dirty degas/casting sand??
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Freshman User
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dirty degas/casting sand??
My degas has black gritty film inside on the top. Local shop said oil cooler is fine and truxk is otherwise healthy. i still think its less responsive than she used to be. Anyway, They said its casting sand in the degas. Is it possible all i need is a coolant flush and add a filter? I would prefer that over the oil cooler. also have a leak from thermo. housing and lower elbow. Its a slow leak that made my engine bay filthy and wound up dripping off of the starter and tranny (i think due to mainly highway miles). I thoroughly cleaned everything and only see leaking at water pump seals.I dont think weep is dripping although its hard to tell. Should i go ahead and replace the water pump and thermo/housing after i flush the system or just the seals? its a 06/99 7.3 2wd 6spd 180,000m bone stock. thanks for any help. i work 1600 miles away in ND where its REALLY cold and want to make sure shes good for the trip and weather. Already switched to 5w40 and replaced gpr and aihrelay. any and all help is greatly appreciated!!
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2012
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I'm wondering how the local shop knew the oil cooler was fine? How did they check the o-rings without taking the oil cooler apart?
The miles you have are about right for an oil cooler failure on a 7.3L. When I bought my 2nd 7.3L truck used, the degas bottle was full of oil and black gritty material. It was a mess.
I did the Oil cooler R&R, new water pump, radiator, t-stat and housing, all coolant hoses, and complete flush procedure, then added a coolant filter.
Maybe it's good to get a second opinion before your degas bottle looks like this:
It's not easy to get it cleaned up. I did almost 40 flushes before I was able to get it back to this:
If it's not the oil cooler I would be surprised but I'm still learning every day and I'll keep an eye on this thread to see how it turns out.
The miles you have are about right for an oil cooler failure on a 7.3L. When I bought my 2nd 7.3L truck used, the degas bottle was full of oil and black gritty material. It was a mess.
I did the Oil cooler R&R, new water pump, radiator, t-stat and housing, all coolant hoses, and complete flush procedure, then added a coolant filter.
Maybe it's good to get a second opinion before your degas bottle looks like this:
It's not easy to get it cleaned up. I did almost 40 flushes before I was able to get it back to this:
If it's not the oil cooler I would be surprised but I'm still learning every day and I'll keep an eye on this thread to see how it turns out.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,712
Likes: 107
From: BoCoMo
My degas has black gritty film inside on the top. Local shop said oil cooler is fine and truxk is otherwise healthy. i still think its less responsive than she used to be. Anyway, They said its casting sand in the degas. Is it possible all i need is a coolant flush and add a filter? I would prefer that over the oil cooler. also have a leak from thermo. housing and lower elbow. Its a slow leak that made my engine bay filthy and wound up dripping off of the starter and tranny (i think due to mainly highway miles). I thoroughly cleaned everything and only see leaking at water pump seals.I dont think weep is dripping although its hard to tell. Should i go ahead and replace the water pump and thermo/housing after i flush the system or just the seals? its a 06/99 7.3 2wd 6spd 180,000m bone stock. thanks for any help. i work 1600 miles away in ND where its REALLY cold and want to make sure shes good for the trip and weather. Already switched to 5w40 and replaced gpr and aihrelay. any and all help is greatly appreciated!!
I would not look to replace the water pump at this time.
same question how do they know that the oil cooler seals are fine?
Look into threads about the oil cooler and oil in the degas for some thoughts.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,243
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From: AZ
A quick, easy, and cheap way to see if it is oil in the degas bottle is to buy a fluorescent kit. You add a small vial of dye to your oil. Drive the vehicle around for a few days, then at night take the UV flashlight provided and look in the degas bottle. If it glows, the oil cooler is leaking.
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Freshman User
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I didnt think you could check the oil cooler either but im no diesel tech- thats why i thought id post. i looked into other threads but not much like mine. My degas looks nowherw close to the one in the above pics. There doesnt appear to be anything in the coolant just on the part of the tank the coolant doesnt reach. i got it with 130000m and now it has 180000m- i dont know how long its been since flushed. I dont really see any other leaks since i cleaned the motor. Is it showing signs of oil cooler and will only get worse? Can i drive the truck or is it a bad idea?
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Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,712
Likes: 107
From: BoCoMo
I didnt think you could check the oil cooler either but im no diesel tech- thats why i thought id post. i looked into other threads but not much like mine. My degas looks nowherw close to the one in the above pics. There doesnt appear to be anything in the coolant just on the part of the tank the coolant doesnt reach. i got it with 130000m and now it has 180000m- i dont know how long its been since flushed. I dont really see any other leaks since i cleaned the motor. Is it showing signs of oil cooler and will only get worse? Can i drive the truck or is it a bad idea?
Your 'sand' is not in the cooling water, but above it in the tank. There is nothing like 'oil' floating around in the degas tank? ok.... looks like rule out oil cooler (for now). Drain the coolant out, take tank out and clean the tank and refill and see what happens after awhile. Just throwing that out...
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Wellington, Co
I didnt think you could check the oil cooler either but im no diesel tech- thats why i thought id post. i looked into other threads but not much like mine. My degas looks nowherw close to the one in the above pics. There doesnt appear to be anything in the coolant just on the part of the tank the coolant doesnt reach. i got it with 130000m and now it has 180000m- i dont know how long its been since flushed. I dont really see any other leaks since i cleaned the motor. Is it showing signs of oil cooler and will only get worse? Can i drive the truck or is it a bad idea?
Outside of that, given all original pump, etc., not a bad idea to do the pump, t stat, hoses, flush, filter.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,712
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From: BoCoMo
I will ask for others, can coolant get into the oil from the cooler leaking? I am not sure since the oil should be under more pressure, but that is the priority. Find out for sure.
Outside of that, given all original pump, etc., not a bad idea to do the pump, t stat, hoses, flush, filter.
Outside of that, given all original pump, etc., not a bad idea to do the pump, t stat, hoses, flush, filter.
You answered you own question. But when the pressure is equal, water and oil can leak back and forth.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ve-covers.html
