Radiator leak

[BeXtreme04]

So I just recently bought an 04 F350 CC SRW w/ 40,000 miles on it. I immediately changed all the fluids and filters and found the coolant was completely rust colored. Did a complete flush over the course of a week to get the water to start coming out clear and then filled with cat elc.

Drove it for several weeks and then got an sct x3, coolant filter kit, and an edge insight. Installed it all and coolant started puking out the degas bottle. I had read on here that the min line was really the max line so i thought maybe i overfilled it when i installed the coolant filter kit. Drained some out and it was still puking. Then it started leaking out of the upper and lower seams on the radiator. My coolant temps where a little low so i thought maybe the thermostat was sticking so i changed it out and it started leaking even worse from the radiator.

So I removed the radiator and took it to a shop to get it checked. Not only could they not get it to leak with shop air applied but they said the flow was terrible and it was really clogged up. So I bought a new radiator and installed it along with a new degas bottle cap. Temps are much more consistent on the initial test drive but when i stop i can see where it is leaking from the seals on the new radiator and out of the degas bottle. I am going to hook up a gauge to the system today and see what the pressures are hitting.

Can this be anything but an egr cooler or a head gasket? My temp delta's are kindof hi... they are usually around 10* but on the 65mph test they got as hi as 15*. Truck drives great, no smoke from the tailpipe at all and no coolant from anywhere else. What should I be seeing on the gauge if it is an EGR or a headgasket leak?

[justa03]

Ford says 15* degrees is in spec for the delta. But as for puking coolant out of the radiator like that you have to have a flow issue somewhere. Where im not sure, ive never seen or heard of this problem but maybe someone on here has. As for testing for an EGR cooler or HG leak I usually use an airlift to see if the system will hold vacuum, pull the EGR valve and see if its wet. Also you can hook up a pressure gauge to the cooling system by t-ing off one of the lines on the degas bottle and check for boost pressure in the cooling system (basically anything over 16 psi). Goodluck!

[dannyboy950]

Only thing I can think of would be plugged/restricted passages in the block or heads.
Did you do a thourough cooling system flush before ya changed that radiator?

If yer gonna do one now I recomend disconnecting your radiator hoses and rig up a bypass so it only circulates in the motor and doesn't plug up that new radiator.

[BeXtreme04]

so after screwing with it all day it turned out to be the upper radiator hose not sealing to the radiator properly. I loosened the clamp and moved it farther forward to ensure it was clearing the lip and then tightened the heck out of it... bottom line no more leak and no venting from the degas bottle...

[justa03]

Glad to hear ya got it figured!