2k Coolant puking

[RenoF250]

I just drove ~500 miles down to my parents house and after about 140 miles I notice it had puked some coolant on the battery. As I went on it got worse and now there is coolant all over that side. I put in the Evans coolant about 100k ago and it has always dribbled some out the cap but this time it covered the battery, axle, wheel well, etc. Hard to say how much actually came out. It ran like a top the whole time, temp never moved, mileage was about normal ~15 mpg, and the oil looks clean and is exactly where it was when I filled it. The Evans coolant looks disgusting but it always has. I sucked some out and put it in a glass jar to see if there is any separation and so far I cannot see anything.

Any ideas? I originally hoped I had just overfilled it some but I have not put any in for quite some time so I would think it would have done this before now. I thought maybe it has gotten so disgusting it foamed and pushed some out but I do not see evidence of foaming. The other possibility is that something like oil displaced the coolant but I don't know where it would have come from since there does not seem to be any oil missing. Could pinholes in the block do this?

Right now I intend to drain the Evans out and flush it with water a couple of times and then drive it a bit (~10 miles) and see if it stays clear. Then put on a new cap and fresh non-Evans coolant.

Not how I wanted to spend Thanksgiving.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Before you dump the Evans, if the rad is full, leave the cap off and start the truck, watch if the coolant rises or overflows. If it does you either have a bad head gasket or cavitation. Cavitation usually doesn't start until after 150K miles.
With Evans coolant, you should be running 0 coolant pressure.
IIRC There is something about the copper sleeves on the injectors that can cause problems with the coolant. No info here, but a lot on PSD injectors. http://www.swampsdiesel.com/

More info needed.
How many miles are on the truck now?
How many miles on it when purchased?
Are you loosing any crankcase oil?
In the Degass tank there is a Min & Max line. Did you over fill it?
Why are you saying "It has got so disgusting" ?

 

[RenoF250]

Before you dump the Evans, if the rad is full, leave the cap off and start the truck, watch if the coolant rises or overflows. If it does you either have a bad head gasket or cavitation. Cavitation usually doesn't start until after 150K miles.
With Evans coolant, you should be running 0 coolant pressure.
IIRC There is something about the copper sleeves on the injectors that can cause problems with the coolant. No info here, but a lot on PSD injectors. http://www.swampsdiesel.com/

More info needed.
How many miles are on the truck now?
How many miles on it when purchased?
Are you loosing any crankcase oil?
In the Degass tank there is a Min & Max line. Did you over fill it?
Why are you saying "It has got so disgusting" ?

Running with the cap off no rise or fall and no noticeable pressure build with my hand over the top.

186k now
Bought it new.
No, it is EXACTLY where I filled it.
I think I might have overfilled it but it was long ago so don't remember.
It looks like used oil.
I did take some out and it did not separate so I poured some off and mixed it will oil. It did not seem to mix at all and separated completely when left to sit.

 

[RenoF250]

This morning the coolant was about where it was last night ~4 inches down from max. Drove it a bit and got it warmed up a bit, level went up to Max but is coming back down pretty quick.

 

[snicklas]

Agreed,

Mel had an injector sleeve have an issue and he was pushing coolant out on his Excursion. The fuel was actually transferring into the cooling system and overfilling the system.

 

[RenoF250]

I did not realize there was a way for the fuel to get to the coolant.

Is that something that will continue to get worse rapidly? I am not in a good position to fix the injectors.

I am currently planning on changing to ELC coolant and driving back home. Will it make 800 miles without ill effects?

The coolant does not smell like diesel at all and I see no separation. Also, the stuff that was on the truck washed right off with water and did not bead. I would think if there was diesel in it it would have stuck better and beaded a bit.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Sorry I can't help you more. 800 miles is about a two day trip. Just to be safe I would only travel during the daytime when stores are open if you have trouble. If your traveling in warm country, I'd take a couple of gallons of distilled water with you, diluteing the mixture down won't mean much, if you do just watch your coolant temp, should not rise much if at all. Good luck on the way home.

 

[Mike]

Cracked injector cups while not common failures, do happen.

 

[trackspeeder]

Cracked sleeves will leave fuel in the coolant. You will see when the fuel separates from the coolant. When it gets bad, the coolant will smell like fuel.

 

[RenoF250]

Had to change the water pump today. It was leaking coolant on the ground last night. Drove it ~50 miles and it did okay so hopefully we make it home tomorrow.

 

[RenoF250]

Well I made it home with no problems. No coolant overflow or anything. I think the bad water pump must have let air in and foamed the nasty Evans coolant so it pushed out. It sure looked like a lot more spilled than what was missing.

I am impressed with Zerex, called their anti-freeze question line on Saturday and someone answered and helped me out - it is okay to mix gold and red.

 

[trackspeeder]

Well I made it home with no problems. No coolant overflow or anything. I think the bad water pump must have let air in and foamed the nasty Evans coolant so it pushed out. It sure looked like a lot more spilled than what was missing.

I am impressed with Zerex, called their anti-freeze question line on Saturday and someone answered and helped me out - it is okay to mix gold and red.

Sound like you solved the problem.