Somewhat urgent coolant issue/question
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Cargo Master
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,837
Likes: 1
Somewhat urgent coolant issue/question
My coolant always has a tendency to run low, but from reading on here that seems to be somewhat normal. This morning I popped the hood to check my fuel pressure on the mechanical gauge I installed and noticed that the degas bottle is empty (maybe an inch of coolant at the very bottom). My mechanic has told me that I have an intermittent coolant leak that seems to come and go with temperature changes.
After doing a search on here I realize that I have been making a mistake topping off with the 50/50 crap. I really need to do the flush and fill with ELC, but am not in a position to do that right away. What I need right now is a quick fix to make the 50 mile drive home from work and hope to address the bigger issue over the long holiday weekend. Would I be better off topping off with the 50/50? Or should I just top off with distilled water? Or a mix of green coolant with distilled water? I'm hoping I haven't already done damage by running the wrong coolant thus far. Truck has 133,500 miles. Unfortunately this is just one of those things I have never paid much attention to or worried much about. Don't be too hard on me, please
Really appreciate y'alls advice.
After doing a search on here I realize that I have been making a mistake topping off with the 50/50 crap. I really need to do the flush and fill with ELC, but am not in a position to do that right away. What I need right now is a quick fix to make the 50 mile drive home from work and hope to address the bigger issue over the long holiday weekend. Would I be better off topping off with the 50/50? Or should I just top off with distilled water? Or a mix of green coolant with distilled water? I'm hoping I haven't already done damage by running the wrong coolant thus far. Truck has 133,500 miles. Unfortunately this is just one of those things I have never paid much attention to or worried much about. Don't be too hard on me, please
Really appreciate y'alls advice.
Cargo Master
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,047
Likes: 10
From: Snohomish, WA
I do not run the ELC, I run the Gold it came with. I keep a jug of 50/50 that I mixed on my own. I do not see why the 50/50 that you can buy pre-mixed is a problem, other than expensive.
Filling it up with either distilled water or a 50/50 mix will not hurt it. You will need to see why the coolant loss happened. You may have a crack in the degas bottle or a pump leaking.
Obviously when you get home you need to make sure the correct levels are checked, once you figure out the loss problem.
Filling it up with either distilled water or a 50/50 mix will not hurt it. You will need to see why the coolant loss happened. You may have a crack in the degas bottle or a pump leaking.
Obviously when you get home you need to make sure the correct levels are checked, once you figure out the loss problem.
Last edited by woodnthings; Nov 24, 2010 at 08:51 AM. Reason: more info
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 822
Likes: 9
From: Leander Texas
I would think your fine adding some distilled water or more 50/50 for the trip home and just go from there. It would probably be fine as is, but I wouldn't be able to stand it and would have to add a little to that degas bottle.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 6,708
Likes: 5
From: Kiowa CO
Do you know what type of coolant you have in the truck right now? If not, add some distilled water, then get it home and find your leak. Like Ken said, the two common culprits are a cracked degas bottle or a leaky water pump. Also, look at the cap, I was loosing a little fluid and bought a new one and it fixed my issue. However, I didn't loose that much coolant though.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 25,090
Likes: 1,112
From: Rio Rico, AZ.
My intermittant coolant leak was the o-ring seal on the bottom flange of the water pump.
50/50 mix is good.
Make sure your anti-cavitation is good using those little test strips if you are using the green coolant.
50/50 mix is good.
Make sure your anti-cavitation is good using those little test strips if you are using the green coolant.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Feb 2005
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Thanks for all the quick input guys. As far as I know right now the coolant is a mix of standard green coolant with the sca additive and a little bit of the green 50/50 stuff you can get at any box store/truck stop that I have used for topping off when the leak would pop up while on a trip. Again, I now know this is improper practice, but like I said before its just not something I ever paid much attention to. I think my mechanic said the pump has the the intermittent leak. I think it has a lot to do with temperature changes. I have been pushing the truck kinda hard since I got my JW trans installed the other day 
. This could be why the coolant has dropped?? I just went out and checked it again and it has come back up in the degas bottle a bit, there is now a few inches of coolant at the bottom of the bottle. I think I will just leave it alone and try to address the bigger issue this weekend. I had already planned on doing some work to the truck at some point this weekend, I'll just add this to the list.
. This could be why the coolant has dropped?? I just went out and checked it again and it has come back up in the degas bottle a bit, there is now a few inches of coolant at the bottom of the bottle. I think I will just leave it alone and try to address the bigger issue this weekend. I had already planned on doing some work to the truck at some point this weekend, I'll just add this to the list.
