Hi everyone, for some of you this may be old news but it wasnt for me and ive been jacking with diesels since 2001.
listen to this video, BTW i checked all of my coolant caps and they all failed to reach 8 psi.

 

Not really but when you are trying to drum up business and look like an expert, you make videos.

 

Nope. Of course it's worth a check if you're having issues but it's importance is overstated in this video.

 

He's right about pressure being what keeps the coolant from boiling. The chemistry is only for keeping it from freezing. Pressure alone is what keeps it from boiling. And he's also right that caps do not keep their pressure holding ability.

(yeah, there's a lot of bluster in the video.)

As a matter of course, I try to put new caps on every year as a maintenance item. My Series 60 Detroit liked it, and so far as I can tell, so does the Powerstroke. It's easy to tell, on my truck, when they've "sprung:" coolant temps go over 200 degrees at freeway speeds. New cap, and temps are back to 193-196.

It's $6.99 currently at Advance Auto (CarQuest brand); O'reilly's has a Murray cap for $6.99, and the Motorcraft cap for $10.49. Autozone pricing is similar.

That's cheap insurance either way.

-blaine

 

Agreed, Bill runs mostly on shock value. He is like the occupational injury lawyers that you see on TV Although this is a good practice, I wouldn't say it was the reason for ALL the problems.

 

Since I was out and about today, I stopped in to an Advance Auto store and checked out a new cap. Turns out a new cap tested 1 lb less than my 2-year old Motorcraft, which tested at 14.

A data point of one is hardly a trend, but if you decide to swap the cap, might check it first, even at this low a price point.

-blaine

 

Interesting find, and I agree that you must have more than one cap to really have a valid conclusion. I don't think I would run down the street screaming that the degas cap is the root of all the failure. I do feel it is just as important to have a properly functioning spring and seal on the cap as it is to change your oil and filters but certainly not the root of all the problems. Maybe a tech should chime in and tell us some of their finds when testing degas bottle caps. Interesting find frankenbiker...

 

If ECT is hitting 226*f unloaded, there are more problems than just a bad degas cap. Like slagging your turbo because your EGTs are probably through the roof.

 

while i agree that the video is more for shock value, since i saw it ive asked several folks if they knew about the importance of a their caps and NONE knew! one friend was beginning to see some problems with his 6.0 that were alleviated with a new cap. yeah it sounds to good to be true, like the guy who fixed his low power 6.0 with a new alternator. i would attribute all my problems with my 6.0 to a failed coolant cap and they were very expensive to fix!

 

That is a very broad statement for sure! From your previous thread, I do not see the connection. Could you explain your thought process?

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...old-start.html

 

In last 5 yrs we have tested about 2 dozen advance auto caps,about half was below 14,one was 21.

 

in retrospect, the original problem with the 6.0 was that it had a failed ipr, and a failed oil cooler, both of those were heat related, the oil cooler most severely. the egr had already been upgraded with the steel tubes so it didnt fail. the cap would only hold 11 psi. the learning curve on this truck was extremely steep and, unfortunately, i let someone work on it who was completely ignorant of procedures and hygeine, resulting in a ruined lpop and housing. since we were in it this deep i decided to let him rebuild it, yeah, i hadnt snapped to the dirt in the oil from the ipr replacement. oh and the FICM went bad, and the radiator was cracked etc etc, i towed it to my shop and tore it all down and rebiult it myself but the damn thing still wouldnt run. replacement ficm was bad again and the fuel system was contaminated. finally got it put back together and it only has one problem left which i am dealing with. no power. yeah that coolant cap was expensive.

 

No disrespect intended but I'm confused so I gotta ask. Is your sarcasm so dry it doesn't register as humor (with me anyway), or do you think the coolant cap WAS the cause for the issues?

 

Just call it self flagellation, there's got to be some humor in it somewhere.

 

Ok gotcha