Hello everyone,
I've read many forum threads but this is my first time posting. I apologize in advance for the long post. I have performed all of the tests recommended and for the most part my truck seems to pass every test I can think to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
I have a 2005 6.0 with 118,000 miles on it, I bought it used with 106,000 miles and as part of an aggressive preventive maintenance plan decided to have the following modifications done: Sinister EGR delete, new oil cooler, Fire Ring head gaskets, ARP studs, blue spring update, Sinister coolant filter, STC fitting, and new degas bottle cap.
I’ve been running Rotella T6, putting 8oz of Rev-x oil additive in at every oil change, and treat the fuel at every fill up with Stanadyne or Rev-x fuel additive / cetane booster, and have been using regular universal 50/50 premix antifreeze.
The truck has been running great, no rough start/idle, real smooth, started up great all winter (had temps 20° below and never had to plug in the block heater) – it seemed everything was perfect for a while and then sometime between my last oil change (June 21st) and when I had it inspected (July 20th) I lost 1 gallon of coolant- the degas bottle was empty and it took a gallon of coolant to fill it back to the cold fill line indicated by the sticker on the front of the bottle. There are no visible signs of any leaks and the degas bottle top cover is clean / no coolant spitting out of cap.
I had an oil analysis done and have confirmation that my oil is contaminated with antifreeze. I checked the coolant in the degas bottle and it is clean (no oil mixing in with my coolant). I’ve tried the following to diagnose.
**My EOT and ECT are consistently within 3-8 degrees of each other and I have yet to see either of them get over 205° (I made sure to check this with 20 minutes of freeway / 65mph driving in high 80° / low 90° weather). The temps I am getting are from stock sensors and the Gauge function in my SCT tuner (no tunes installed, just using it to get rid of the check engine light from the EGR delete)
**I created my own hero kit and tee’d into the coolant line on the top of the degas bottle and driving WOT up the biggest hills I can find my coolant pressure does not get over 10 psi (normal driving is usually around 5-7)
** I checked the pressure on the cap and it holds 15/16 psi like it should.
** I pressure checked the cooling system to the max rated for the cap (16psi) and after a half an hour the needle didn’t budge. I ran this test a few times as well: cold and not running, again after I started - but engine was still cold, and again after I drove it around and got the temps up past 192° and the cooling system seems to be holding pressure – no pressure drops or spikes.
** I got a block checker from Napa and I get mixed results with it (twice the fluid changed green, and twice it stayed blue)????
Again the truck runs great, I do not have any white smoke coming out the tail pipe when I start or while driving. Almost every thread I can find is about oil mixing in with the coolant but there seems to be little information on coolant only getting into the oil. It has been one month since I first discovered the problem and I have had to put another ¾ of a gallon in it to fill the degas bottle back up so I am losing about 1 gallon of coolant a month.
Aside from the block check fluid turning green 2 of the 4 times I tried it everything else seems to check out ok.
When all of the work was originally done the heads were sent out to a machine shop, checked for flatness and magnafluxed ( I don't believe they pressure tested them though ) and I took it to a reputable diesel shop in my area. They can’t seem to figure out what would cause the coolant to mix with oil but not the other way around.
Between the purchase of the truck and the repairs- I spent just about every dime I had and cant really afford to take it back to the shop, have them tear it apart and find out that something else is the cause of the coolant leak.
I downloaded the 6.0 Bible and read through it all and I'm thinking its got to be a cracked head / block, or something with the intake manifold or the front cover. I'm not really comfortable with doing any repairs on my own so I really need to keep the labor charges as low as possible.
Has anyone else had any similar issues or have any other suggestions on what to I can check to diagnose the problem?
I've read many forum threads but this is my first time posting. I apologize in advance for the long post. I have performed all of the tests recommended and for the most part my truck seems to pass every test I can think to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
I have a 2005 6.0 with 118,000 miles on it, I bought it used with 106,000 miles and as part of an aggressive preventive maintenance plan decided to have the following modifications done: Sinister EGR delete, new oil cooler, Fire Ring head gaskets, ARP studs, blue spring update, Sinister coolant filter, STC fitting, and new degas bottle cap.
I’ve been running Rotella T6, putting 8oz of Rev-x oil additive in at every oil change, and treat the fuel at every fill up with Stanadyne or Rev-x fuel additive / cetane booster, and have been using regular universal 50/50 premix antifreeze.
The truck has been running great, no rough start/idle, real smooth, started up great all winter (had temps 20° below and never had to plug in the block heater) – it seemed everything was perfect for a while and then sometime between my last oil change (June 21st) and when I had it inspected (July 20th) I lost 1 gallon of coolant- the degas bottle was empty and it took a gallon of coolant to fill it back to the cold fill line indicated by the sticker on the front of the bottle. There are no visible signs of any leaks and the degas bottle top cover is clean / no coolant spitting out of cap.
I had an oil analysis done and have confirmation that my oil is contaminated with antifreeze. I checked the coolant in the degas bottle and it is clean (no oil mixing in with my coolant). I’ve tried the following to diagnose.
**My EOT and ECT are consistently within 3-8 degrees of each other and I have yet to see either of them get over 205° (I made sure to check this with 20 minutes of freeway / 65mph driving in high 80° / low 90° weather). The temps I am getting are from stock sensors and the Gauge function in my SCT tuner (no tunes installed, just using it to get rid of the check engine light from the EGR delete)
**I created my own hero kit and tee’d into the coolant line on the top of the degas bottle and driving WOT up the biggest hills I can find my coolant pressure does not get over 10 psi (normal driving is usually around 5-7)
** I checked the pressure on the cap and it holds 15/16 psi like it should.
** I pressure checked the cooling system to the max rated for the cap (16psi) and after a half an hour the needle didn’t budge. I ran this test a few times as well: cold and not running, again after I started - but engine was still cold, and again after I drove it around and got the temps up past 192° and the cooling system seems to be holding pressure – no pressure drops or spikes.
** I got a block checker from Napa and I get mixed results with it (twice the fluid changed green, and twice it stayed blue)????
Again the truck runs great, I do not have any white smoke coming out the tail pipe when I start or while driving. Almost every thread I can find is about oil mixing in with the coolant but there seems to be little information on coolant only getting into the oil. It has been one month since I first discovered the problem and I have had to put another ¾ of a gallon in it to fill the degas bottle back up so I am losing about 1 gallon of coolant a month.
Aside from the block check fluid turning green 2 of the 4 times I tried it everything else seems to check out ok.
When all of the work was originally done the heads were sent out to a machine shop, checked for flatness and magnafluxed ( I don't believe they pressure tested them though ) and I took it to a reputable diesel shop in my area. They can’t seem to figure out what would cause the coolant to mix with oil but not the other way around.
Between the purchase of the truck and the repairs- I spent just about every dime I had and cant really afford to take it back to the shop, have them tear it apart and find out that something else is the cause of the coolant leak.
I downloaded the 6.0 Bible and read through it all and I'm thinking its got to be a cracked head / block, or something with the intake manifold or the front cover. I'm not really comfortable with doing any repairs on my own so I really need to keep the labor charges as low as possible.
Has anyone else had any similar issues or have any other suggestions on what to I can check to diagnose the problem?
