Coolant Loss

[roosterdiesel]

Ok guys, I noticed again today for like the 4th time since owning my truck(6/04 and 51k miles, 108k on ticker) that my degass bottle is below the min line about 1/4th of an inch.

I don't always do my daily inspection of the engine bay when it's cold. After I've filled it to the min. line, in the past, I check it cold it doesn't go down for the first couple of weeks. Then I don't always get a chance to pop the hood before start up.

There's no leaks that I can see. Could this be bad coolant management by the previous owner? I check mine every 10k or about 3 months for me. Oil looks fine but there's what looks like oil drops stuck to the side of the degass bottle. Guess I need to send a sample to Blackstone.

 

[Tbar]

Mine does the same thing on occasion.

Look for the obvious first. Crawl under the truck and look at the lower radiator hose for residual signs of a leak. Then trace the leak back up.

Also look at the back of the degas bottle behind the cap. If the radiator cap leaks you will see evidence there.


Tbar

 

[95_stroker]

I'm betting Blackstone wont come up with anything. I'd say if you have droplettes of oil in the degas bottle that it is happening in your oil/water exchanger and you wont have water in your oil sample.

 

[roosterdiesel]

Would the oil stick to the sides of the bottle? The coolant itself looks good, just the sides have crap stuck to it. When the cooler leaks oil into the water it's usually the seals right?


I'm going to give everything another look for any slight leaks.

I've got to get all this straightened out since I'm about to make the Evans plunge finally.

 

[Tennessee Titan]

I've had this issue with mine as well. Check the coolant level each and every oil change and it's usually down below the min. level line about 1/8-1/4 inch. Topped off and went on each time. Never had any leaks, no water pump issues, nothing to set off bells and whistles that something is wrong. Still get a little sediment out of the coolant filter when I change it, but nothing unusual. Didn't Ford have some kind of TSB addressing this issue? I thought I read that they were installing some kind of placard/label for a new placement on the min/max line on the degas bottle?

 

[Tbar]

My level would drop to just below the min mark and stay there. Would not drop any farther. I have residue on the back of my degas bottle so I suspect the cap.


Tbar

 

[BIGBLUECREW]

I have been lurking around here for a guest for a while and this is my first post.

I too have be experiencing the same problem on my 99' F350. At first I was worried but, I have never found any leaks nor have I found any coolant in the oil, so I guess it is fine.

Frank

 

[95_stroker]

Welcome Frank, dont lurk, join in the fun with the rest of us maniacs.

 

[BIGBLUECREW]

Thanks for the welcome. I knew there were some other crazy people around here that liked Superdutys like me!!!