Im fairly familiar with what puking coolant means... head gaskets. I thought thats what it was. I took it to a Ford Dealer and an independent shop and they each ran 3 separate head gasket tests and the truck passed all of them perfectly. No blown head gaskets.

Having said that, I have no clue why coolant continues to puke out of the degas bottle little bits at a time - never a lot at once. Any ideas what this could be?

 

Moved to the 6 0L Powerstroke forum!

 

The dealership and indy shop couldn't help you answer this question either?

Perhaps the cap is bad, they are known to have issues and I've already replaced mine.

Are you overfilling it? There is a TSB out that redefines the min and max lines on the degas bottle. It's applied on a sticker outside the degas bottle for reference.

 

<p>X2 what vec said, the low line on the degas bottle is the full mark now. Your thermostat could be bad also.</p>

 

I have replaced the degas cap and it is at the filled to the "low" mark on the bottle. Still confused. How much is it to have the thermostat replaced?

 

The tstat shouldn't cause that. Does there appear to be any relationship to how hard you are driving it, or to the ambient temperature?

Have you done any cooling system cleaning recently?

Do you happen to have any gauges to know what your coolant vs oil temperature deltas are?

 

It only seems to happen when driven for long distances - 20+ miles. The tempurature around my area has been 80+ for the last month or so. I do not have any gauges (planning on buying them this summer), and I have not done anything to the cooling system other than new coolant.

I've heard a clogged EGR valve could also be responsible and I will be taking mine off and cleaning it tomorrow.

 

At what temps are you checking the coolant level? It can vary quite a bit, jusdr based on ambient temp and driving conditions.

At it's hottest point make sure it isn't above the MIN mark on the degas bottle.

Josh

 

Coolant is at the "low" mark when its cold. After driving in 90* temps for 30 mins with some stop-and-go traffic, the coolant has expanded to almost all the way to the top. Not leaking out just yet but it is fairly close.

 

What tests did the indy shop do to "confirm it wasn't head gaskets"?

The EGR valve isn't the other main culprit in coolant puking (besides head gaskets), it is the EGR cooler.

It is possible to overheat from water pump failures, etc. We need to know the coolant and oil temps when the engine is fully warmed up. I would also advise installing a pressure gauge on the degas bottle.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...9-08-03-a.html

everyone always claims headgaskets it just not so

 

They ran pressure tests same as the dealer did - No loss of compression was found by either.

All that costs money which I do not have at the moment. How much is it to have gauges purchased and installed?

Taking off the EGR valve will tell me if the EGR cooler is going bad. Thats the other reason I wanted to take it off. If the valve is too clean (looks almost like it has been steam-cleaned) or if the valve is damp then that means the EGR cooler is shot. Im really hoping thats not the case. Ill have a pit in my stomach tomorrow right as Im about to take the valve off.

 

You don't need to have gauges installed. You can buy a ScanGauge II, like many of us have, to give you most everything you need to read on a stock truck. It plugs into the OBD port. You will need to configure it for some of your readings, but this is not difficult at all. Mount it where you feel comfortable. Mine is attached via velcro below my headlight switch. I think they go for about $140. It's far from glamorous, but the least expensive way to get all the readings you need NOW.

 

such is not really the case either. a sticky valve could be from oil or fuel as well.
steamed cleaned on the other hand is a cooler.
why not just follow the tsb 09-08-03 and not guess what it is. its pretty simple and will get you the diag you need

 

I read the TSB. The only sign Im having is coolant leak out of radiator cap. I dont have a lack of power, white smoke, coolant loss, and I do have cabin heat.