Hi All -

I recently did the water pump and hoses due to seeping around the water pump gasket. While there, I decided to replace the overflow reservoir as well - old and slightly discolored. I'm now on my 3rd overflow reservoir - they are all leaking at the front seam. I don't think I have a blown headgasket or injector issues - no signs of white smoke ever, and there isn't any oil or fuel in the coolant. I've also tried a new cap, but it's starting to leak before I build any noticeable pressure - I can back off on the cap and don't get much pressure released. So - just bad luck on parts from Ford? All were OEM from different Ford dealers.

Pics - hard to see on here but go to Imgur to zoom in. http://imgur.com/d3EL5bK






1999 F350 7.3 CCLB Dually. Stock except for DP Tuner and Gauges.

 

Maybe a bad production run. I replaced mine a couple years ago with one frm LMC Truck and its been good.

 

We seen many posts here about the Dorman unit not being up to par, if that's the brand you have.
Are you using green coolant? It looks like green in the pictures, not gold or red elc?
Maybe part of the problem?

 

The coolant was purple, but i used dye to find the leak so now it's green :-)

That was ford OEM, which I got to avoid the dorman problems.

 

Thanks. I read your post but somehow missed the OEM part.

Maybe time to do the pressure test or try another cap first?

I know that it can misleading but you won't always see coolant contamination with a head gasket failure.

Sure makes it hard when you can't get the obd ll info like most later models.

 

Has Ford taken back each of the new leaking reservoirs? I noticed you said three different dealers... so did you get your money back from each dealer? Or have you absorbed the loss from three degas bottles with defects?

Whether your head gasket is leaking, oil is in the coolant, fuel is in the coolant, or your coolant is rainbow colored... none of those conditions are relevant, as none should cause the degas bottle to leak at the seam where the mounting tab is.

 

I've been able to get my money back fully on 2, on the other one I got back part of it but not the shipping cost :-/ local dealer wants $150 for one, but said they would exchange it until I got one that's working. However, I would have to take it in and have them test it - slightly annoying :-) if I can get a good one from a different source without paying return shipping more than 3 times, I'll come out ahead.

I agree with Y2KW57 - if I have a leak at the seam and my cap is good (tried 2 so far, including the original one that didn't leak with my old tank) then the tank is bad. However, I could give pressure testing a shot just for fun and to see how much pressure the tank will actually hold. It doesn't leak when cold, so somewhere between atmospheric and 16 psi (that's the cap pressure right?) the seam starts leaking.

 

Update: new tank came in and I replaced leaker #3. So far so good!! Let's hope this one stays leak free.