no-red 6 0
Senioritis
for reference...after my head gasket job was done i had this nice little sticker and new fluid level
Coolant overflow bottle leak...
- Thread starter Joelude
- Start date
Joelude
New Superduty Owner!
I used a test kit that I got at a local parts shop that cost me $50. It consisted of a 6" or so tube with a tapered rubber plug on the bottom that had a small hole that leads to a filter of some sort inside the tube, a rubber cap with a hole in it to attach a round rubber inflate ball. I dumped the supplied blue liquid into the tube... put the squeeze ball on top and shoved the tapered rubber plug into the hole on the bottle... creating a tight seal. I then began the process of pressing the squeeze ball causing the air in the bottle to go through the filter and bubble into the blue liquid (after the truck had warmed up). If the liquid stayed blue... not a headgasket issue. If it turned yellow or yellowish green... headgasket problem. I ran the test twice and both times it came up negative for a headgasket leak (still don't trust the test and am getting the exhaust sniffed for coolant here in a little bit.
Basically I was curious if anyone had used a kit like the one that I bought and if they believed it to be accurate. Either way... I will respond later as to the results of the real test.
Basically I was curious if anyone had used a kit like the one that I bought and if they believed it to be accurate. Either way... I will respond later as to the results of the real test.
DaveBen
SDD Senior Member
Glad you came out negative on the test. Let us know how the other test comes out.
Dave
Dave
Joelude
New Superduty Owner!
I had the truck tested at my buddies shop this afternoon. It was a pressure test on the bottle itself. We only had the chance to run it for about five minutes (will do it again in the morning for longer) but while the truck was warm and revved to about 1600 rpm's... the gauge went up to about 17psi. Like I said... I don't think it was ran long enough to get an accurate reading (nor was the truck as warm as I would have liked) but 17psi is 1psi more than the cap is (16psi). So when I got home from the test... the truck was nice and warm. I opened the hood and let the truck rev to around 1800 rpm's and had the gf watch the cap for any leaks. Probably did this for about 8-10 minutes without one drop coming out from the cap. 
I will no more tomorrow when I can run the pressure test longer. And possibly be able to test the exhaust as well. I will let you all know!
I will no more tomorrow when I can run the pressure test longer. And possibly be able to test the exhaust as well. I will let you all know!
Joelude
New Superduty Owner!
**UPDATE**
So I did a bottle pressure test last Friday for roughly an hour. With the truck idling... the pressure in the bottle increased 1-2psi over the 16psi of the cap. So with that... I proceeded to rev the truck to about 2000rpm's and held it there for about 5 more minutes. Same as before... and at some points, the pressure went down.
I have also been noticing that if I have the heat on full blast in the cab with the vents on the dash aiming at me... the air is really hot when under acceleration of any kind, then gets cold when I let off. I have been told that my coolant is a little low and I need to fill it to the adjusted bottle fill line (whatever it is after the dealership places the sticker on the bottle). I don't have the sticker... but looks to be about a half inch lower than the old stamped low level line.
On another note... I contacted the Powershop in Enumclaw and informed them of all that is going on. Basically the guy that I spoke to told me that it sounded like the beginnings of a small headgasket leak. Didn't surprise me... but the $4700 that they told me... completely floored me . I don't have that kind of cash on hand... especially since I am looking at purchasing my first house in the coming months. So my question is... has anyone performed a headstud and headgasket repair on their own trucks? Did you do it without removing the cab? My buddies and I are fairly mechanically inclined and feel that we can do the job... just know that it is one hell of a task and very difficult to perform.
Pics... articles... information... anything that any of you can provide me will be amazing. Let me know thoughts... horror stories... success stories... anything. It is greatly appreciated.
So I did a bottle pressure test last Friday for roughly an hour. With the truck idling... the pressure in the bottle increased 1-2psi over the 16psi of the cap. So with that... I proceeded to rev the truck to about 2000rpm's and held it there for about 5 more minutes. Same as before... and at some points, the pressure went down.
I have also been noticing that if I have the heat on full blast in the cab with the vents on the dash aiming at me... the air is really hot when under acceleration of any kind, then gets cold when I let off. I have been told that my coolant is a little low and I need to fill it to the adjusted bottle fill line (whatever it is after the dealership places the sticker on the bottle). I don't have the sticker... but looks to be about a half inch lower than the old stamped low level line.
On another note... I contacted the Powershop in Enumclaw and informed them of all that is going on. Basically the guy that I spoke to told me that it sounded like the beginnings of a small headgasket leak. Didn't surprise me... but the $4700 that they told me... completely floored me . I don't have that kind of cash on hand... especially since I am looking at purchasing my first house in the coming months. So my question is... has anyone performed a headstud and headgasket repair on their own trucks? Did you do it without removing the cab? My buddies and I are fairly mechanically inclined and feel that we can do the job... just know that it is one hell of a task and very difficult to perform.
Pics... articles... information... anything that any of you can provide me will be amazing. Let me know thoughts... horror stories... success stories... anything. It is greatly appreciated.