There's no coolant in the upper radiator hose until the thermostat opens. So as Dean said, you might have a stuck or partially obstructed thermostat not allowing the coolant to flow at a quick enough rate to the radiator or not to the radiator at all. There really isn't anything that can expand that much without popping a leak that I know of.

As Dean asked above - have you heard the fan clutch engage and that really loud hurricane type wind blowing? When the fluid in the fan clutch reached a certain temperature it locks the fan clutch in and sends a small hurricane of air through the engine compartment to keep the temps under control. You would know the sound if you heard it.

That and the tranny fluid temps increasing to the point of puking might be something to consider as a source of the potential problem - a block in the coolant flow somewhere.

 

YES THAT IS CORRECT!

I'ts done it 4 times now, 3 times while pulling logs and the final time was going up the hill that made the tranny puke in the story of the first post.

when its low its really low as in there is maybe half an inch left in the degas then it will fill to maybe 3/4 full then finally settle out at half full where i normally keep the degas bottle. and yes no coolant loss unless its magically refilling it self after it drains

 

The white smoke under the hood - from the degas bottle you think?

Also, sounds like you might need to replace the VSS sensor (vehicle speed sensor).

 

i think it was from tranny fluid spraying out of the front pump seal and hitting the block or heads or my 5 inch exhaust because the bottle filled it self back up. i literally have coolant leaving then coming back after hard pulls

how much do those sensors run?

 

Removing the thermostat completely and running is free to test and see if coolant issue gets resolved.

 

Just an update:

After letting truck sit for a week there was no more transmission leak and the coolant level stabilized to the normal level i keep it. The coolant still looks good and clear but i may be missing something. doesn't appear to have oil in it but is there something specific i should be looking for?


I started the truck and it fired right up after sitting a week and not being plugged in (20-40 degrees all week). Truck sounded good and no noticeable smoke that can be seen with your eyes but i notice if i put a light right next to the exhaust i can see exhaust passing through the bees but you can sit there and look at it for hours with your plain eyes and not see any smoke even while cold.

Something weird i noticed was when i took the lid off my oil filler tube there was way less blow by coming out than normal. truck had only been running for about 2 mins so i don't know if thats normal for not a lot of smoke to come out while the engines cold. i didn't get to test warm because i didn't drive it and it cant get up to temp sitting without letting it sit for hours washing the cylinder walls..

So I drained the oil and it looks good, doesn't look like it has coolant but I'm no expert which brings me to my next question WHAT DO I LOOK FOR IN THE OIL TO TELL IF IT MAY HAVE COOLANT?? while draining i took a freshly cleaned clear plastic tub and filled it with about a quart of oil so i could inspect it and take a sample of that to send to blackstone labs to see what is really in my oil. (Test kit is on its way in the mail).

Also checked tranny fluid and it looks nice and pink and healthy. i think i just got that front pump seal hot and made it puke but the fluid is not burnt and looks good and the seal seems to have sealed it self back up.

So i will pull the ICP tomorrow and replace that. The CEL didn't come on when i went to start it like it normally does and truck sounded normal so don't know whats going o with that maybe she just needed to sit.

ill keep you guys updated when i really tear into it tomorrow. gonna pull the IC tubes, intake, and anything else in the way and clean up the engine bay and heads so i can see how they look and hopefully test for leaks or see if i can find a leak. gonna be needing a lot of brake cleaner...