Hutchew
Registered User
Take my truck out tonite and, after warming it up, romp on it a few times, couple of 4th-5th 2800 rpm runs. Usually only push 37-38 psi Boost, but can always peg 1600* on the pyro, no problem, just gotta let off it a little bit and they run 12-1250. Tonight, a little humid & cold (yeah, I know what that does) boost jumps to just under 45 psi, most I have ever seen. Hold it for less than a couple of seconds, as the pyro is more-or-less buried. Get to where I'm going and shut the truck down, steam rising out the front, and a puddle of anti-freeze leaking out from under the front right side of the radiator. Lovely, I think, musta blown a radiator hose. Pop the hood, and can't find where it's leaking (It's dark, and my beloved 5 yr old daughter has made off with the Maglight I keep in the truck, AGAIN). Slowly unscrew the rad-cap, has a little pressure on it, but methinks, if the rad hose is burst, shouldn't I have nada for pressure? Flick my bic, and see that radiator is down to less than half full. Also see a little oily crud on the rad-cap, too. Not good, methinks. Best just get the pig home, and fix it in the daylight. So, top off the rad with the extra I carry in the toolbox, check the overflow tank, too.
HMMMMMMM..........overflow is full to the top and has about an inch of oily, foamy, bubbly crap floating on the surface. That solves the problem of where the mix was coming from. So I figure I have fudged the head gasket, but I have no bubbles in the radiator with it running at idle. Of course, at idle, there is very little boost, so maybe it only shows up at higher boost levels?
Romped on it again a few times on the way back home (if it's fudged, well then, it's fudged), but never saw 45 psi again, only went to 38 before I let off due to the EGT's. Didn't lose any more anti-freeze, either.
No strange noises, and run's as good as ever. So what do ya'll ex-spurts think? Where is the oil coming from? How could the radiator be half full of air and the overflow tank be full of mix? IMO, it's gotta be a head gasket, or worse, a cracked head or block. Hmmm.....didn't pull the dipstick on it.....BRB.
Nope, oil's clean, no water in it. But now that it's cooled down some, the radiator is down about 1-1/2", and the overflow tank is down @2".
So what gives?
HMMMMMMM..........overflow is full to the top and has about an inch of oily, foamy, bubbly crap floating on the surface. That solves the problem of where the mix was coming from. So I figure I have fudged the head gasket, but I have no bubbles in the radiator with it running at idle. Of course, at idle, there is very little boost, so maybe it only shows up at higher boost levels?
Romped on it again a few times on the way back home (if it's fudged, well then, it's fudged), but never saw 45 psi again, only went to 38 before I let off due to the EGT's. Didn't lose any more anti-freeze, either.
No strange noises, and run's as good as ever. So what do ya'll ex-spurts think? Where is the oil coming from? How could the radiator be half full of air and the overflow tank be full of mix? IMO, it's gotta be a head gasket, or worse, a cracked head or block. Hmmm.....didn't pull the dipstick on it.....BRB.
Nope, oil's clean, no water in it. But now that it's cooled down some, the radiator is down about 1-1/2", and the overflow tank is down @2".
So what gives?