Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Water dissapearing

[4dodgepoor]

Long story short. Replaced the head and headgasket on 98 12 valve. Bought a reconditioned head. Every since replacement truck has used about 1 quart of water every 500 miles, 800 if not towing. No water leaks, no water in the oil. Sealer in cooling system, no change. Thinking crack in head allowing water into air intake passage. Compression not blowing water out of radiator.

Any ideas???? Thanks

 

[fortunate1]

Sounds like a small crack in the head is allowing some coolant to enter one of the cylinders. I had this happen some years ago on one of my cars, but not on the Cummins. If the leak is small enough, the engine will still run fine. But there is a tell-tale "sweet" smell of the coolant out the tailpipe; take a whiff of your exhaust back there. Sometimes the coolant will make a whiter exhaust - steam. Keep an eye on the level in the radiator for now (and fill when needed), but plan to get this fixed soon. I'll bet that once you pull off the head you'll see one piston crown that is sparkly clean; that's the one with the crack in the head. A flaw in the head gasket can also duplicate the symptoms of a cracked head - it's also the least expensive of the repairs.

 

[WatsonJ]

water (coolant) disappearing

I have a 2000 24v 2wd quab cab.



We returned from a boating trip last weekend and when I checked under the hood in preparation for another trip, I noticed

that the coolant reservoir was empty. (The temps were always normal on boating trip even thought air temps were 100+)

I filled the rez. with Cummins Complete, and drove to LA to visit

friends. (no towing & normal temps for the round trip)

The reservoir is losing about 1 inch of fluid every 500 miles.

Oil is clean. Truck has 34k on it. I changed the oil at 33k

and mailed a sample to Blackstone last week. No results yet.

I also took another sample last night when I got home. (just in case) I'll call the dealer today. cracked head? small leak in head gasket. I can find no leaks, and my driveway and parking spot at work are clean.

 

[R.ebel]

Coolant leak

Small leaks can be tough to find. I would suggest that you get a hold of a cooling system pressure checker (NAPA). You can hand pump your system up to its rated pressure and do a visual inspection at all hose connections, the radiator etc. The worm drive type hose clamps are known to cause small leaks due to the fact that they do not tighten evenly, so if you have any take a close look at them. The spring type clamps are the best.



Have you checked the water pump weep hole for sign of leaking?