2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission i think i have an antifreeze leak?

[shendren]

i have noticed that my reservoir is down a little.



nothing visible on the engine or the ground.



i looked under the hose where it connects to the t-stat housing and it looks like there is some dried water stains going down the front of the engine at the top.....



i put one of the pressure kits on the radiator cap. the kind they rent you at autozone. pump it up to 15psi and it is losing pressure slowly.



what's the possible culprit? t-stat housing? the stat has never been changed to my knowledge... .



anyone have the particulars on changing a t-stat? might as well change the stat if i have to pull it if it is a gasket or something like that.....



comments.

thanks.

scott.

 

[AKAMAC]

Do a search

Search and you will find a lot of input on this. Mine was just a matter or a hot day that burbed the air out of system. Try this search : Antifreeze consumption or Antifreeze leak :

Good luck

 

[Oil Burner]

I had and still have the same problem on mine. The housing is leaking . the only gasket is the one on the t-stat. no gasket on specifically for the housing. I changed the last one outside on a 15 degree day so my workmanship may not have been top notch. You need to make sure everything is seated properly. Get a new one from cummins for less than $20. There are 180 and 190 degree tstats so choose which you want and go for it.

~Jason

 

[scotty1]

Not always the t-stat

I was always wondering why I had an empty overflow bottle.

Kept topping it up and it always got emptied.

I checked all over the truck for tell tale signs of a leak. All I found was a slimey residue under the truck that 'seemed' to be the blow by bottle for the engine spitting out mist and spreading under the truck. I was wrong, it was a combination of coolant and oil from the blow by.

I had some cracks in the head gakset and I had blow back through the cooling system and out the overflow. The only time it does this is under load going down the road. I never knew this til I had a big head gasket failure on #1 cylinder and we pulled the head.

There was two cracks to the water galleys by 3 and 4.

There was also two very small cracks between 3-4 and 4-5 cylinders as well as the gaping hole at the front for #1 cyl where the oil was puking out.



I never noticed a power loss or big boost loss til I pooched #1.

I did however get more boost and lower EGT's with the new head gakset and o-ringed head then what I had prior with the same power mods.

I think I might of had a defective head gasket or I sustained damage shortly after I bought the truck. So my baseline was actually from an ill head gasket.

Gaining 4 lbs of boost and a drop in EGT's of right at 100F sure was a nice pay back after that hassle.



I know of several folks that have driven with a bad head gasket similar to what I experienced. Some got the head ported and polished and saw nearly the same result in boost number and egt as I did with just the repair. Those folks felt that their head gasket was fine and were simply chasing the BOMBing path. Perhaps the head gasket is more prone to the small cracks then we are aware of. I really had to look to find a few of the cracks.



Scotty

 

[Oil Burner]

You are right, but I see coolant leaking around my t-stat housing. You should be able to see the leak, or at least follow the rust/coolant stains. Good point on the head gasket. It is something to consider if you have checked the obvious "cheap" fixes.

~Jason