02 v10 SD. I found a crack in the coolant tank on my 02 Superduty. It is below the radiator cap, just above the crack where it was sealed from the factory. It runs the length of the tank, about 2 and 1/2 inches, across the front top section. Its starting to seep through,but the radiator is still holding pressure. Have any of you with the older Superduty's had this happen to your trucks? I have no idea what caused or is causing it. I called the Ford dealer tonight about a new one, (because none of the salvage yards in my area have Superduty's in stock) and they "only" want 100+dollars for a new one. Will black rtv sealer or Jb weld hold on this type of plastic? Im going to check the for sale adds on here, to see if anyone has one for sale also.

 

Welcome to the club. I had the experience on several vehicles that at about 10 years mark lot of parts show the aging.
Just get new reservoir. I remember it retailed about $180, but dealers always give me 20% discount for flashing my business license.

 

Try Tousley Ford

 

So that is why I allways have drop of coolant there.

 

When my tank crack it took me about 200 miles to figure out what was happening. The split was on the back, bottom part of it invisible from the top. It would not leak till I parked hot truck. Coming back I was seeing wet spot on the back exhaust, where the engine doesn't have any coolant lines.
The darn think was spraying under the pressure 3 feet away from the tank, while the tank would stay dry. .

 

I had the same crack on mine. Bought a new one from the dealer for about $65.

This would be a good time to do the flush if you haven't done so.

 

I found one through car quest this morning. Dorman "i think thats the name" makes the one im getting. Its going to set me back 70 bucks total, but thats fine. I noticed autozone and napa can get them also for between 65 to 70 dollars. They had to order mine from their warehouse in Kansas so its going to take a couple of days to get back here to Wisconsin. thats the only bummer.

 

Smart move to just replace it IMO. An adhesive or sealant is more of a short term "fix". Eventually heat, pressure, cheamicals and etc will have their way. It probably could have been welded with a plastic welder but till you get that done or buy the gun your better off with just a new unit.

 

Why not just go OEM for about the same money?

 

If you need to drive with crack for few days, take the cap off and carry lot of distillate water.

 

Because I wanted to walk across the street from my house, to car quest, to get one instead. And the cheapest one through the Ford steelerships in this area anyway, quoted the price bieng OVER 100.00 before tax and all the other good stuff. The nearest one bieng a 15 mile drive away. Easier to go across the street and get it, saving $ on gas and the total price. The Ford dealers I spoke to would have had to order the part also, so i would still be waiting at least 2 days for the new one.

 

Im not going to be going anywhere accept to work and back with it. I put a little jb weld on it this morning for piece of mind. I got it up to operating temp and pressurized, the JB is holding (for now). It should be ok for the next couple days, I hope. Thanks for the replies.

 

Now is a good time to take a good look at your hoses too. When mine cracked I went ahead and replace hoses and the reservoir cap.

 

Guess I'm getting old. I'd rather invest my $$$ in retirement account than buying parts that can be easily repaired....

My tank feels like polyethylene (milk jug material) which is a very difficult polymer to get anything to adhere to.
Surprisingly, JB Weld DOES adhere. I've fixed a couple reservoirs this way, lasted many years, still holding when vehicles were sold.

Clean the surface VERY well and scuff with 180 grit sandpaper, clean again, lay on the JB. For even stronger repair, embed fiberglass cloth into the JB.

 

Since that reservoir sees full system pressure, I replaced mine. I did not want to be on a family vacation with that thing cracked open and leaking.

On a 7.3 diesel, a nice clean new tank can also show you when unwanted substances (oil or diesel) are showing up in your coolant tank.