Homemade coolant pressure gauge

[05lariat]

I call it the "Ghetto Gauge." I went to Lowes and bought these parts:

Nylon 3/8" Tee
Nylon 3/8 to 1/2 Barb
1/2 brass Coupling
1/4 to 1/2 FIP
Pressure gauge located in the pool pump section.

Then I went to Napa and bought 7' of 3/8" hose. You cut a piece about 4" long and splice the Tee into the coolant reservoir line. It's very easy.

The connections are kind of ridiculous so I'm sure there is a more direct way to connect it all but I used what I could find. Here are the pictures.

My truck was not eating any noticeable amount of coolant but I found the pressure to be 15 PSI at operating temp and spiking to 16-17 PSI at full throttle. Not good. I guess I will start saving for HG's and studs. When I bought the truck and got an insight on it I found the oil cooler to be bad. I swapped it and deleted the EGR cooler immediately but I am guessing the HG's were already toast.

[azkcr]

Doesn't mean that your HGs are blown.
When the truck is cold. Release all pressure from the cooling system and leave the cap off. Hook up your doodad gauge.
Start it, let it run and let the oil get up to temperature. Put your cap back on and promptly zip it down the street. If the pressure
quickly goes to 16, and I mean quick. then yes. You have HG issues.
If not, you're good to go.

[late_99_PSD]

Yeah, 16-17 is what they are supposed to run at

[dee004]

Another test which will tell you for sure along with the gauge test is a coolant Block Check test kit. It tests for CO in the coolant which will be present if the HG are leaking.
Block Chek - Store

[Chad29860]

Originally Posted by late_99_PSD

Yeah, 16-17 is what they are supposed to run at

A properly acting system will run no more than 7-10psi. These trucks come with 13lb caps on them so if your getting 16-17 psi its leaking coolant or your cap is bad. If the egr is deleted and your getting that type of pressure then yes more than likely it is the head gaskets. Buy the studs and some ford gaskets and all other associated gaskets and seals and take care of it before you mess a head up. I drove mine like that for two months and when I got the heads off and sent them to the machine shop they were cracked around the valve seats.

[azkcr]

Originally Posted by Chad29860

A properly acting system will run no more than 7-10psi. These trucks come with 13lb caps on them so if your getting 16-17 psi its leaking coolant or your cap is bad. If the egr is deleted and your getting that type of pressure then yes more than likely it is the head gaskets. Buy the studs and some ford gaskets and all other associated gaskets and seals and take care of it before you mess a head up. I drove mine like that for two months and when I got the heads off and sent them to the machine shop they were cracked around the valve seats.

Negative. They're 16psi caps.
And they run more than 10psi. Maybe not 14-16psi at all times. But they get on up there under WOT.
It all just depends on how fast it gets to 14psi. If the needle jumps up there quick, then HG issues. Yes.

[baycountry16]

azkcr, you are the first person I have really heard say something like this and you're actually giving me a little bit of hope. I started a thread similar to this about a week ago, made a prssure testing kit very similar to the one in this thread and got very similar results as the OP. Everyone on here pretty much said HG are done, start getting studs and new Head gaksets. I did not test however the way you are suggesting. I'm going to give your test a try tomorrow with cap off up to operating temps, and then see how quickly pressure spikes once I get on the throttle. Maybe there is a little bit of hope after all!
My pressure hung around 8-10 and then worked its way up to 17 or so psi when I really got on the throttle. It did go up to around 20 a few times on acceleration but then came down to 16. when I got home and just left truck idleing, it was still sitting at 16psi, but I assume thats because system was pressurized. I'm gonna try getting a new cap as well. we'll see what happens. I also have factory egr cooler as well, but my deltas have been within 6-7 degrees and truck has been running flawlessly.

It just boggles my mind that you can have a perfectly running truck with blown head gaskets on these trucks.

[azkcr]

Originally Posted by baycountry16

azkcr, you are the first person I have really heard say something like this and you're actually giving me a little bit of hope. I started a thread similar to this about a week ago, made a prssure testing kit very similar to the one in this thread and got very similar results as the OP. Everyone on here pretty much said HG are done, start getting studs and new Head gaksets. I did not test however the way you are suggesting. I'm going to give your test a try tomorrow with cap off up to operating temps, and then see how quickly pressure spikes once I get on the throttle. Maybe there is a little bit of hope after all!
My pressure hung around 8-10 and then worked its way up to 17 or so psi when I really got on the throttle. It did go up to around 20 a few times on acceleration but then came down to 16. when I got home and just left truck idleing, it was still sitting at 16psi, but I assume thats because system was pressurized. I'm gonna try getting a new cap as well. we'll see what happens. I also have factory egr cooler as well, but my deltas have been within 6-7 degrees and truck has been running flawlessly.

It just boggles my mind that you can have a perfectly running truck with blown head gaskets on these trucks.

Ya, that's what you're trying to find out. Is how quickly the needle jumps.
If you have it opened (0psi) and then dog on it through 2-3 gears (after putting the cap back on), then the pressure from the cylinder will pressurize the cooling system quickly.

20psi is pretty high.
I am surprised your cap isn't blowing pressure off at ~16psi-18psi.
Promptly jump to 3:10 and watch until 4:10.... And don't listen to anything Bill says. He's crazy... lol I promised I would never use one of his vids for advice.
But this one shows what to look for.
But notice how quick that gauge moves. That's what you're looking for.

HEAD GASKET TEST for 6.0 POWERSTROKE - YouTube

HEAD GASKET TEST for 6.0 POWERSTROKE - YouTube