Hey guys, Long time reader, normally can find the fixes to problems I run across on here easily enough on my own but this time no such luck so finally speaking up!

I have a 92 F250 4x4 7.3L idi with about 280K on it, got it dirt cheap. Drove it a few months and then it seemed to blow a head gasket, or what I thought was a head gasket at first. It went "POP" one day and started blowing steam out from under the hood around the L Head. So I Dumped major $$$ on a top end overhaul on the truck, Heads. Head gaskets the whole 9 yards. Old heads around the water ports weren't pitted and the gaskets weren't actually blown although with 280K they looked there with age. Went to fill it up with coolant and found out that the Oil filter adapter/end cap for the oil cooler had a hole in it from corrosion the POP I had heard that day was it blowing out So I buy a seal kit and pull the oil cooler off a spare motor I got. Get ready to rebuild it tonight and find that it has heavy corrosion on both end caps around the water passages there not deep but one on he front cap is about 1/4" from the edge of the casting. It might hold but I doubt it will last long. The problem is that these end caps are no longer made and all new OEM ones are mega $$$ if you can find them. So aside finding a welder that can weld aluminum and machine them flat again has anyone tried any other fixes? I have considered JB-weld. Getting the pits good and clean and then filling them, letting them cure for a week and then block sanding it flat again. I have heard/Read and watched videos of people doing this on T-stat housings and timing covers with success but thoes are gas engines. Not diesel. Curious if anyone has done this before and what there results are. Its not my daily driver so I'm not in a huge hurry for it.

 

Hmm No replies. Decided to go ahead and give it a shot until I can find some good end caps. Bead blasted the front end cap today and then applied the JB weld. I intend to wait a week before sanding it down. This is only a temporary fix until I can find a new end cap so will check in when I change out for the new caps! Unless it fails first of course!

 

Kind of hard to get answers here, we dont get a whole lot of diesel questions in this side of the forum. Most of us are running gassers.

If you want better answers hit up the diesel section of the forums.

 

Also I know they mostly do radiators, but u could try 1-800-radiator

They make replacements for a lot of radiators, especially diesel ones that are much cheaper than buying them from the parts store. cant hurt to see if they have an oil cooler.

 

Thanks I thought I had posted in the Diesel section LOL! My bad. And I'm not shure that the radiator place would be much help as this is a log type cooler under the driver side exhaust manifold but will check anyway.