How is your coolant? You can test it! How about your heat, is it blowing hot? When the truck comes up to normal operating temperature what is your coolant level and is there circulation between the block and radiator?

 

Coolant was replaced about 5000 miles ago with cat elc 1 i run it on the cold line marked on the degas bottle. The heater blows fine.I have a coolant filter on so i suspect my coolant to be in check. All i know if this means that my head gaskets are done? Or that it was a wrong connection i made.

Come on guys really need help!!!

 

The connection is a t-feed and your set-up appears to be normal. I hope it's not a HG in your case!

 

Pressure check the system

 

Well not gonna do it tonight
Trucks out of order.im going to test it tommorow and if it is blow, then i will have to do the stud job myself.

 

Ouch, you got a way to pull the cab?

 

No. My dad has a shop though that maybe we can use a backhoe. Ive seen people use it before. If not then idk. I have a question, its not throwing white smoke of acting funny but yet it almost puked . Also when a 6.4 does puke isnt it suspose to shoot it out?

Idk moneys stupid tight right now, ugh this sucks!!

 

You may have stretched the bolts some during your run.. the end result is a blown gasket, but maybe not yet.. if the bolts stretched, the fuse has been lit, though..

 

It's not a precise thing, but you can set your main gauge on the mini to vacuum signal, fire the truck up (in that order) and watch the gauge.. if the gaskets are leaking, youll start with decent vacuum signal, and it will slowly but surely taper down to nothing while just idling.. don't let it high idle.. keep your foot on the brake of you have to.. you don't want the turbo fiddling with vacuum while trying this..

 

Do you know what gauge? Ebp, boost, etc..

 

Proble that what im thinking. Well i dont want to do more damage so my trucks out of buisness

 

I guess ya will be seeing a thread about the head remove of a 6.4!!

 

Eh, not that I condone the behavior, but some folks can get a lot of miles out of a rig with stretched bolts or slightly blown gaskets... If you do run it, just don't run it hard... Defuel set at 20psi or so, which at least eliminates part of the reason cylinder pressures get so dang high..

 

Oh, the gauge: I think there is a vacuum gauge on the mini, isn't there? ... If not, manifold absolute pressure can be converted, but I can't recall how.. maybe google that if its something you want to pursue..

 

Umm... you're looking for vacuum on a turbo diesel? I guess you can hook up directly to the vacuum pump. Don't know what that's going to tell you about head gaskets though :laugh:

You'll probably need to run a pressure test on it or just see if it continues to puke. There is a small chance you just happened to boil the coolant over on that short run... you may have been lucky (relatively). I read that Ford recommends filling the coolant bottle to just under the cold fill line (not up to)... I think there are even two different bottles for the 6.4 (make sure you don't have the old one).

What were your coolant temps?

 

I got 6 months out of mine with blown head gaskets and could have gone longer but I had vacation time and the lift to get it done.

 

You have to pull the front end off the truck to get the heads off or pull the cab

 

Regular coolant temps. I have the old Degas bottle too. I have pulled out all the front before, so i can do it. Just sux. Really bad, i basically shot my truck in the heart. I was looking through my ipod a found a video when i opened my hood, and saw it go sown. I will get the videos up very soon. Shop still wants to charge 5000 to just put the bolts. That's why I'm doing it myself. All i know is the truck is out of buisness for now.i will tell ya when i get the system pressure kit

 

Lol:laugh:

 

Ok quick update.

Im thinking of going with the sinister complete 6.4 solve

Complete Solution® for Ford 6.4L Powerstroke with Sinister EGR Delete Kit, Oil Cooler and ARP Head Studs


What do ya think?!!!

 

I already have the egr delete. im going to sell the new one. Ugh im starting tommorow if it's the gaskets.

 

I'm not sure the oil cooler is necessary, but while in there... why not? That's a pretty cool kit though. Also, while in there, take the intake to a place and get it hot tanked (cleaned). There is going to be a lot of crap in that thing.

I wonder if you can do the same for the rest of the pipes and intercooler... don't know if that's worth it though.

Also, be 100% certain to get your heads checked. This is not a "they look good" kind of thing. You don't want to have to redo this because the heads were warped and you didn't replace them when you had the chance.

 

So... you've done little or no diagnosis, except that the coolant "almost" puked, and you're going to put head gaskets in it?

 

would you mind schooling me on what else causes this? I'm not being a smartarse, either. I seriously don't know.. Hell, I wouldn't even know that much had I not read it here!

I would appreciate it greatly..

 

Yeah, it is jumping the gun a little bit, but if you're going to stud it and you have the time and money, there are going to be few better excuses.

I would make sure the headgaskets are the issue though so you don't spend money unnecessarily.

 

I need to know what "almost puking" is first before I can tell you what causes it.

Expulsion from the cooling system degas bottle cap can be caused by any number of reasons. Bad radiator cap. Coolant level too high. Overheating/stuck thermostat. The list can go on and on.

I would put a pressure gauge in the cooling system and take the thing out and pound on it and see what kind of pressure your system builds.

 

good to know!

I've lost coolant before, but have noticed no other symptoms of blown gaskets.. so, I figured they may be 'slightly' blown at worst.. I've NOT seen any evidence of puking at all..

what I HAVE seen is straight black radiator hoses instead of the updated version.. and once I saw a wet spot on the lower hose connection.. I've never seen drips in the driveway or other evidence the hose is leaking..

stupid question while I have your attention and before I turn this thread over to it's rightful owner: IF I have a leak at the hose connection due to previous design (not white ends), can I simply put a hose clamp on it until I can land new hoses?

 

I know. Im was thinking of the tgermastats also. Im getting the system pressure checked later in the day also am going to start investigating about it. I will get the videos up very soon

 

Nope, the seal is an o-ring in a hard plastic housing.

You can change the o-rings, I can't remember the part number off the top of my head.