Well, I may have another problem. My degas bottle has coolant residue coming from the cap and vent tube to the radiator (maybe the other vent as well, it's late and I didn't check it all out). Found Mark's great write up on diagnosing coolant leaks and saw the BPD vids on the quick diagnose bubble test. Where do I find the rubber stopper for the degas bottle? Do auto parts stores carry those?

I first noticed a little residue two days ago, then there didn't seem to be any yesterday, but tonight it's back, and more than the first time. (SYK, I yank my relay every night when on the road to make it harder to steal my truck from the hotel parking lot, so I see the degas bottle twice every day).

I did have that smoke out of the tailpipe yesterday, but it was blue/gray and went away completely when I changed the fuel filters (yesterday's post). No smoke now. When I saw it two days ago, I stuck my finger in the bottle and didn't get any oil. I'll check again in the morning when I can see it better. Nor have I been losing coolant, unless it just started. Actually, had too much coolant (midway between Min/Max) when I started this trip. If you recall, I repaired by radiator a few weeks ago and figured that I just overfilled it. Hopefully, that's all it is.

You may recall that last summer it was running hotter than I hear y'all talk about yours - EOT of 218-228 - and that was me going less than 60mph all the time. I changed out the thermostat and it seemed to help, and once the outside temps came down from the 90s-100 here in Texas, it's been running EOTs in the low teens with 14-16 deltas. NOTE: these temps are all while pulling 10-12k of trailer 90% of the time, and this is a heavy F450 (heavy duty flatbed, 100 gal aux tank and 7 large toolboxes, different gearing). On the rare occasions when I'm just putting around town with no trailer, EOT is under 210 and deltas are 10-14 or less. I say this because I don't think the 15 delta at 65mph standard that applies to a SRW F250 applies to this truck.

Anyway, this trip the delta has been a bit higher - 17-18 most of the time. However, I did drive a bit faster several times (almost 70mph) and it was still that 18 delta or less and EOT never over 216. It seems logical to assume the high outside temps are having a significant effect, but I don't hear others here describing a similar experience, so I've always wondered if I have a problem.

NOTE: probably not related, but y'all may recall me trying to diagnosis a fluttering noise for the last year and a half. First, thought it was an exhaust leak, and switched out the EGR Marmon clamp, which seemed to help at first, but soon it was fluttering just as much again. Thought it might be the turbo, but then, I found my power steering fluid low and that I could make the flutter start up by locking the steering wheel to one side, then quickly turning to the other side. I added fluid and the flutter almost disappeared. So, I changed out my PS pump, but the flutter was still there, albeit less than it had been. However, after a couple of weeks, the flutter started getting worse again. Well, lo and behold, the flutter has disappeared without me doing anything. And I mean completely disappeared. I haven't heard it at all in about 3 weeks and 5k miles (two long trips this month). Again, unless y'all can think of something, I don't see how the flutter could lead to the coolant residue.

The net of all this is that the truck has actually been running great - decent temps, no flutter, no coolant loss, no oil in coolant, etc. - nothing to make me suspect major problems.

I'm still about 600 miles from home and I have an upcoming trip to Rhode Island. Need to figure out whether I have EGR issues, head gasket issues, or just overfilled my coolant. I'll check the serpentine belt/water pump pulley per Mark's troubleshooting guide, and look under the EGR valve for coolant. From the BPD vids, I can do the bubble test if I can find the stopper. One thing I didn't understand - will there only be bubbles if it has a problem? The vid describes watching the difference in bubbles, but I didnt understand whether there would be no bubbles if all was good.

 

I believe that this stopper would work, but I don't know its maximum diameter, You would have to verify it. Then you would have to find some metal tubing to insert into it, or a brass hose barb w/ the proper sized (diameter) threads on the other end.

https://www.centurytool.net/550537_U.../uvw550537.htm

You might call and talk to these guys also about what they have (Edit - I just measured the degas bottle cap opening and it is 1-1/2 inches):
http://www.johnsonmfg.com/temp/TESTPLUG.HTM

This also looks like it would work:
https://www.northernfactory.com/SHOP...S/RW0003-112-1

..... and maybe this one, but it might be tight!

And yes, NO bubbles is the "good" indication.

 

A hardware store, like "Ace True Value hardware" or similar, if you have them around there should have something.

 

FWIW your temps are all similar if not better than mine when I'm towing 11k in the Texas summer; San Antonio area.

 

Whoa, that's great to hear, seijirou.

Just got home from my trip and have my truck parked on an decline so I can check under the EGR in the morning. I do have an overfilled degas bottle, so I'm hoping that's all it is. Recall that I just had my radiator repaired a couple of weeks back. I filled it up, but for each of the next three mornings, it was a little low, so I'd add some. Apparently, it wasn't really low because now it's consistently over full - the last 3 mornings on my trip.

My bottle and cap are both less than 6 months old. The bottle is already getting black with, I assume, soot? The coolant itself is clear, but I can wipe the inside of the bottle with my finger and get black. Doesn't that mean anything, that it's gotten dirty in just a few months?

If there's no coolant under the EGR, I'll drain a bit of coolant and see if any more comes out. BTW, it doesn't have a lot of residue. I've now figured out that the residue mostly disappears - I saw it when I stopped at night, but the next morning it's mostly gone.

Even if there's nothing under the EGR, and draining a little coolant stops the residue, I think I'll still buy the stopper/hose and do the bubble test for peace of mind.

 

OK, checked under the EGR this morning and it's dry as a bone! Except lots of soot, including one of those "marbles" Mark described. Cleaned up the valve, but will wait until something breaks to take the intake off and clean it. Will drain some coolant to get the level where it needs to be and see if it burps again. Gonna find me a rubber stopper and do the bubble test just to be (almost - can we ever be sure with these trucks?) sure.

 

 

LOL, so now I spent the last hour reading old posts on soot in the degas. Opinions included EGR cooler, oil cooler, gaskets, or just typical crap that can be flushed out - what's a girl to do?

I now know my intake is dry. There's no smoke coming out the exhaust (except for that morning last week and it went away completely as soon as I changed the fuel filters, and hasn't come back) or the oil tube (as of a couple of weeks ago when I checked). Nor does blowback blow the oil fill cap off the tube (although it kinda vibrated off a couple of times before I got it to stay). I'm not losing coolant except this latest burp from the bottle. that I think is just overfill. I am losing a little oil, but I have an obvious leak that I've not identified the source of (see it behind the crank pulley and on the trans lines near the bell housing) that would easily account for that (lost about half a quart over 3000 miles).

Couple of months ago had my air filter warning pop up. I found the CAC tube cracked, replaced it and the filter. At first, I thought I was still getting oil around there, but when I next had the radiator leak and took it out, I cleaned all of it up and it's stayed clean since. Then, there was that mysterious fluttering noise that started over a year ago after I replaced the STC on the side of the road in Arkansas. It was very loud, and I never figured out what that was, but it just went away about 3 weeks ago, completely. Very strange. My best guess was an exhaust leak at a turbo clamp that self-healed from bouncing around chuckholes. Could such a leak allow soot into the system? Or, IIRC from old gas engines, burn a valve and that's letting exhaust into the coolant (if not blow a HG)?

Anyway, I'm thinking my first step is to do the bubble test on the degas bottle. If there's no bubbles, I'm thinking it can't be too bad, so maybe a good flush and check it again. If the test indicates an EGR cooler, I'd prolly do the more accurate test Mark describes in an old thread to confirm. If confirmed, I'd just delete it and replace the oil cooler while I'm there, after a good flush.

If the test indicates HGs, I'd prolly take up drinking again, and after sobering up, park this truck and spend my money getting my shuttle bus road ready instead so I can switch over to it.

 

 

In a shop with a way to lift the cab would make all the difference for sure. I'm still in decent shape at 62, but just replacing the STC on the side of the road in Ark whooped my butt.

I want to switch to the shuttle bus anyway - I can create a comfy place to sleep in it and save hundreds of dollars every trip on hotels. Just can't get any tranny codes to pull up on my scanner to know what's causing the little slip in first gear.

or my nice ambulance that I never got to start again after a basic oil cooler swap.