Archived overheating

[bigblock_doc]

My 2012 started to over heat, gauge went up fast and cold air started blowing out defrost.
Got some tools out of the trailer and removed thermostat housing, being in the dark,
5AM on the side of I70 near Effingham, it looked like the stat was closed. Pulled the
stat and cut the bottom away so I could use the o-ring and put back together.
Adding some anti-freeze, on the way I went. 400 miles later back home, bought
a thermostat from parts store, it was a Murray brand. Installed it but couldn't get
the temp over 155. Next day left to pick up a car at Southern Motors and didn't
even get a mile before cold air blowing and temp gauge rising, again.
Pulled over, pulled the stat and cut that one. Went to local dealer and bought
a cummins stat, installed it and made it another mile before over heat.
I thought it just needed burping, as the overflow jug was full, I had to keep
adding coolant.
I think I need a head gasket.
Any of us had this problem????
Truck is deleted and a tow haul mode installed. Never hot rodded, just tow and never
to the floor.
Head studs are $415 from Therobred and almost $600 from Jegs.
Any other suggestions?
2012 3500 dually

 

[JR]

Is the cooling system pressuring up excessively? Any oil in the coolant or vice versa?

If it ran OK with the stat cut out for that many miles, I would suspect a cooling issue, possibly still needing burped, bad water pump, etc.

Not saying HG is out of the question, but if you ran it 400 miles and didn't push any coolant Id be sure to cover the bases before condemning the HG.

 

[jfluffy2]

I would pressure test the coolant system, that will let you know if you have a head gasket leaking. and find others leaks also..

 

[Bob4x4]

I see this over and over on deleted trucks.Never on a stocker.The vendors selling the kits need to recommend everything it will take to keep them running as long as a stocker up front.

 

[Sticks]

Oil level going up?

If you were burning that much coolant, you would see it out the tail, and smell it.

 

[cerberusiam]

Probably HG, typical problem. The fix is going to be problematic. The head will need milled as smooth as possible, cannot leave the typical imperfections a normal head job. If a standard mill job is a 25 you need a 10 or problem will persist. You will also need the EGR blow off kit or the problem will just come back, either that or toss the stock turbo and get a better one. The turbo is the source of the problem and there seems no way around it other than bandaids.

 

[RVTRKN]

The problem with modifacations are, you keep spending money chasing the issues you created when you get away from a well designed engine by Cummins. You need to pressure test the cooling system first as mentioned, and dont forget to test the radiator cap as well. Sometimes the pressure test is not a sure indication the HG has failed, remove the cap when cold then run your CTD at a high idle and look for bubbles rising from the coolant in your radiator, let it warm up first. Then your looking for water in oil, it will be a brownish look if water is present. And as mentioned you can see white smoke from your exhaust (steam) if coolant is burning in the combustion of the fuels. Also look for excessive blow-by in your engine. These are the common indicators of a fail head gasket, the best way to know though, is to remove the head and look for evidence. It makes since for the latter inspection, then at that time you can do what is nessessary to strengthen your head gasket because its been modified.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Pushing fluid into the overflow. Oil clean, no water in it. 2,000 miles and still clean since I took off the EGR.
No smoke, no smell, just found the leak coming out of the bottle. Looks like is always full to the top.
It also has a top drain. Finally saw it in the fresh white snow.

 

[RVTRKN]

Oooooppssssss

 

[RVTRKN]

It seems it is pressurizing from the compression leaking through the HG pushing the fluid into the bottle. Make sure to bleed the air from the bleed off port, then fill to proper level in the bottle, making sure radiator is filled to neck. Run it till warm, then run high idle at 2K RPM, and see if the level in bottle contiues to fill and overflow. Recheck the purge valve to see if air can be removed when pressure has equalized. The gasses might be getting trapped there and pushing the fluid out the overflow as it builds pressure.

FWIW, this is from someone who USED to work on Diesels and is what I'd do before removing the Head, or taking it to a shop to have diagnosed and paying the labor to do just about what I've posted before coming to the same conclusion.
https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/232610-EGR-Cooler-Bench-Test?p=2244893#post2244893 Read this before removing head