OK, guess I have to go buy a battery.

 

If you are truly worried that putting coolant in it might create a hydrolock, then I would fill it up and then apply 15 psig air pressure to the degas bottle. All you need is an air compressor that has a pressure regulator , some hose and a hose fitting or two. See how much the pressure drops over night. Do this before cranking. I am with Randy though - thinking that your main issue is probably an injector or two. This is based on the white smoke smelling like diesel (and not coolant) and the fact that the intake under the EGR valve is dry.

Lastly, if you do lose pressure in the coolant system, look everything over carefully for external leaks (hoses, degas bottle, seal on the degas bottle cap, radiator tank crimp-on seals, etc)

Also, Jack is giving you very good advice. More than a few people have had no-starts that were ONLY related to bad batteries.

 

Could be even cheaper than that... we're talking combat tactics for roadside repair.

Degas cap, a drill of the right size and a tire valve stem and core from a tire Shop. Drill the cap, insert stem, fill fluid and pressurize the tank..

Watch for leaks or catch dinner and then see what happens. Cost $25 to determine leak.

Put a good cap on and start truck AFTER you've checked it for injector codes, verified oil and coolant level holding steady.... same for voltages.

 

Ithanks, guys. Just came back w new battery, but it's dark at the storage lot.

Please understand that I don't necessarily have a reason to be afraid of hydrolock. Mostly just traumatized by the times my old truck ran away from having fuel in the crankcase. It blew out clouds of white smoke just like this time. I recall that hydrolock is another possibility.

But I was worried about fuel in the cylinders, hadn't thought about coolant. And now, I can't even swear it wasn't coolant in the exhaust (my sense of smell sux). I seem to recall it was greenish and just assumed. It came out the end of the pipe and at a cat joint. Also looked like a little diesel in the IC tube.

I would add that my coolant was also very weak. It has a hairline crack in the radiator and I've been adding distilled water to it a little at a time. It was prolly no more than one third coolant. That's why I was checking it the other morning and left the cap off.

So, since it overheated, I first poured about 5 gals of water in. Didn't run right so I towed it. Then, I drained the radiator, based on advice here but didn't think to check whether it still read full or how much more it would have needed to fill.

I didnt add any coolant until this morning which i described here. I put in two gallons of zerex g-05 and 2 gals of distilled water. It read full, but when I got back tonight with the battery, I put most of another gallon in.

I'm seeing no leaks any where.

Does that seem like too much coolant for it to hold after draining the radiator? I assume the water I put in earlier filled the block and radiator or if not full, at least the block was full such that when I drained the radiator, it left a full block.

Is it possible that I've blown a hole somewhere that the coolant is draining into. Doesn't show in the oil.

Or, am I just a paranoid?

Does almost 5 gals after a radiator drain see

 

Also, how long would it take for injector codes to set? Got my scangauge working and it showed no codes, but i took the batteries. However, i ran it those few seconds today and no codes.

 

Scan gauge doesn't read codes well, program it to read "DTC count" as number of codes stored. Mine will read zero codes but says it has 2 codes if I display the code count in numbers of DTCs stored with that X-gauge programmed.

I then use Torque Pro to read the actual codes or ForScan to get the codes and clear them. As many trucks as your saving/working on, you need to master a better reader/program than a scan gauge to bring with you to troubleshoot with.... seriously.

 

Again, I want to thank everyone for helping me with this problem. I've not been very helpful with the information or misinformation Ive provided and you've been very patient. I'll try to do better.

First thing this morning, I checked the coolant level. It hadn't changed so I may have finally filled it up.

Next, I installed the new battery. The other battery had been fully charged and tested yesterday. Crank the engine using the yellow wire and it still crank very slow, very difficult to crank. It also has a very obvious dead spot, just like in the vid that I posted.

This time, however, I also smelled coolant. Probably because I just added some yesterday and it had so little before then.

I think that this is more serious than injectors. If a loss of compression (gaskets, cracked head, hole in piston) should make it easier to crank the engine, what can make it harder to crank? Sure, broken rod or crank, but this truck will still start. I'm thinking coolant flooding the cylinders? Which is a hydrolock risk. Am I right to assume that until I can make the truck crank freely, nothing else matters?

My dilemma: any work requiring heads off is more than I can do in this storage lot. Even removing glow plugs would be a PITA in this e-series.

Can anyone think of a solution that doesn't require the heads off? My plan this morning, once the new battery made the engine crank normal, was to go buy a new scanner so I could identify the bad injectors, but that's on hold if it's even necessary at all.

 

Borrow a scanner from Auto Zone or Advanced Auto, they have loan a tool.

 

Have you got it to startup yet? Check and clean all your battery connections and cables.

 

Got will probably start, it did yesterday, twice for a few seconds. The second time, after running a few seconds, it made a horrible screeching sound and I immediately shut it down. The doghouse and air cleaner were off, so it was lounder, might have been the turbo.

Anyway, it still turns over with the yellow wire and keyoff, so i assume pushrods and rocker arms are intact.

I just don't think it's battery keeping it from cranking at higher rpm. I think the engine is seized up on something.

But, of course, I'm the Bonehead who keeps screwing up these trucks. Actions speak louder than words.

 

Man that sucks. Any members in that area that can help you tow it?

 

I'm going to rent this spot in the storage yard for a month. Slept with the truck last two nights. It's comfy but no shower.

We are not through here, folks, but I've done all I can out here today. I'll update as I figure this out.

 

Loud screeching could be belt. Also could be hard start problem. Loosen or take off belt and crank.

 

Wow great idea. Could overheating damage the belt or some pully?

 

Water pump broken or seized, AC seized up. Or just a lot of coolant on belt making it scream for traction. Undo it and crank.