[WildcatB]

Ok - my truck has a coolant leak. I know this, I live with this, I top it off once a week. It's not a big enough leak that I should have had to deal with it.

So my brother is driving my truck - my family runs a delivery company, and it is, technically, a company truck, so it has to happen sometimes.

He's pulling a trailer with a couple thousand pounds of cabinets up the interstate at just shy of supersonic, when he calls me to ask, "Hey brother - does the teperature guage work in this truck?" "Yes," I say. I can't print what he said then...

That afternoon he tells me that when he got to the next exit (heaven forbid he should pull over on the side of the road, right?) he had to wait over half an hour for the engine to cool off enough to put water in it.

Now, I have less power, and the truck blows blue smoke when I give it gas. Once it spools up, the smoke clears, and a little power comes back. Then, when I upshift (yup - it's a handshaker) a puff of black smoke greets me when I roll back on the gas.

So - did my brother kill my truck? If so, do I need to kill him, or can it be resurrected?

Any ideas?

Thanks

CB

 

[Rich_Kimball]

Sounds bad. I would have to kill him. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif

Seriously, don't know. I don't think he helped it any.

 

[MOUNTAINMAN444]

Killed it, no. It cranks up and runs. But it obviously didn't like it. Run it a few days and see if it clears up or stays the same. Keep a check on the coolant to make sure the heads didn't warp.
Good luck with it, Joe

 

[arisley]

I doubt if he killed it. Maybe it just needs some surgery, make your brother help with the surgery. And every five minutes, remind him that he should have been calling you from the shoulder of the road.

 

[JimTJr]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok - my truck has a coolant leak. I know this, I live with this, I top it off once a week. It's not a big enough leak that I should have had to deal with it.


[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm ok, your brother may have been a part of your trucks damage, but
YOU have not helped any at all... WHY on earth would you say it's no big deal and live with a coolant leak?
If it was the water pump, >100.00 IF You get if from that Northern auto parts, and for less than the cost of one from the dealer you could have had the pump, and a coolant filter. IF it was the pump leaking. If it was just the thermostat housing, much cheaper yet...

So, he didn't do it by him self ok?
Either way, Procrastination is the killer,,

 

[GrampyJim]

Just to add to what has been stated.... the compression rings on the 7.3 are low tension, keystone rings (what I have been told - we have no local engine machine shop and rarely, if ever, venture too far into the bowels of an engine - toys are a different story since we always have time for toys).

If the engine got hot enough, the already low tension rings would lose even more tension.... At this point, a crankcase pressure test would answer many questions....

 

[WildcatB]

Ok, So I'm to look for oil in the cooant which would/could indicate warped heads, or have a crankcase pressure test that would/could indicate loosened compression rings? Keep me straight here guys and gals - wanna make sure I do this right.

As for living with a coolant leak, it's losing less than 1.5 gallons a week, so I top it off every third or fourth fill-up, and as long as I'm the one driving it, there's no problem... My brother (ironically enough the company mechanic, so he does get to 'help' with the corrective surgery) both knew about the leak and assured me that it would be fixed 'soon' as the engine rebuild in his truck and the flywheel replacement on another one and the rear main seal replacement on a third one took priority... It's been a bad month for trucks.

Thanks for the help...

CB

 

[lari2001]

"As for living with a coolant leak, it's losing less than 1.5 gallons a week, so I top it off every third or fourth fill-up, and as long as I'm the one driving it, there's no problem... "
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A gallon and a half of coolant a week is a pretty big deal, I doubt it's your water pump because it would have failed by now. Coolant is vital to these engines, if you (or your brother) runs that truck hard while it's a gallon and a half low on coolant, you are asking for trouble. Check your oil cooler or thermostat housing, it might be a simple fix.

 

[NCHornet]

I agree 1.5 gallons a week is no small leak!!! Do you even know where the coolant is going? Could be you did the damage prior to bro getting the keys. Was it a external leak, or internal ? = big difference!!

 

[lari2001]

[ QUOTE ]
I agree 1.5 gallons a week is no small leak!!! Do you even know where the coolant is going? Could be you did the damage prior to bro getting the keys. Was it a external leak, or internal ? = big difference!!

[/ QUOTE ]

This question is intended for "Wildcat", not me. I don't know why that happens, I click on "REPLY" and for some reason it replies to the wrong name. I suspect that was the case here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif