I want to let anyone reading this know that if you are driving a Ford and have trouble in the Mt Airy, NC area take your problem to Scenic Motors and ask for Vernon Norman. Their service department is A-1. Not like the service department in my hometown area, Gene Butman Ford of Ypsilanti, who will never again see my F-250 or any other Ford vehicle. I have had them do service on this vehicle and never have I been satisfied.

Cheers

 

Glad it was a easy fix for ya

 

I figured that is all it would be..since I had my upper replaced it has held very well.