Hey all,

Im looking for some insight on an issue before I lose sleep over head gaskets.
Headed out today in the truck, and no heat whatsoever. Im thinking maybe a vacuum issue, but 4wd (esof) and all vents move just fine. About 10 miles in I over heated at 236 ect. After cracking the coolant cap there was no coolant. I havent actively monitored it but last i checked was fine.

The exhaust doesnt smell sweet and I see no puddles or any evidence of coolant splatter before today when i refilled it today. There was some tonight but im thinking that's from me spilling some today. Egr is also blocked off.


What are your guy's first thoughts on tackling it? I need the truck soon for plowing so need this resolved asap.

 

My first choice would be head gaskets but.....
Was the coolant puked out of the degas bottle?
Do you monitor live data with anything?

I did just have the same issue with no heat and major puking. Changed my tstat and put a new degas cap on and all is well.

 

It did not appear to have puked out and was only hot for a short period of time with temps maxing at 236.
I moniter data with an SCT livewire.

I would be very happy if i could replace a couple parts but my gut isnt telling me that.

 

So what were your ect and eot temps?
Reason I ask is if the oil temp was close to 300 you'll need to look at the oil filter stand pipe to make sure it didn't melt. I would think if it didn't puke you may have a leak. Is your egr valve plugged in? Did your fan ramp up?

 

Ect was 236 and eot was 22-something

 

I should mention new oil cooler along with the egr delete and new hpop

 

So oil temp was only 22?

 

Stock EGR cooler? Low coolant level and/or excessive (stuck) EGR can boil coolant out of the system. You have it plugged in, right? Unplugging the EGR valve interferes with clutch fan operation.

Did you hear the fan roaring when the truck started running hot? It should have been unmistakable once it got around 220f.

Are you sure you're not leaking coolant somewhere? I'm dealing with either a lower radiator hose or radiator slow leak myself currently. There's a puddle of coolant under the truck after every time i park it.

How long has it been since you changed your t-stat? It's not common, but they can stick shut. They are supposed to fail open, but I've seen 1 or 2 fail closed.

It also wouldn't hurt to make sure there isn't significant blockage between the various radiators. Best case scenario, you just need to clean out the stuff behind the grill. Worst case, head gaskets.

 

Yes, none of the temps. Got out of control, i stopped very shortly after fan came on.

 

Egr valve is plugged in, getting the p0404 and p0405 code from the delete.
The fan came on as it should.

Today i got the truck up to temp and looked at all the heater and rad hoses and i cant see a leak anywhere and there is no puddle ever which is really what id like to see so i would have an answer that didnt say head gasket.

I dont think its a t-stat because today when i went for a drive id nail it, watch the coolant temp rise then come right back down. Never got anove 182.

I did a visual check of all radiators per your suggestion and didnt see anything thay would block flow.

The fact that today i dont have any symptoms is getting to me...WHERE DID THAT COOLANT GO?
i wonder if it would benefit to pressure test the coolant system; low pressure suggests a leak and high pressure suggest a head gasket. Does anyone know where i could buy this said tool?

Many thanks to everyone participating, i need some fte therapy right about now.

 

Very odd to have the oil temp at 22. You may have more than one thing going on here.
May have a bad oil temp sensor. You could try switching the coolant temp and oil temp sensor and see if it follows but your biggest thing is the coolant loss. Can you find any external leaks anywhere? The heater valve, waterpump, rad hoses?

Sorry--missed your last post--yes I would do a pressure test.

 

Im curious why you say my oil tempurature is not normal, seems normal to me being ita usually within 10 degrees up until my ect spiked to 236.

Ive been desperately looking for a leak in any coolant holding lines but have not found anything. Dealership quoted me around 2500 in labor for gaskets, does that sound correct?

I gotthe quote just to keep in the backof my head, im not in a position right now to shell that being its right before the holiday season.

 

I may have misread the temp I took it at ECT 236 and EOT 22. But you're actually saying the EOT was two hundred and something. Not seeing visible signs of coolant leaks it leaves just about only one other scenario--it went out of the tailpipe which would be hg. Also--just a thought--the egr cooler block off may have failed? I just keeping coming back to the EOT actual temp when you saw the ECT at 236. You could also have a bad oil cooler as well.

 

Yes, I mean eot is 2 hundred twenty something, I should have been more clear.

Even in my paraniod mind, I can't smell coolant at the tailpipe, or see any sign of it on the exhaust end. New oil cooler was put in just over a month ago and had a coolant flush at that time also.

Part of me wants to run it a couple weeks and just moniter the truck very closely, but this truck is my main source of income in the winter for plowing, and for it to need head gaskets DURING the plow season means very bad things for me. So realistically I have a 2 week window before I need to be totally green light and confident.

 

My sons truck did the same thing. Water pump was leaking while driving, didn't leave any puddles. Coolant got low, truck overheated.