Losing coolant across the country. Currently in Az and about I have to head back to AL. Need help…

[Ozymandias]

Head gasket can be easily diagnosed with a CO test.

 

[Dl5treez]

Dom can you hang a left a Page and head to St George Utah?

http://kristidiesel.com/

They bailed one of my coworkers out of a jam recently on his 6.7 Cummins.

Not being there is purely armchair quarterbacking but you have a LOT of symptoms of a blown EGR cooler. Light foot, keep it full.


Flagstaff is another good idea at this stage.

 

[Dom]

And the verdict is in- it is in fact the EGR Cooler. Had to go to three shops to finally have one who could look at it today. This time, it did have moisture in the tube running to the valve. Must not have been enough a couple of weeks ago when I had it apart.

ordered the EGR cooler with (supposedly) overnight shipping and should be here tomorrow.

now I’m just a little more pissed that I specifically went to a dealership that had the cooler in stock, told them I was having EGR valve issues and codes, and had them charge me almost $400 to “get the debris out from under the radiator bc sometimes that can cause it to overheat”. After I told her we had not been overheating, just losing coolant. What a crap dealer.

Who knows what excitement will happen next, the online parts store cancelled my first order for fraud, now hoping the new one goes through. The fun doenst stop

 

[GCroyle]

Progress.

 

[BigPapa]

Losing that much, yes, you would see some type of leak or it’s going through the exhaust.

 

[GCroyle]

Or some critter has a taste for OAT tea. FEED ME!

 

[JR]

That could explain the DPF code...

 

[monovasia]

Very happy to hear u got it dialed in!!

 

[Dom]

That could explain the DPF code...

Not a dpf code, it’s just that the odb reader I bought gives me tons of stats, but for dpf, nothing.

I have had some codes on this trip- nox sensor and exceeding learning limit of EGR. Also had a misfire in cylinder 6, the mechanic today said that could likely be cleared up by this as well.

the only weird thing today is he saw my dexcool that I’ve been using, and said I needed “special diesel coolant”. I’ve never heard that or read anything anywhere about it.

the numbers on the dexcool match the number on the overfill tank in the truck.

I do worry this coolant needs to just go through Bc it’s been so damn hot a couple of times.

thankfully, I have roadside on my camper and that allowed us to get a car, hotel room, and $100 worth of meals while we wait to have it fixed. We’ve been in the slide in truck camper 30 days so a real bed is nice!

 

[Ltngdrvr]

the only weird thing today is he saw my dexcool that I’ve been using, and said I needed “special diesel coolant”. I’ve never heard that or read anything anywhere about it.

the numbers on the dexcool match the number on the overfill tank in the truck.

See, that's the thing, some of these guys at the dealer really don't know what they're talking about.

 

[sag2]

Head gasket can be easily diagnosed with a CO test.

Unfortunately so does the EGR cooler. But I always go back to a stock Cummins will not blow the head gasket unless it gets VERY warm. 240° is just slightly warm as far as damaging engine parts.

 

[NIsaacs]

But I always go back to a stock Cummins will not blow the head gasket unless it gets VERY warm. 240° is just slightly warm as far as damaging engine parts.

I agree, if the cooling system is full. However, if it is not (such as the OP) that bet is off. Also, if the system is low, the temperature gauge becomes faulty, trying to sense steam. 240F might be 260F or more.

With that said, I am not suggesting the OP has a head/gasket problem.

 

[GroundSquirrel]

I had to replace my cooler 20k miles ago. Loosing coolant weekly, no leaks to be found, ran dye etc. My truck did not throw any codes. I replaced mine with, https://bulletproofdiesel.com/products/cummins-6-7l-egr-cooler-2010-2018-dodgeram-6700120

 

[p-Bar]

So is it all going out the exhaust?

 

[GroundSquirrel]

So is it all going out the exhaust?

yep

 

[Dom]

I made it home a few hours ago! 5,300 miles on the truck in around 40 days. Those last 2000 sure were a lot smoother without constant coolant stops, check engine lights, and stutter. Truck is running nice and solid now.

Damn that was an expensive trip. Again/ thanks for all of the help!!

and shoutout to Mac from the backroads of utah for suggesting I come here for help.