I need some fresh ideas or.... I'm buying a new truck.

[flareside_thun]

compression tests are only useful on a cold diesel.
need to test combustion pressure on each hole.

That's....weird

 

[ken74amx]

it is blown or defective head gaskets done a few because of these problems. mainly on heavy equipment. have also had an engine builder mess one up 2 times in a row.

 

[jonathan]

if you need some 6.9 heads let me know because i seen 6.9 at the junkyard today.

 

[hesutton]

heath-
it may be something you don't want to hear, but your motor must come out again. ..........you already see the symptoms, miss and compression gasses in the coolant.
remember, nothing good ever came easy.

I know Calvin. I'm just in denial right now that's all. I want to limp it through the camping season if I can. If it blows up, the choice is made for me, if not, I'll pull it out in the fall/winter.

Heath,

even though you can siphon through the over-flow tube, it could still be collapsing when the radiator tries to draw through it; I have had experiences with that myself.



This guy is a crack-finding genious and is well-equipped to do so; plus, he can repair ANYTHING that is busted, cracked, or broken.

If this guy cannot find your problem, no one can.

Just a thought and not too far away from you.

I can see daylight throw the tube, and I've not witnessed it doing anything weird, but you never know. If you could get the guys name/number, I'd appreciate it.

compression tests are only useful on a cold diesel.
need to test combustion pressure on each hole.

Cold both times I've done a compression test, and yes, I tested every cylinder. This thing is killing me Drew.

it is blown or defective head gaskets done a few because of these problems. mainly on heavy equipment. have also had an engine builder mess one up 2 times in a row.

Like I said to Calvin, that's certainly what it looks like, and I know I should probably bite the bullet and pull the thing out, but if I don't haul the camper, I'm going to have a truck payment in the near future.

if you need some 6.9 heads let me know because i seen 6.9 at the junkyard today.

Thanks man. I'll let you know.

Heath

 

[flareside_thun]

I thought compression testing needed to be done with the engine at operating temperature because of parts' expansion?

 

[Matrix37495]

You should give me your truck....



I love crew cabs!

 

[redmondjp]

It was mentioned above, but I think that a compressed air check while monitoring the cooling system pressure is in order before you start tearing anything down. Based upon your symptoms, this will need to be done with the engine hot. A compression tester hose and adapters can be used to pressurize each cylinder while it is at TDC (or near BDC before the exhaust valve opens, which may require holding engine stationary which is easy with a manual trans).

A cooling system pressure tester fitted to the radiator cap opening will monitor the pressure. The cylinder under test should be pressurized with shop air (100 - 150 lbs, exact value not critical) for several minutes while the cooling system pressure is monitored. If you really want to get ****, you can do the test both at TDC and near BDC, to isolate the cylinder walls to see if there is a pinhole or crack there.

This will be time-consuming, but it should identify which holes have the issue. To me this is time well spent, because so often once the engine is torn down, a visual inspection fails to reveal any problem. Then the only proper course of action is a total teardown and a crack check by a shop of the block and heads, if there is no visible evidence of a head gasket failure and the mating surfaces are not warped.

I'm sorry that I don't have any quick fixes - you COULD try that block sealer in your coolant (if you're to the point that you have nothing to lose) to see if it seals things up, but the missing may be completely unrelated (I'm thinking injection pump as my WAG).

 

[hesutton]

After much stewing over this whole issue, I'm going to keep to the above stated plan. I'll keep it in service, despite it's problems, until camping season is over ......... or until it blows. Reguardless of the exact cause, the sucker needs to come out. It will get a full on rebuild. I may not rebuild that 6.9, but may rebuild one of my core 7.3's. May even sleeve it down to 6.9 bore.

However, I may just buy a 6.4 PSD F350 crew cab/6 speed and use it instead.

Darrin, thanks a lot for the phone call buddy!

Heath

 

[DeepRoots]

That's....weird

get an education.... it is done on large, slow speed diesels all the time.
Testing compression tells you one thing, testing combustion tells you something else.

either way, at this point it is irrelevant, the heads need to come off to see what the problem is.

 

[Russ]

Feels a disturbance in the Force, pain,fear, and cries of anguish ...

 

[towcat]

heath-
if you're going to do that, then at least pack a 5/8" wrench and isolate the dead hole when the condition arises again.
by the way, I bought into a GN trailer to haul CC's and set up a CC dually to haul campers due to all the late models having their own issues too. most dealerships won't take a truck set up with a slide-in, so I offer a additional service of hauling the slide-in home.

 

[junior20762003]

yea im with you ive about had it myself

 

[tuckerd1]

However, I may just buy a 6.4 PSD F350 crew cab/6 speed and use it instead.

I know how you feel. I have not regretted buying the Dodge. The 6.7 CTD has awesome power and it will stop like no pickup I ever had! Love the manual shift 6-spd auto w/tow haul and exhaust brake. All together it turns a haulin trip into a breeze. Sometimes forget I have 12-14,000# hooked.

 

[93_444idi]

are you talking about putting a 6.4 in your '86? That would be very cool

 

[hesutton]

are you talking about putting a 6.4 in your '86? That would be very cool

NO WAY. The crew cab is staying IDI.....It may get a new brother though.

Heath