“The 6.9” project thread

[Laine D]

Did a fair amount of driving this weekend. Everything seems to be running fine. Hoping to get the air conditioner recharged this week. I’m thinking about putting an electric fan in front of the condenser to help air flow when I’m idling around town.

 

[chillman88]

I’m thinking about putting an electric fan in front of the condenser to help air flow when I’m idling around town.

I just picked up a 12" fan for my tractor from Amazon for like $26. At that price there's no reason NOT to

 

[Laine D]

I just picked up a 12" fan for my tractor from Amazon for like $26. At that price there's no reason NOT to

I haven’t even looked at prices haha! That’s super cheap

 

[chillman88]

I was wrong, $29.95.

Amazon.com: Upgr8 Universal High Performance 12V Slim Electric Cooling Radiator Fan with Fan Mounting Kit (12 Inch, Black): Automotive

Buy Upgr8 Universal High Performance 12V Slim Electric Cooling Radiator Fan with Fan Mounting Kit (12 Inch, Black): Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

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[Laine D]

Well guys I’m pretty annoyed right now. I got home from work and went to check the alternator belt because it was squealing a little bit. I looked over at the coolant overflow and saw it bubbling. Exactly what it was doing before I replaced the head gaskets. I’m pretty much at a loss right now, it’s a real head scratcher.
The heads and block both are perfectly flat and everything was cleaned up really well. I’m not sure what to do

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Just remember that you want a pusher fan in front of the radiator. A regular puller fan would fight the mechanical fan by trying to pull air from the back side of the radiator.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Well guys I’m pretty annoyed right now. I got home from work and went to check the alternator belt because it was squealing a little bit. I looked over at the coolant overflow and saw it bubbling. Exactly what it was doing before I replaced the head gaskets. I’m pretty much at a loss right now, it’s a real head scratcher.
The heads and block both are perfectly flat and everything was cleaned up really well. I’m not sure what to do

That's not cool... I forget, did you use studs for this build? What was your final torque and how many steps did you use?

 

[Big Bart]

Well guys I’m pretty annoyed right now. I got home from work and went to check the alternator belt because it was squealing a little bit. I looked over at the coolant overflow and saw it bubbling. Exactly what it was doing before I replaced the head gaskets. I’m pretty much at a loss right now, it’s a real head scratcher.
The heads and block both are perfectly flat and everything was cleaned up really well. I’m not sure what to do

Some thoughts -

Need more facts to help diagnose.

1) Does it do it when cold and just started? (More concerning.)
2) When warm is it continuously running to the overflow? (Never really stops.). Or does it raise the recovery tank say 2 inches and stop.
3) When did you last replace the thermostat?
4) When did you last replace the radiator cap and did you go with a 13lb one? Which allows/blocks that from happening.
5) What temp is your coolant when it starts to happen?
6) What material is your radiator? (Copper, aluminum, aluminum with plastic sides?
7) Did they magnaflux the heads?

Need these facts to come up with suggested next steps.

I would watch for a couple days as you just put it all back together. May take a few drives for the coolant to equalize in the radiator. (Providing it’s minimal bubbling not try to blow up your radiator.)

Also the the overflow is there to allow for expansion/contraction. When running or when off, so perhaps this is not a issue.

I would also put a new radiator cap on and make sure it seals well against the radiator mouth down inside. Perhaps it is not sealing or has the right release pressure and coolant is coming and going with engine temp due to a bad, wrong pressure, or not sealing radiator cap. Also buy, rent (Auto parts store.) or borrow a radiator pressure tester and see if the pressure fluctuates (Because of compression or exhaust stroke.) or just slowly rises.(Don’t let it get past 13psi.)

Let us know.

 

[Laine D]

Some thoughts -

Need more facts to help diagnose.

1) Does it do it when cold and just started? (More concerning.)
2) When warm is it continuously running to the overflow? (Never really stops.). Or does it raise the recovery tank say 2 inches and stop.
3) When did you last replace the thermostat?
4) When did you last replace the radiator cap and did you go with a 13lb one? Which allows/blocks that from happening.
5) What temp is your coolant when it starts to happen?
6) What material is your radiator? (Copper, aluminum, aluminum with plastic sides?
7) Did they magnaflux the heads?

Need these facts to come up with suggested next steps.

I would watch for a couple days as you just put it all back together. May take a few drives for the coolant to equalize in the radiator. (Providing it’s minimal bubbling not try to blow up your radiator.)

Also the the overflow is there to allow for expansion/contraction. When running or when off, so perhaps this is not a issue.

I would also put a new radiator cap on and make sure it seals well against the radiator mouth down inside. Perhaps it is not sealing or has the right release pressure and coolant is coming and going with engine temp due to a bad, wrong pressure, or not sealing radiator cap. Also buy, rent (Auto parts store.) or borrow a radiator pressure tester and see if the pressure fluctuates (Because of compression or exhaust stroke.) or just slowly rises.(Don’t let it get past 13psi.)

Let us know.

Thank you man. Some more info, I know I was kinda vague. I have a 13lb cap that’s about 8 months old now. It’s an aluminum 3 row radiator from champion. It won’t bubble when cold, but once it warms up it starts to bubble into the overflow. It hasn’t started to raise the coolant level to the point of overflowing though. I think it is pretty minor still. I’d say around 160-170 it starts. I had the heads completely gone over and checked about 2 years ago along with the block. It has a new motorcraft thermostat as well.

 

[Laine D]

That's not cool... I forget, did you use studs for this build? What was your final torque and how many steps did you use?

Yup I used studs. The reason I had to do the gaskets 2 weeks ago was because when I installed the 6.9 head gaskets a few years ago I did not put the tabs in the corners. My mistake. I definitely learned from that. It was my first big project on the truck.

 

[Laine D]

On a side note. I looked back on some of my posts and realized I have had a lot of typo’s and spelling errors. For some reason I feel mildly embarrassed about that so I apologize

 

[Laine D]

I did some testing, I guess that’s a nice way of saying I just stared at it. It hasn’t run since Tuesday night. I started it and stared at the radiator for about 10 minutes with the cap off and there were no bubbles. I know that if there are bubbles in radiator when the engine is cold then it is the head gasket. I’m still scratching my head. All the while, it has been running awesome. It was 102 here today and I drove around doing little errands and she never got hotter than 195 degrees. Boost is set at 13-14 psi. I’ve yet to get egt’s over 950. I don’t feel like I’ve been pushing any limits on anything.

Thanks for letting me vent. I kinda like this forum

 

[Big Bart]

Laine,

So with a aluminum radiator I would expect more expansion and contraction than a copper one. So this may not be a head gasket issue, rather the system warming up, the radiator expanding, the coolant expanding, and air followed perhaps by liquid overflowing into the recovery tank.

Even thought the radiator cap is 8 months old. If this is still bugging you I would suggest trying a new cap. (They are cheap.) Also it could be the radiator hole is not machined correctly or level, so the cap is not sealing to it. Thus the trickle of air and fluid when the system heats up. (It is going past the radiator cap.)

Lastley they do have exhaust gas radiator test strips. It's to see if you have exhaust residue in the coolant. You could buy those and test.

Did your issue perhaps start about the same time as the new radiator or cap?

However if you do not have coolant in the oil, no oil in the radiator, and your system does not loose coolant. I would say drive it and monitor, if it gets much worse, then dig in farther.

 

[Laine D]

Laine,

So with a aluminum radiator I would expect more expansion and contraction than a copper one. So this may not be a head gasket issue, rather the system warming up, the radiator expanding, the coolant expanding, and air followed perhaps by liquid overflowing into the recovery tank.

Even thought the radiator cap is 8 months old. If this is still bugging you I would suggest trying a new cap. (They are cheap.) Also it could be the radiator hole is not machined correctly or level, so the cap is not sealing to it. Thus the trickle of air and fluid when the system heats up. (It is going past the radiator cap.)

Lastley they do have exhaust gas radiator test strips. It's to see if you have exhaust residue in the coolant. You could buy those and test.

Did your issue perhaps start about the same time as the new radiator or cap?

However if you do not have coolant in the oil, no oil in the radiator, and your system does not loose coolant. I would say drive it and monitor, if it gets much worse, then dig in farther.

Thank you for help. The radiator cap didn’t seem to cause any issues.

I didn’t start seeing the air into overflow tank until about 2 months before the head gasket really let go.

I do think I will pick up a new cap though just to be sure, like you said they are cheap. If it gets any worse I will try one of those test strips. This is just kind of a weird issue for me because it doesn’t effect anything whatsoever BUT it makes me feel really uneasy about using the truck for work.

I never really thought about the fact the fact that the radiator could be funky.

 

[chillman88]

You could try a lower pressure cap too for kicks. I can find the Amazon link if you'd like.