Radiator-problem?
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 242
Likes: 1
From: Norheimsund, Norway
Radiator-problem?
Greetings from Norway!
Thank you all for a lot of useful information. Have been member for a while,
but not posted anything before. Guess i`m afraid my english is too weak...
I`ve got an -91 F-250. The last days i have notized that my radiator is leaking.
It seems to start leaking after the thermostat has opened. I also notized that
it seemed to be quite a lot pressure in the cooling-hose between the pump and the radiator. Could it be that the radiator is "plugged"?
The temperature is possibly a little higher then earlier. I have just had the truck for a few months, and yes the cooling-system should have been flushed. The liquid is dirty. But it is cold and snowy here right now, the plan was to flush it at spring. Or could it be anything else being wrong?
Thank you all for a lot of useful information. Have been member for a while,
but not posted anything before. Guess i`m afraid my english is too weak...
I`ve got an -91 F-250. The last days i have notized that my radiator is leaking.
It seems to start leaking after the thermostat has opened. I also notized that
it seemed to be quite a lot pressure in the cooling-hose between the pump and the radiator. Could it be that the radiator is "plugged"?
The temperature is possibly a little higher then earlier. I have just had the truck for a few months, and yes the cooling-system should have been flushed. The liquid is dirty. But it is cold and snowy here right now, the plan was to flush it at spring. Or could it be anything else being wrong?
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 566
Likes: 3
From: New Jersey
Heck, your English is better than some of the people who post here! 
If a blown head gasket is pressurizing your cooling system, you should be able to see bubbles at the filler neck while it's running. You can also look to see if you have engine oil pooling up there, too, which would indicate a gasket leak between a water jacket and an oil galley, but that's a less common failure, and it wouldn't pressurize your cooling system. That's a quick and easy way to check for head gasket failure. Less quick and certainly less easy is a compression check, which would be no fun during a Norwegian winter.
If your coolant is that dirty, you may want to consider a new thermostat when you have the system flushed. I would try to do it before spring. That's a long time from now to run on dirty coolant, especially if you're noticing operating temperature increases over the last couple of months.
If a blown head gasket is pressurizing your cooling system, you should be able to see bubbles at the filler neck while it's running. You can also look to see if you have engine oil pooling up there, too, which would indicate a gasket leak between a water jacket and an oil galley, but that's a less common failure, and it wouldn't pressurize your cooling system. That's a quick and easy way to check for head gasket failure. Less quick and certainly less easy is a compression check, which would be no fun during a Norwegian winter.
If your coolant is that dirty, you may want to consider a new thermostat when you have the system flushed. I would try to do it before spring. That's a long time from now to run on dirty coolant, especially if you're noticing operating temperature increases over the last couple of months.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 641
Likes: 1
From: Delta B.C.
You could not see bubbles in mine, but if you filled the rad, put the cap on, and went for a drive, it would fill the overflow bottle with coolant and then it would start to overflow... once the rad reached a low enough level it would stop doing this....
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 21,285
Likes: 15
From: Nutter Fort, WV
ola1234,
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.
Where are you seeing the leak at?
Do you notice the coolant being pushed into the recovery tank and not drawn back into the radiator when the engine gets cold?
We have another user from Norway in here from time to time, he has a 7.3 turbo in a boat if I remember correctly.
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.
Where are you seeing the leak at?
Do you notice the coolant being pushed into the recovery tank and not drawn back into the radiator when the engine gets cold?
We have another user from Norway in here from time to time, he has a 7.3 turbo in a boat if I remember correctly.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 242
Likes: 1
From: Norheimsund, Norway
I`m not sure where the water comes out, but it looks like it is coming out of the upper part of the rad itself , and then hits the fan and is thrown around in the engine room. The recover tank is not getting filled up. When i stop the engine nothing particuarly seems to happend. But it is guite some pressure in the upper hose(between thermostat and rad.) If i pull of the rad-cap it overflows.
????
????
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Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,638
Likes: 1
From: Manitoba
Once the coolant is warm/hot it will always overflow when under pressure when the cap is removed.
Check the rad cap it has a pressure # like 13lbs what is yours. Be advised the upper rad hose will get hard enough you can't squeeze it flat, that is normal. Check your upper hose clamp especially if you still have the spring clamp you may wish to replace it with a gear clamp.. Quite often the rad upper tank solder seal will leak and coolant will run along the groove which gets confusing as to actual location. Find a garage with a cooling system pressure tester, they will pump the rad up until it shows the leak area.
Check the rad cap it has a pressure # like 13lbs what is yours. Be advised the upper rad hose will get hard enough you can't squeeze it flat, that is normal. Check your upper hose clamp especially if you still have the spring clamp you may wish to replace it with a gear clamp.. Quite often the rad upper tank solder seal will leak and coolant will run along the groove which gets confusing as to actual location. Find a garage with a cooling system pressure tester, they will pump the rad up until it shows the leak area.
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