Yikes just burped up some coolant!
#61
02-24-2013, 07:02 AM
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Be aware - Some cheap gauges do not work - right out of the box - especially in the low range. Not saying yours is cheap OR bad, just an fyi,
Coolant expamds with heat. If you expand liquid in a fixed volume, it compresses the vapor space and the pressure goes up.
The problem with your test (in the video above) that I see is that you appeared to have installed the gauge on a system that already had hot coolant. If so, the pressure will not rise more than a few pounds during a driving test (on a healthy engine) because you already have the fluid expanded from the heat. Let the engine cool all the way down, vent any residual pressure off of the degas bottle, then drive it until it fully gets up to temp. You will see the pressure rise then.
Have you read the thread in the Tech Folder?
Basically it says to test for a head gasket or EGR cooler leak you should:
Drive it until the engine gets fully up to temp and the coolant has fully expanded.
Then vent the degas slowly and carefully. The degas bottle has a vapor space so it is way more safe to do this than with a radiator cap on a liquid full system ........ STILL - do it slow, use a thick towel, and be safe.
Re-conduct the test, and a tight system will only show a few pounds of pressure increase. WHY??? Because the fluid has already expanded and there is nothing else adding pressure (ie no head gasket leak, and no EGR cooler leak).
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nts-degas.html
Now, all that being said, you do need a functional water pump, accurate colant temperature sensor (EOT), working thermostat, and coolant at the proper concentration (50-60%). This is because at ZERO back pressure on the degas bottle, you have a lower coolant boiling point and it can flash boil in the EGR cooler if you have low coolant flow.
I wouldn't do this test too frequently because any flash boiling at all is going to cause stress on the EGR cooler (localized pressure rises) and also you will have deposits form (fouling). Doing this test only a few times and for short durations should not be an issue.
From your tests in the video, it does not look like you have an issue.
Coolant expamds with heat. If you expand liquid in a fixed volume, it compresses the vapor space and the pressure goes up.
The problem with your test (in the video above) that I see is that you appeared to have installed the gauge on a system that already had hot coolant. If so, the pressure will not rise more than a few pounds during a driving test (on a healthy engine) because you already have the fluid expanded from the heat. Let the engine cool all the way down, vent any residual pressure off of the degas bottle, then drive it until it fully gets up to temp. You will see the pressure rise then.
Have you read the thread in the Tech Folder?
Basically it says to test for a head gasket or EGR cooler leak you should:
Drive it until the engine gets fully up to temp and the coolant has fully expanded.
Then vent the degas slowly and carefully. The degas bottle has a vapor space so it is way more safe to do this than with a radiator cap on a liquid full system ........ STILL - do it slow, use a thick towel, and be safe.
Re-conduct the test, and a tight system will only show a few pounds of pressure increase. WHY??? Because the fluid has already expanded and there is nothing else adding pressure (ie no head gasket leak, and no EGR cooler leak).
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nts-degas.html
Now, all that being said, you do need a functional water pump, accurate colant temperature sensor (EOT), working thermostat, and coolant at the proper concentration (50-60%). This is because at ZERO back pressure on the degas bottle, you have a lower coolant boiling point and it can flash boil in the EGR cooler if you have low coolant flow.
I wouldn't do this test too frequently because any flash boiling at all is going to cause stress on the EGR cooler (localized pressure rises) and also you will have deposits form (fouling). Doing this test only a few times and for short durations should not be an issue.
From your tests in the video, it does not look like you have an issue.
#62
02-24-2013, 07:24 AM
You can get flash boiling on any extremely hot surface. There are other areas of the engine where you could have this happen also. The EGR cooler is just the most "talked about" problem area.
As far as repeating the test, it would be good to verify that the gauge is working. Other than that, you have already shown that you do not have a leak under the test conditions shown in your videos.
As far as repeating the test, it would be good to verify that the gauge is working. Other than that, you have already shown that you do not have a leak under the test conditions shown in your videos.
#63
02-24-2013, 08:05 AM
#65
02-24-2013, 01:24 PM
#66
02-24-2013, 05:38 PM
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Ok I tested my gauge and it is working fine. I hooked up the cooling system test kit along with my gauge and the both went up together as I put pressure in the system. Bismic was correct because I hooked up the gauge when the engine was hot I didn't see any pressure rise I did hook the gauge up when the truck was cold and drove it until it was hot. I took this video after I had been driving for about 20 minutes. Think I am good?
#69
02-25-2013, 04:22 PM
#70
02-25-2013, 04:59 PM
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Ok, thanks. In the most recent video I posted it seemed like it might have been raising ever so slightly. Looks like maybe I should put a new thermostat in, even pulling a 15 to 16 k trailer I never see coolant temps over 184
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