cooling system or head gasket problem
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cooling system or head gasket problem
I have a '97 F250HD (the old style truck) with a 7.5L v8 engine. I noticed the other day that the coolant was low and there was brown sludge in the radiator. I have since flushed the cooling system out, but now notice that the coolant recovery tank "pukes" out fluid when I shut the truck off. There is no smoke coming from the tailpipe (emissions test done last week, passed with flying colors) nor is there any sign of water in the oil. The intake manifold shows there might be a small oil leak, but that's about it. When I shut the truck off, I can hear air bubbles forcing coolant into the recovery tank. As the engine cools the fluid is drawn back in to the radiator.
The truck runs fine, plenty of power, does not overheat and runs in the normal operating range on the temp gauge where it always has. I have changed the head gaskets on the truck before (when the gasket blew, there was a huge cloud of white smoke!). I have looked at a bunch of stuff online but can't determine if this is an intake manifold gasket problem, a head gasket problem, or just a clogged radiator problem. If it's a blown head gasket, how do i check which side of the motor it's on?
Any help appreciated.
The truck runs fine, plenty of power, does not overheat and runs in the normal operating range on the temp gauge where it always has. I have changed the head gaskets on the truck before (when the gasket blew, there was a huge cloud of white smoke!). I have looked at a bunch of stuff online but can't determine if this is an intake manifold gasket problem, a head gasket problem, or just a clogged radiator problem. If it's a blown head gasket, how do i check which side of the motor it's on?
Any help appreciated.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Oregon
any chance of plugged breather type hose?
Since you have access to exhaust analyzer?
we used to check the coolant for exhaust gasses when a blown head gasket was suspect.
Back in the 80's Calif smog days.
There may even be some chemical you could add to the coolant and see if it reacts with exhaust gasses / chemicals if they are present.
Since you have access to exhaust analyzer?
we used to check the coolant for exhaust gasses when a blown head gasket was suspect.
Back in the 80's Calif smog days.
There may even be some chemical you could add to the coolant and see if it reacts with exhaust gasses / chemicals if they are present.
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 6,267
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From: IL
The 2 simplest ways I found to test if a head gasket is blown but it's not blowing white smoke is let the truck cool off. take a clear mason jar and hold it to the tail pipe. Have someone start the engine and let it run for a few minutes with the jar on the tail pipe. If there's coolant in the exhaust fumes is will condensate on the glass and pool up. It will have a tint to it the same color as the coolant.
The other one is to pull the plugs. and look in each cylinder. You'll either see wetness or a cylinder will be exceptionally clean with little to no carbon build up on the piston top.
One last thought is, I had a F350 with the 7.3L IDI. I found my blown head gasket on that one because I was letting it idle and warm up. So much pressure built up it blew the top off the coolant tank.
The other one is to pull the plugs. and look in each cylinder. You'll either see wetness or a cylinder will be exceptionally clean with little to no carbon build up on the piston top.
One last thought is, I had a F350 with the 7.3L IDI. I found my blown head gasket on that one because I was letting it idle and warm up. So much pressure built up it blew the top off the coolant tank.
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mrbeasly007
1997 - 2003 F150
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Oct 19, 2012 07:32 PM
