Coolant question...

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

The P.O. of my truck was a drunk idiot... (he was drinking a beers in an Applebee's parking lot where we met, and I bought the truck... my first clue I had to rescue her from him...)

He asked me if I knew what cavitation was. I told him yes, because I did. I'm not sure if he did though. He said that he put about a cup of Rotella-T in the tank every time he filled up and this prevented cavitation. This didn't sound legit to me, but I could be wrong, so I just wanted to know before asking the real question here, if that was BS or held some water. Since I got her, I have been using coolant with cavitation additive... Plan to switching to that blue Fleetguard stuff next flush/refill. Also, Stanadyne blue formula in the tank every fillup...

Anyway... My real question is: if my engine DOES have some cavitation from the abuse of the first two owners... What are the symptoms?

I keep searching for air all over the place, and despite it getting better as i repair/replace fuel system items, still the smoke keeps coming. It's got me wondering if it was a combo of air and coolant burning, and I've taken care of the air problem but coolant is getting in somewhere... (Does air ever get in GP sockets? I did those at one point too... used antiseize)

The first thing I did to this engine was replace the water pump. I thought I did a decent job. Now I'm starting to wonder. Could something I overlooked possibly be allowing fluid crossover somewhere? Checked oil... and it's not at all cloudy. There is some oil seeping out of the top leftmost bolt on the water pump, and it's got me WICKED paranoid...

Also, the smoke is a blueish white, not pure white... What color smoke does burning coolant produce?


Sorry for all the questions in one post. You can probably sense my anxiety about this...

Thanks

 

[firehawk]

Yep, it was bs.

 

[C_Luft]

There is one or two bolts on the water pump that go through the timing cover, when I did my water pump I put some gasket sealer on that bolt and between the water and the timing cover just in case, if you did have a leak on that bolt it would probably just be crank case vapor,
and for your smoke I don't think it's coolant unless you have to fill it every so often

http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/idi2.htm

 

[drinkypoo]

Cavitation causes a pinhole leak from the cylinder to the water jacket. Oil is not involved, since the hole begins from the coolant side. http://www.oilburners.net/articles/cavitationartic.html

 

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

That article was GREAT! I suck at finding the ones I need on this site... Try as I might.

Now that I know all of that, I doubt it's cavitation as well... Although it REALLY makes me want to flush and replace my coolant with that SCA Fleetguard blue stuff even more.

...and in response to the prior post: The other bolt that goes through the cover has a bit of seepage two, upon closer inspection with a flashlight. I used gasket sealer between the pump and the cover, but not on the bolts themselves. Think I should take those two out, hit them with some, and put them back in?

 

[C_Luft]

Well if it's seeping and not dripping personally I wouldn't fuss with it, if it gets worse yes, I would apply some gasket sealer into the water pump bolt hole and on the washer.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

That article was GREAT! I suck at finding the ones I need on this site... Try as I might.

Now that I know all of that, I doubt it's cavitation as well... Although it REALLY makes me want to flush and replace my coolant with that SCA Fleetguard blue stuff even more.

...and in response to the prior post: The other bolt that goes through the cover has a bit of seepage two, upon closer inspection with a flashlight. I used gasket sealer between the pump and the cover, but not on the bolts themselves. Think I should take those two out, hit them with some, and put them back in?

yes.simply remove the bolts that enter the water jacket and apply thread sealer.if not,they'll always leak.easy fix.

fleetcharge antifreeze is a popular choice,that many of us prefer.
http://www.peakhd.com/product-lines/fleet-charge/faq/


"The Fill-for-Life alternative provides for easy, low cost monitoring of the coolant inhibitor and freeze protection levels. Fill-For-Life is an extended service maintenance program developed by FLEET CHARGE® and Penray researchers. It is very simple. Users simply install a Penray Need-Release filter on an engine coolant system (up to 30 gallons). Every 18 months the filter is replaced. This practice eliminates scheduled coolant changes."



i use (as seen in pic below) Napa Filter Head #4019 & Penray Need Release Coolant Filter #NF2088

that's the real cavitation prevention.

 

[drinkypoo]

i use (as seen in pic below) Napa Filter Head #4019 & Penray Need Release Coolant Filter #NF2088

I went the same route but went with IH parts. Went to a parts dealer and they ordered me up an IH filter head and some fleetguard precharged filters. I put brass valves on it so I can change the filter without much loss, mounted in the same location.

 

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

Hey! ...a Mainer! And your truck isn't rust orange and full of holes! What's your secret?

 

[theguruat12]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you should drain the coolant before removing the bolts that pass through the water jacket. Otherwise, logic would say it's basically just asking for your oil to be full of coolant. Somebody with pics of the inside of a pump can confirm, I can't remember exactly what it looks like, I did mine three years ago.

 

[icanfixall]

We do not have any water pump bolts that enter the water jackets. They do enter the oily side of the engine. Those are the top 2 and the bottom 2. These 4 bolts thread into a thin nut thats spot welded to the back side of the gear cover. Use caution thghtening them because they will strip out the nuts. Some thread sealant is needed on these 2 bolts.

 

[79jasper]

And most all of the coolant will be out of the pump once you take the lower hose off.
I like to give them a courtesy spin both directions.


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[FORDF250HDXLT]

We do not have any water pump bolts that enter the water jackets. They do enter the oily side of the engine. Those are the top 2 and the bottom 2. These 4 bolts thread into a thin nut thats spot welded to the back side of the gear cover. Use caution thghtening them because they will strip out the nuts. Some thread sealant is needed on these 2 bolts.

yes.right.thank you Gary.i don't know why i said water jacket there rather than the oil.he even said it was oil leaking lmao.just coolant on the brain i guess with water pump/coolant-sca talk.

Hey! ...a Mainer! And your truck isn't rust orange and full of holes! What's your secret?

don't be fooled lol.i bought it in CT with rusted out fenders (all 4) front bumper,and faded paint.
she got replacement front fenders,bumper and a paint job.
in '09 when i bought it:

 

[burt]

We do not have any water pump bolts that enter the water jackets. They do enter the oily side of the engine. Those are the top 2 and the bottom 2. These 4 bolts thread into a thin nut thats spot welded to the back side of the gear cover. Use caution thghtening them because they will strip out the nuts. Some thread sealant is needed on these 2 bolts.

So if you do strip one of those nuts what do you do. When I was doing mine the other day the passenger side upper one of those bolts felt like it may have done that. I stopped immediately when I felt it start to go and left it at that.