Although, didn't have an indication of oil in coolant.

 

Okay everyone. I decided to not flush the engine after thinking about it. There were no signs of contamination and I was running an ELC coolant before changing the O-Rings. The truck appears to be running a little but I have not driven it during the heat of the day. So this afternoon on the trip home I should be able to see if everything is staying where it is supposed to stay. So far so good though.

 

Sounding good. Might throw a gal in the back just in case you need it.

 

I keep my gal close to me in the front seat. Dogs go in the back!

 

I just went through this EXACT same thing. I had coolant showing up in my oil analysis, it was a small amount so I started searching for options and changing my oil more frequently. Then my truck sat for probably 6 months. When I started driving it again I found out I had a bad injector (or so I thought). When I changed the injectors and did an oil change about a 1/2 cup or less of water came out first. I put it all back together went and drove it to make sure everything worked then tore the cooler out of it. I was 3 days from leaving on a trip.

I got the cooler out and apart, the orings actually looked pretty good. If I had to guess where the leak was coming from I would say the rear cooler to block gasket. I didn't have time to order the kit from dieselorings.com so I went to Ford. Ford of course didn't have it in stock so they had to order it and it showed up just hours before I was suppose to leave.

I agree I had a hard time getting the front bolts back in the cooler and getting the gasket in there at the same time. It is much easier if you can pull the lower radiator hose. I flushed the system with distilled water (I was switching from gold to ELC) and filled the system then took off on a 1000 mile drive. I ran out of ELC filling up the system so I stopped at a truck stop on the way and paid $20 for a gallon of ELC. When I stopped for the night I just topped off the system the next morning before I took off again and it has been full every since.

My local NAPA is where I got the original ELC. On the road I found Flying J/Pilot carries ELC concentrate but I could only find 50/50 at Loves.

 

Sorry: I forgot her period.

 

her period as in time of the month? or forgot her all together? couldnt resist.....nasty i know...

 

You guys are funny. Gonzo I will be up your way around the 18th to 20th of the month. Starting in South Texas, going to AZ, then IA then back home. Don't want to have to mess with things on the side of the road somewhere. On the drive home this evening it was holding temp where I expected. The Coolant is holding level, the oil still looks clean. After this trip, I will do an oil analysis, then do another oil change and another analysis and see if I fixed my coolant in Oil issue. Looking forward to loading the old girl up and hitting the road. My youngest daughter, who is 11 requested we take the old truck instead of the 2010 Traverse. I couldn't agree more. I just feel safer and more in control of the situation in the old truck.

 

Where in Iowa are you headed to? If you are close and need a shop to use or anything else let me know.

Oh I understand about not trying to mess with things on the side of the road. I just figured I would let you know that you can find ELC at a truck stop if for some reason you would need some. I would have preferred to be able to drive my truck around for a few days before I left but it just didn't work out that way.

I changed my oil after the cooler fix at 1800 miles just to make sure I washed the rest of the coolant out of the crank case and to check for any other coolant in the oil.

Have a safe trip

 

I might be able to change the oil up that way, lots of family. I will be up around Estherville IA. Almost in Minnesota. Oil change will be a simple change over. I have been running motorcraft oil for two oil changes. This one is rotella. When I get the coolant issue resolved will be going back to Royal Purple. It costs a little more but the truck runs a little smoother and a little cooler.

Thanks for the availability of the shop if needed. I will start a new thread when we get on the road.

 

Ahh, Estherville is 3 hours west of me. I actually get over there at least once a month for work, we have a bunch of customers in that area. I install and service GPS systems for drainage contractors and farmers.