Coolant in the oil apparently...

[8v-of-fury]

Ok. The truck is not mine. It is my gf's mothers work truck. She is trying to get rid of it because she says its old, doesnt start right, doesnt run right, and has no power.

I told her no! do not get rid of it! I WANT IT!! I told her listen, its 22 years old. It's got 705K on the clock, her husband was good mechanic.. But diesels!? noway. the glowplug system doesnt even work! due to two not even connected! So i told her, I can fix the starting issue, and it runs Like a top. I told her i think shes smoking something. lol

Its an '87 F350 with the 6.9 and its n/a. It has been abused and put away wet most every time its been driven ( i want to smack her for it too lol). I manually jumped the gp's to get them to glow and it fires up in under 7 seconds in probably 0-5 degrees celsius. For 705K this engine is pretty tight.

NOW, she had it at a mechanics some time last year, and they changed the oil and said there was coolant in it. Now I know it points to a HG, but all the other symptoms aren't there. So what i think it is.. is a small leak in between a coolant passage and an oil drain. The work to have it torn down and have HG done im assuming is gonna be astronomically more then the truck is worth. So I told her, more frequent oil changes. For practically nothing she has gotten 9 solid years out of the old girl.

ok. So if i can convince her to keep it until i can buy it from her, will running synthetic oil along with that special type of coolant reduce the amount of damage the coolant will have in the oil? I mean i know its bad, but she has run it for a year like this and i have driven it.. It runs GREAT i love it!

What all do you guys think I should do?

 

[h2odrx]

Buy it now to save its life....

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

I think you should change the orings in the oil cooler. Do a search here on the topic and you will learn all about it.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Here is how they come apart and go back together. Your's may be a little different, but the pic's are from an 88. If you have an IH dealer get the parts from there, some Auto store's carry or can order them, O'ring's and gaskets.

Probably have to jack up the engine a couple inches, then support it under the mounts. Not a bad job at all. Gotta drain the coolant 1st. Grease the O'ring's and ends good so they slip back together easy.

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[8v-of-fury]

i was at the gf's house today helping clean out the garage. and I decided to take a look at the ol girl to see if i couldnt fix the gp's.

Her old man before he passed did all the work on this thing and i can remember him starting it.. it would crank and crank and crank forever, even on a warm day. I guess he wasnt to diesel savy. i found 2 gp's not even connected. hooked them back up with some solder.. WOOHOO a perfect 7 second glowtime and starts on the second crank. !

BUT i took off the rad cap! OMFG the coolant IS PITCH BLACK!! the same blackness of the oil, but watery... SO! I thought to myself maybe it is the HG between a oil and coolant passage? or maybe it is the oil cooler o-ring? as mentioned before? Another thing i noticed was that the rad was immensely hot after maybe 10-15mins of idling.. a diesel shouldn't raise enough heat to need the rad after 12 mins of idling should it? Maybe the thermostat is stuck open??

Say it is the HG, it has been running this way for a year.. with oil changes and coolant changes.. how much longer would you expect to get out of it without solving the problem?

thanks alot guys.

 

[icanfixall]

Its the oil cooler o rings. With over 700,000 miles on it they need to be changed. They get hardened over time. Mine broke like plastic when they came off. They will really surprise you at how hard rubber can get and break so brittle...

 

[8v-of-fury]

so you believe that the leak is solely because of the oil cooler o rings?

But not... the hg in anyway?

 

[cm1hedge]

Head gasket, maybe? but not likely! Oil Cooler, More than likely. And cheaper to fix. Had it happen on a CAT 3406E. 900,000 miles.

 

[icanfixall]

The oil cooler is cheaper to fix... Its easier to fix... Its the best fastest way to go at this point. The rubber o rings don't last forever and doing them will give you a better chance of this truck living long enough for you to buy it. water kills the rod and main bearings in short order. Pulling the heads is a timely job but don't try to do them in the truck. Some bolts wont clear the firewall and some push rods wont either. The rear most bolts are almost impossible to get at.

 

[8v-of-fury]

thanks guys. I will suggest it to her to have it looked at as a possibility.

Yes.. HG seems a much too timely job. I don't know if the coolant is actually in the oil as the title suggests.. but it definetly is in the coolant.

 

[Diesel JD]

It's classic oil cooler orings symptoms. Not expensive, but some kind of a PITA job for sure. Mainly, you're either going to have to pull the drivers side exhaust manifold and PS pump or take loose the motor mount and jack up the motor to give you enough room to wiggle the oil cooler bundle out. After that you're going to need to make really sure that the mating surfaces are SPOTLESSLY clean. You'll need the front and rear header gaskets which can usually be had at any good auto parts store, and they are pretty cheap. You'll need to get the orings from IH or Ford. You have a later 6.9 so you have the bundle with only 4 orings. That is a good thing as the older ones have been obsoleted and parts are hard to come by. Be sure to install the orings on the bundle not in the headers as the Haynes manual tells you to do or you will destroy them. You need to press the thing together and you'll hear a "pop" as they slide into the header. Its a nasty job lot of labor but not expensive. Also it would be good if you could find some way to flush that oil out of the radiator.

 

[cm1hedge]

Also it would be good if you could find some way to flush that oil out of the radiator.

Liquid Cascade dishwasher detergent works well to get the oil out. Now is a good time to add a coolant filter, too. It should remove any residual oil in the cooling system.

 

[8v-of-fury]

I have heard of using cascade.. that stuff works wonders on caked on foods and grime

Coolant filter? how would one accomplish this?

 

[cm1hedge]

Coolant filter? how would one accomplish this?

http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?p=336185&posted=1#post336185 replies 8-10

 

[OLDBULL8]

Use Calgon to get rid of the oil in the coolant system. Mix good strong solution in a bucket, pour in and fill up with water, run engine til hot, then drain, may take a second time. Fill with clear water, run engine 5-10 minutes then drain, be sure and drain the block, block plugs, one on each side towards the rear, pass side is behind the starter. Check my previous post on O'ring replacement. GF might give you a big KISS for that.