hey guys,

So about 3 days ago i noticed a little bit of white / clear smoke out of my exhaust at idle, i didnt pay too much attention to it because it was cold and it was a tank of fuel that i didnt put Diesel Kleen in with it.

Well today on the ride home from work my heater kept on getting cold then hot then cold again, i knew what the problem was right away, low on coolant. Ever since ive had the truck (3 yrs) ive never had to add any coolant in between flushes.

Im kind of new to diesels, but i know in the gasser world white exhaust smoke usually equals head gaskets, or even worse a cracked head. is this the same case?

Thanks in advance

 

White smoke on these trucks is usually just unburnt fuel in the exhaust. Before you get too excited (like I did ) crawl under the truck and look for signs of antifreeze. Could just be your water pump taking a dump.

 

haha yeah i am pretty disappointed right now

just replaced the water pump last winter i would think it is pretty unlikely for it to be going out again.

but i will check under the truck just to be sure.

thanks for the quick reply

also to add as a sidenote, i dont think this has anything to do with it but i still havent fixed my exhaust back pressure valve (i think thats what its called) where it puts a load on the motor to make it warm up quicker.

 

Having low coolant can crack the head around the valve area. Big question is how low did it go? How much did you add to bring radiator back to full? Normally when you crack a head it will pressure the radiator and push the coolant out.Pressure up the radiator look for external leaks first. If no leaks then remove glow plugs then bore scope each cylinder looking for water droplets on bottom of head. If coolant gets into the cylinder makes starting difficult with a little white smoke.Coolant can get into the bore from leaking injector cup too. Blown head gaskets can leak coolant into the bores also but usally have a engine miss.Check oil level to see if its making oil or signs of coolant inside the valve cover area. You can drain a little fuel from the fuel filter drain valve looking for coolant too. This should get you started but i would look loss of coolant first from the outside of the engine could be something small that you have over looked. Oil sample also wouldn't hurt.

 

What exactly is wrong with the EBPV? Just unplug that POS and be done with it.

 

05chop,

The truck didnt overheat, and it had enough coolant to push out heat to the cab.

I looked on the outside no leaks, also the truck is still running perfectly normal with no misses, its supposed to warm up this weekend i will check the oil and other suggestions you had, thank you for the input.

 

Superduty,

it just isn't kicking in when it is cold out that's all, i posted about it a while back and got some suggestions but its been way too cold out to dick around with it. Why does it seem every time something goes wrong its in the winter!!??

 

Dave, I wouldn't sweat the EBPV at all. Most of us unplug it anyways. As for your coolant issue, just keep an eye on it, periodically check the oil for signs of coolant, and watch for oil or fuel in the degas bottle. I'm in the exact same boat right now... just waiting until the pump goes completely TU.

 

This is good you dont have an engine miss! Just a reminder If the water did go below the cylinder head for 2-5 minutes at an ilde it will crack the cylinder head.Overheats are not the only thing that will crack cylinder heads. You could have a cold water leaks on the outside of the engine this could be where your low coolant is going!

 

I am pretty sure that the water didn't go below the cylinder head, but if i do have a crack i would have leaking antifreeze somewhere so if i were to idle it for a bit i should at least see a drip correct?

heads are probably a pain in the a$$ and expensive to replace i assume.

 

thanks superduty, i wont worry about the EBPV then.

So would you think i would be safe to drive it for now as long as i keep an eye on all my fluid levels?

It was a pain to get started this morning, but it was -1F out and i didnt plug it in.

 

See if you can find the water leak as i suggested I wouldn't rule out something easy like a cold water leak.This could be your low coolant problem.You havent said anything about making oil or water puking out the radiator so look for the easy things first.

 

Yeah I wouldn't sweat driving it, just watch it. Fuel or oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil will be signs that its time to park it for a while.

 

Ok, just to double check water in the oil is going to give me milky oil correct?

i know, newb question, i just didnt know if rotella reacted differently.

 

Yes, water in the oil should make it grayish colored.