7.3 idi trouble... thinking h/g's or cavitation

[73idi88f350]

7.3 idi trouble... thinking h/g's or cavitation(BACK TOGETHER WITH MORE ????)

hi this is my first post and its gonna be long.. but thats only because i have studied before posting..

well i bought a 88 f350 dually with a 7.3 idi and a full banks system suppose to have 150k on it.. its been close too 2 months of owning it i have been doing odds and ends..

first oil change... had no metal or anything odd other then dark,which i read is common.. (by the way this is my first diesel..)
then i moved to looking at the coolant system noticed it had some nasty faded green antifreeze in it... and the system didn't hold pressure so i grabbed a cap.. 2 days later i pull in to the gas station to get fuel and the over flow bottle is bubbling and puking coolant.....

so i fuel up and drove home... seemed to be ok.. no over heating or anything.. so i did my studying and cant seem to find anything... oil and coolant aint mixing, the motor does smoke but it dont smell sweet.. and it runs like a champ i just did the injector return lines which mad a killer difference

2 days later the system is still holding pressure enough to sound like a pop cracking open when removing the cap... i did change the coolant to fleet guard and planed to change the tstat.. but once looking at the job didnt seem worth the head ache to not fix the issue...

so i also read it could be a clogged rad or a bad water pump whats my chances of that...

i do have a line on another idi for 500 bucks should i just buy the good motor and junk this one or could it be something simple..

 

[Devon Harley]

no you dont know enough about yours yet i was keep staying with the idea its good tell you know for sure there very tough the first yr i owned mine i thought it needed a new motor once a week lol im young and it was my first diesel as well remove the oil cap running and check the blow by that will tell you what kinda shape your rings are in it could have minimal or a ton mine has a ton enough for 2 trucks but i would drive it anywhere its just getting tired and if your other motor has little thats good but your turbo charging and engine thats not fresh you could end up in the same boat if you base it off blowby run it anyway you can take a hose from the valve cover and dump it under the truck my hose is now in the exhuast either way jus can be a lil smoky thats fairly normal you may need to flush the water system there's is a right up on here about how to do that i believe they use dawn dish soap and cheap antifrezze tell its flushed check tho i bought an alumi one so i just changed it all out. Also the gauge in it is old it may not work gt a gauge at orielly or something and if you choose to pm me i can send you pics of where to run it as i did mine saturday works great im runnin 180 185 i would try to replace or rebuild your radiator as to a piece of mind its probley old and not had proper maintince

 

[73idi88f350]

no you dont know enough about yours yet i was keep staying with the idea its good tell you know for sure there very tough the first yr i owned mine i thought it needed a new motor once a week lol im young and it was my first diesel as well remove the oil cap running and check the blow by that will tell you what kinda shape your rings are in it could have minimal or a ton mine has a ton enough for 2 trucks but i would drive it anywhere its just getting tired and if your other motor has little thats good but your turbo charging and engine thats not fresh you could end up in the same boat if you base it off blowby run it anyway you can take a hose from the valve cover and dump it under the truck my hose is now in the exhuast either way jus can be a lil smoky thats fairly normal you may need to flush the water system there's is a right up on here about how to do that i believe they use dawn dish soap and cheap antifrezze tell its flushed check tho i bought an alumi one so i just changed it all out. Also the gauge in it is old it may not work gt a gauge at orielly or something and if you choose to pm me i can send you pics of where to run it as i did mine saturday works great im runnin 180 185 i would try to replace or rebuild your radiator as to a piece of mind its probley old and not had proper maintince

it has an aftermarket gauge for coolant.. i think its sensor is in the front drivers side of the head.. (couild be wrong.. ) it also has an egt gauge. also when the truck is cold it dont take that long to build pressure and start to puke air into the over flow...

i assume the motor is ok i been driving it.. other then doing the work this weekend.. im also only 26.. it sometimes has a weird knock to it also.. but its a stick so im hoping that's just the dual mast clutch

i did pull the dip stick while it was running smoked like a train out it.. so im sure it has blow by.. i know my way around gas motors.. so im know the basics of a motor.. just diesels throw a fork in there..

 

[Devon Harley]

same as me started on corvette gassers with my father it could be that dual mass i would change the tranny fuild as well it holds three quarts gear oil fill with three or tell it comes out and the front drivers side of head would be correct what temp are you runnin jus courious to compare i would bet you got a pretty good rig just a few bugs you can use a powersroke oil filter to add a quart to your system as well fuel filter change too my friends had a small knock to it someone told him it was a fuel knock idk but he changed his filter and she quiet doing it (just a thought) not sure tho post a pic if you can would love to see it i have a thread of mine she got her door jambs done today!!

 

[Devon Harley]

I would bet she has 250,000 thats about what mine has maybe not tho

 

[73idi88f350]

same as me started on corvette gassers with my father it could be that dual mass i would change the tranny fuild as well it holds three quarts gear oil fill with three or tell it comes out and the front drivers side of head would be correct what temp are you runnin jus courious to compare i would bet you got a pretty good rig just a few bugs you can use a powersroke oil filter to add a quart to your system as well fuel filter change too my friends had a small knock to it someone told him it was a fuel knock idk but he changed his filter and she quiet doing it (just a thought) not sure tho post a pic if you can would love to see it i have a thread of mine she got her door jambs done today!!

been reading near 210-230 thought it was lower before this issue but not sure

its nothing specil i bought it to haul my car to the track and not really care if it gets a dent or what not.. paid 1900 for it..

 

[73idi88f350]

just went out there right before posting last time and dumped about a gallon and half of water into it.. at first the level was way up to the top then it all dissipated like it drained out...... im not joking.. so thats when i added water and the whole time im adding water the top rad hose it bubbling and what not..

i might be leaning to a clogged rad. but dont know..

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

almost sounds like a bunch of air in the system.

 

[73idi88f350]

almost sounds like a bunch of air in the system.

i flushed the system with water 3 times filled it up and ran it for a few min then shut it off and drained...

then i put 3 1/2 gallons of coolant in (fleet guard)

and then 3 gallons of water... which bought the rad up to full then i ran it which then pumped the res full then dropped maybe a 1/2 gallon on the ground.

mind you this was happening after the cap was changed... think the air was in there then... the upper rad hose gets hard and you can tell its purging the air thru the cap.

or you thinking compression is getting in?

 

[gingrass179]

ive been having the issue of over pressure in my cooling also..its been going for me for about 2 months...i did headgaskets as my driver head was bubbling..everything else has been done oil cooler radiator heater core water pump hoses...got it back together and didnt change it at all...got mad bought a motor with 98,000 im going to rebuild...so I put some bars headgasket fix in ( I know baaadddd choice but I have to be able to drive) it went normal for about three days no pressure no problemz...than it decidec it would pressurize again and like I said ive been driving on it two months here in phoenix no overheating just excess pressure...so if you figure out your problem and its not cavitation I would like to knowlol

 

[gonecrazyi]

I've had a few motors do that. Never dug in enough to find the issue. Check your oil. I had a 7.3 I couldn't keep the coolant full. I could pour it in and it would glug away. I think it ended up in the oil which quickly grew over full and sludged up. I need to tear it apart but haven't had the time.

 

[Devon Harley]

Not a bad lookin truck that's a good price I think about a 3000 dollar rig out here

 

[Devon Harley]

I would lean to it being clogged as it was full of stuff aspecialy if it had been sitting

 

[Wyreth]

The chances of a clogged Rad are actually pretty good. Especially if the old coolant looked like crap, and the rad is old.

It's not an expensive swap, (you can find them cheaper than the stock rad, I'm sure someone can give a link) and it's a HELL of an upgrade to go with an aluminum radiator. I did only because I didn't have a choice, it was the only one around, and I needed one RIGHT THEN. Truck doesn't break 200* unless I'm pulling a LOOOOOONG hill overloaded, and I never hear my fan lock. Best thing I put in it

Also, get a test kit, and see if you have combustion gas in your coolant.


that's my 2 cents. =P

 

[bbjordan]

Check your coolant overflow jug and make sure the overflow hose goes all the way to the bottom of the jug. This will allow the engine to purge the air. The hose should be tight on the rad neck too. It has to suck coolant back in when it cools. Hopefully, its something simple like that...