Puking Degas bottle

[cvhickman]

I have a 03 with 5in turbo back exhaust and a AFE cold air intake. This week I took my 5th wheel camper out. I was montering the EOT and ECT on the way out and noticed high temps EOT=225-235 and ECT=215-225. On the way back from camping I had a long steep hill to climb. My EOTwent up to 245, 250 and my coolent temp topped at 235, 240. When I topped the hill is when smelled the coolent through the A/C vent. I stopped and checked and notice the degas bottle had puke. I have checked the temps with out pulling my trailer they run around EOT=200-210, ECT=188-200. i have seen deltas* around 12-13 unloaded and up to 25 pulling my 5th wheel. Are my head gaskets blown or do i have a plugged oil cooler?

[southend]

Dirty radiator fins, clogged radiator, water pump failing, or fan not operating properly I don't think it is much more than that. both those temps are too high, they are tracking closely, although your delta is 10*.

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[cvhickman]

How would you check if those things are bad?

[colo_dually]

I don't think you have a clogged oil cooler, though you are getting close to needing to address that.

First thing I would check is the level of coolant, remember a TSB was released that dropped Max level in the degas bottle down the old min line (or a little lower).

Next, go out and get a new cap for the Degas Bottle. You've put a load to it with those temps and it may have failed on you itself.

I think your radiator and water pump are operating fine, check back to us on what you find.

[powerstrokecrzy]

Cvhickman, you just described my symptoms to a T. I did a back flush and that put my delta back at 8-9*. Put on a new cap but it still puked the other day pulling the camper. This is the only time it pukes, under heavy load. I'm thinking head gaskets:thumbdown:

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[powerstrokecrzy]

I don't currently have studs though, so time for them I guess.

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[colo_dually]

Originally Posted by powerstrokecrzy

Cvhickman, you just described my symptoms to a T. I did a back flush and that put my delta back at 8-9*. Put on a new cap but it still puked the other day pulling the camper. This is the only time it pukes, under heavy load. I'm thinking head gaskets:thumbdown:

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Originally Posted by powerstrokecrzy

I don't currently have studs though, so time for them I guess.

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What is your coolant filled to? You may simply have too much coolant in the system if you are only puking when towing. Or you've gotten another bad cap.

Did you delete/upgrade your EGR cooler when you did the flush, and what were your pre-flush deltas?

[powerstrokecrzy]

Did egr delete, new oil cooler little over a year ago but didn't flush properly. Guess thats where the clogging come from. My pre flush deltas hit 17* before the flush. I also did a back flush with a pressure washer that helped a lot too. I run my coolant level about an inch below the minimum line.

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[southend]

Radiator external fins, visual, usually you need to take it out. If you do that, when you drain it look for rust and crud, may need to be cleaned internally. Water pump failure usually leads to both the ect and eot climbing in temp equally. Fan clutch, usually you need to look and hear if it is actuating when the temp rises. An egr delete will affect normal fan operation usually. A bad thermostat usually sticks open and will cause low operating temps, and possibly high temps. Start with the simple things first like dirty radiator fins. Hope this helps.

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[cvhickman]

Thanks everyone for the info. First off colo dually I had my truck serviced at ford before my trip and checked the level after sitting over night. About 1/4" to 1/2" below min level mark. I havent changed the degas bottle cap. Thought about testing it to see where it blows off at. But most likely will get a new one. Thanks colo dually for the info I will report back after the cap change. Second southend thanks for the feedback how to check the items you listed. With that I will looking into all those items and will report back. Thanks again. Paranoid to drive it but its the vehicle I have to drive. If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them. Also powerstrokecrzy if you find a fix let me know and i will do the same.