Hello, I am looking for some ideas as I have a coolant leak that is occurring between the head and the block on the passenger side about 1" from the front of the head. The truck is a stock 2000 F350, 7.3 with about 230K miles on it.
The other symptoms are:
1) Puffs of white smoke in the exhaust
2) No leaks with engine off and 16psi pressure on the coolant cap, only leaks when engine is running with or without pressure in the cooling system.
3) Oil appears normal with no level increase or discoloration.
4) removed AC/tensioner bracket to verify leak is not from water pump or traveling down gasket from above on the engine.
I have read on this and other forums that a 7.3 Head gasket issue is very rare, but I am at a loss as to what else this might be.
Any suggestions as to what else I can test for before I jump in and pull the head?
If its coming from between the two I would say its the head gasket you could try removing the valve cover and see if a head bolt came loose but it more then likely won't fix the issue for you. My guess is you will have to do the gasket.
With the coolant on the ebps tube is weird. Thermostat housing not leaking? Radiator?
What i would do is clean everything up really good. Then tee into the small coolant line off of the bottom of the degas and pressure up the system and look for leaks. Just need some hose clamps, barbed tee, tubing and a threaded barbed fitting so you can hook up a gauge and air pressure.
I did pressurize the system and did not find any other leaks, it only leaks with the engine running with or without any pressure in the cooling system. I also cleaned it and pulled the AC bracket to make sure the leak wasn't coming from somewhere else and traveling down a seam somewhere.
I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I need to pull the head and hope it is just a gasket and nothing worse.
Now the question becomes do I try to pull the head with the engine in the truck or pull the engine? I am leaning toward pulling the motor as I am not sure I could lift 100lbs of head out of that position.
While I have this apart, is there anything else that you would recommend I replace? The motor is stock with 230K miles and the only items that have been replaced so far are the CPS and an alternator.
I was thinking of changing the glow plugs and injectors along with some gaskets that are showing some minor signs of seeping but that is expected with a 17 year old truck.
Thankfully this is not my daily driver so I can afford to take my time doing it right and can put a little $ into it since I have not had much in maintenance costs over the years. Hopefully when done, I can get another 200K out of this motor.
Thanks again for your responses and help,
Gus
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