She whistles at me...

[Black06]

gotta look something like this...

Inspected the degas, and sure enough, minimal amount of coolant. Appears most resides as a crystal on the outside of the reservoir, on my hood, and just about everywhere else on that side of the engine compartment. It's clearly been letting off some steam.

I topped up last night while the engine was cold, and will monitor.

New to Diesel's; is this something that requires a frequent top-off?

Thanks

 

[bushpilot]

it SHOULD NOT need frequent topping off !

that crusty deposit is a combination of casting sand and
stop leak...install a coolant filter (it could help you avoid
the repair/replacement of the egr-cooler & oil cooler)

you can get the GOLD (Zerex) G-05 coolant @
autozone (only place ive been able to find it).

if you top it up w/ coolant and water use DISTILLED
water (no deposits) you can mix to a maximum of 70% coolant.

 

[Black06]

Thanks Bush,
Is it common for the reservoir to go low (empty) without this being a sign of an EGR crack ? It's truly not something I've monitored since ownership.

 

[bushpilot]

Thanks Bush,
Is it common for the reservoir to go low (empty) without this being a sign of an EGR crack ? It's truly not something I've monitored since ownership.

Ive not personally experianced an egr cooler replacement (could it be
because of my by-pass coolant filter...hard to say for certain).

I can say that if the degas bottle is filled much above the "low" mark
it WILL "spill" out at least until it reaches the low level.

from what ive read and watched (on this forum) when the level goes
BELOW the "low" mark (emptying the degas bottle) its typically being
expelled some place else...some have experianced cracked coolant
degas bottles...but it seem more have discovered that their egr cooler
is indeed cracked.

keep an VERY close eye on the coolant level...and possiblity of steam
(or white smoke) from the tail pipe.

do NOT mix coolant types

 

[no-red 6 0]

i hope yours doesn't look this bad...
but the crusty crud on the cap is an indication of a problem - head gaskets or egr cooler/egr or a combination....

take it in and have them check compression and fluids leaked into the egr..

document when and how often and how much coolant you have put in it..

let us know.. and good luck

 

[BamaSixGun]

That's how mine looked red.

Took that puke covered blanket off after the head studs were done

 

[Black06]

i hope yours doesn't look this bad...
but the crusty crud on the cap is an indication of a problem - head gaskets or egr cooler/egr or a combination....

take it in and have them check compression and fluids leaked into the egr..

document when and how often and how much coolant you have put in it..

let us know.. and good luck

That looks rough comparitively. I've cleaned up the crusty crud, topped-up the fluid and will continue to monitor over the next short while. A gallon today took it straight to the MIN level; but lord knows how long it's been. I noticed the "tee pot whistle" in just the few past days however. Thanks.

 

[bushpilot]

if you had a menthod of monitoring...
(autoenginuity) you could monitor
the EOT & ECT (engine oil & coolant temp).

they should NOT be more than about
20* different.

a differential of more may point to a
restricted oil cooler (which typically
lends itself to a cracked egr cooler)

 

[Black06]

i hope yours doesn't look this bad...
but the crusty crud on the cap is an indication of a problem - head gaskets or egr cooler/egr or a combination....

take it in and have them check compression and fluids leaked into the egr..

document when and how often and how much coolant you have put in it..

let us know.. and good luck

After a thorough cleanup of the underside of the hood (no blanket to deal with on the 2006), and a top-up of the coolant, I've monitored over the past several hundred miles. Occassionally hear the whistle when I jump above 20psi boost, but no evidence of leaking on the undersideof the hood, and no loss of coolant in the degas bottle noted. Will continue to monitor.

 

[Kleetus]

Have you done any oil sampling? It might pay to have that done once just to make sure fluids are staying in their respective systems...

That said, why screw around with this? You should still have factory warranty left, at the very least the 100k on the motor. Just take it in and let them check pressures and see what part is leaking before you run any further into the risk of a catastrophic failure.