2002 F-350 4x4 7.3


My check engine light came on today and my truck stalled a couple of times.


It was way overdue for a service so I went to a quick lube place and changed the oil , fuel filter and air filter.


They checked my rad and the antifreeze is sticky like oil? I don't think it is oil but it looks like it.


Anyone got any ideas?

 

What does it smell like?

 

Antifreeze

 

If you have oil in the coolant, it will not be a question - oil looks terrible in the degas bottle and it rides the side of the bottle. Check the dip stick. If the lube looks like a lardy latte, you likely have a compromised seal on the oil cooler - stop driving the truck.

If the degas bottle has a rainbow on top of the coolant without dark spots, that could be fuel, which would imply a blown injector cup. I would rather have fuel or oil in the coolant than coolant in the other fluids. One is a pain in the butt, the other is a pain next to the butt - in your wallet.

 

Checked it while it was cold this morning.
Engine oil is clean (Just had it changed) and full.


Tank guck smells like diesel , I stuck a stick in the tank and it almost stands up by itself?


Check engine light is on.


Exhaust is normal.

 

If you rub it between your fingers, oil will feel a bit like hand lotion, whereas diesel will definitely not.

Wishing you the best luck, here.

 

The oil level in the engine has not gone down , where would I start to look for where the oil is coming from?

 

Sounds to me like oil isn't the issue, but you have fuel in your coolant. If it is indeed fuel, that's from one or more cracked injector cups. It's happened to quite a few of us, myself included. It's a pain in the butt. The repair isn't for the faint of heart, but it's doable. Brief overview: pull valve covers, pull injectors, use cup removal tool, insert new cups, purge cylinders, insert injectors (new o-rings), drain and flush coolant, clean or replace coolant overflow tank, new coolant, start truck, bring to operating temp, re-torque injectors, button everything up (lots of details left out, but that's the process). Do it yourself or order the cups, o-rings, coolant, take it to a trustworthy diesel shop, and pay for a day of labor.

Riffraff Diesel sells the injector cups, I believe for $100 for all eight, and he rents the removal tool as well.

 

Sounds doable, the weathers better now and I either have to fix it or park it so I can take my time.
How would I diagnois whether that's what it is or on what side it happened?

 

Anyone?......................

 

You need to get someone qualified to look at the truck. Fuel in the coolant doesn't usually gel it up. Injector cups are possible, but that is a big job based off of some guessing on a forum.

If it is determined to be fuel from the injector cups, it is advised to replace all 8 to prevent future failure.

 

Ken, if the coolant smells like fuel, and has the "rainbow" look on the surface, you can bet it's fuel, and that it's coming from a cracked injector cup. The only other way to get fuel in your coolant is a cracked head or blown head gasket (and I don't even know if a blown head gasket on a 7.3 would do it). If you haven't abused the hell out of the truck, you haven't cracked a head. And head gaskets don't commonly fail on the 7.3. The injector cups do fail, and fuel in coolant is a common symptom. Without being there firsthand, that's my diagnosis. When one of mine failed, my coolant overflow was suddenly...overflowing with the diesel/coolant combo. I'm sure it built over time, and I never realized it.

Like Tako said, I would do all eight, rather than try to diagnose which one it is. A small hairline crack is all it takes for fuel at 21,000 psi to find its way into the coolant. And absolutely, positively, put in new injector o-rings and copper washers (on the nozzles) when you do this. Lube those o-rings with clean oil! Make sure to use Alliant (OEM) o-rings. Riffraff Diesel has everything you need.

Search this forum for "injector cups." There should be a thread from someone with full pics (Tugly went through this not too long ago, and it's rare that he does anything on his truck without making a book-worthy picture-filled write-up). Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Riffraff has a full document on it.

 

Thanks that's kinda of what advice I was looking for.

 

And re visited............

 

Did you figure it out, if it was fuel or oil in the coolant? Pretty easy to tell. Oil in the coolant will be thick and look like chocolate milk.

Can you snap us a pic?