I know I have a blown head gasket according to mechanic and I a resulting "excess coolant system pressure." I am managing the gallon or so of coolant per month I lose out the tailpipe, but why is this effecting my cab heat? It comes ans goes but mostly goes. Any tricks to work around this issue? A head job is not an option.

 

Potentially, both caused by cavitation behind the water pump impeller.... the connectors on the primary coolant hoses to the radiator - are the connectors black or white?

Black connectors are original and have one seal, white connectors are a revision and have two seals as a countermeasure. As the single seal aged, or the duals seals, eventually air is pulled into the coolant path resulting in cavitation and greatly reduced coolant flow.

 

They are black and I just had the water pump replaced a couple months ago. My operating temp is fairly consistent...around 185-195F. I do tend to let the coolant level go down to about a gallon shy before adding. Does that allow for more air intrusion rather than topping it off more often?

 

You can take it to a dealership and then can run a presure test, at which time who knows what they might find / recommend. Or, just replace the upper and lower main hoses.

A new water pump can still be rendered useless by cavitation.

 

the excessive pressure prevent coolant flow in the cabin heater core.

why are you driving this with a blown gasket???

heads could crack....

 

He is likely driving with a blown head gasket because he doesn't want to take out a 2nd mortgage to fix a truck that isn't worth much more than a reputable shop would want to fix it. I would probably do the same is his shoes, as I don't have that kind of money currently to fix head gaskets on a 6.4 currently.

 

Now that I am losing two gallons of coolant per tank of fuel, it is time to make a decision. Truck books at $11k (if running right) and mechanic at reputable shop estimates the job to cost $7000. If it wasn't for the snowplow setup, I would cut my loses without question and look for a half-ton...talk about stuck between a rock and FoMoCo's ********!

 

well...you should factor into the decision the possibility of needing more than just head gaskets...operating with an under pressure cooling system could result in cracks in the heads and hot spots on cylinder walls.

who ever does the work needs to dye penetrate the metal to check for cracks. some cracks can be welded by a machine shop. some cant.

my personal comments are once someone makes a decision to continue to operate an engine with a head gasket problem..they pretty much decided to throw that engine over the fence. so dont be surprised if you just hire the corner gas station to do head gaskets and they dont check fro cracks..that you continue to consume coolant.

 

just for my own understanding, can you help me understand the risk in continued driving... the mechanic said i have no coolant in the oil suggesting it's all going out the exhaust. i can't keep a glow plug functioning properly in the cylinder further suggesting the coolant has caused it to fail. if i am diligent with keeping the coolant level up, where is the worry? are certain areas of the head not receiving the proper amount of coolant if it's running out the exhaust? and why does a blown head gasket cause excessive pressure in the system giving waterpump and heater core problems? thanks.