Now I am confused (headgaskets?)

[PSDMikeB]

I went camping over Memorial Day from the Springs to Mesa Verde. Pretty good climbs over La Veta Pass (6%) and Wolf Creek Pass (7-8%) towing a 12k 5th wheel. I was puking coolant and getting hot, but I took it slow and made it to Mesa Verde. I had lost about 2 quarts of coolant (I have the new sticker on the bottle and even keep it a 1/4 inch or so below the revised line).

One the way home via the same passes, I had some more high temp pulls up the passes and I am sure it puked a little bit. Then on I-25 coming north out of Pueblo temps in the mid 80s, I was going up another another long but less steep grade. It was hot and I was running 70 MPH or so. My ECT was running up to 220 and the fan would come on, and things would settle back down. However, on one long grade, the ECT kept rising and rising and eventually hit almost 240 when I crested the hill and coasted down the other side. Things cooled off pretty quick and I continued at a slower speed. Coolant pressure was definitely on the too high side (16+ psi). By time I got home I had lost about 2 quarts of coolant.

Now I am thinking that what I had previously assumed was bad head gaskets (I had a mild puking incident in going to Moab last year) had gotten worse and the exhaust in the coolant was making the engine's cooling performance suffer hence the higher ECTs. However, today I used a BlokChek kit (the one where you pull gasses from the coolant bottle through a tester and see if the blue fluid turns yellow or green), and low and behold there was NO color change.

What gives? Is is that the gaskets are just not leaking until they are under a heavy load? Even when I drive unloaded, the coolant pressure eventually creeps up to 15 psi or more. The cooling system is always under pressure, even when stone cold (about 4 psi or so), so I assume that the residual pressure is from the gases that entered the system through the head gaskets. When I start driving with a cold engine and really hammer on it the pressure gauge does not jump up really fast like I have seen on youtube. The pressure only builds fairly slowly and once the coolant is hot is when the pressure will be up around 15 psi or more.

I have a recent oil cooler rebuild (delta runs 4 to 6 even when towing) and a BPD EGR cooler (as well as SCT tuner running tow tune - EGR valve should be shut off). 2005 CCLB 4x4, approx 114k miles.

I am almost certain it is head gaskets, but this BlokChek test has me confused. Opinions?

[southend]

What was the eot? Bad water pump maybe?

Sent from my SCH-I500

[PSDMikeB]

The EOT was a few degrees above the ECT, except when the ECT spiked. The ECT went from 220 - 240 in a matter of a minute or so, but the ECT stayed at about 225 (of course I was watching the ECT most closely...)

Today I pulled the hose from the intake manifold to the degas bottle and started the engine. There is a nice steady stream coming out, so that should mean the water pump is pumping (from what I have seen on the forum...)

MikeB

[southend]

Maybe your fan is screwed up or not working right because of the egr delete. There are some post on this now, I'm not tooo familiar with that.

Sent from my SCH-I500

[Term3]

EGR valve removal and fan clutch issues

Your coolant pressure should rise fairly rapidly if it's HG's when under load.

[PSDMikeB]

I don't have an EGR delete. I have a BPD EGD and the valve is still in place and connected. However the SCT tune has the EGR valve turned off. Shouldn't be the same issue as having an unplugged EGR valve, right?

MikeB

[Evil Eye]

That's correct, Mike. BTW, if you hadn't been using coolant, I wouldn't think you had a problem.

[Eric@PTP]

Do you have any residue around the coolant expansion take cap ?

[PSDMikeB]

Eric,

Absolutely, the truck is puking out of the degas bottle and yes there was residue all over the battery, hood, master cylinder, etc... as well as the degas bottle (before i hosed it off.)

My confusion is that I did not get a positive reading from the BlokChek kit and I was thinking that maybe it was a simple case of overheating rather than headgaskets.... I think that is wishful thinking tho...

MikeB

[Evil Eye]

Sounds like you aren't "using" coolant as much as you are puking coolant. Have you confirmed that your hose that connects the EGR cooler to the degas bottle isn't clogged with debris? That can cause puking like you describe.