Coolant Loss - HELP!!

[JERMCK]

I am loosing coolant but I have no leaks. No temperature flucuations. Put new cap on but no help. No water in oil - no white smoke. Any ideas?

[ 06-23-2003, 08:34 AM: Message edited by: JERMCK ]

[Maverick]

Bad head gasket.

How many miles?

Join the club.

Tape a plastic 20 oz. Pepsi bottle to the bottom of your overflow hose. See if it fills up.

Look for black powdery residue in the coolant tank. This will be combustion material.

The gasket is letting combustion gases enter the cooling system. The system pressurizes to over 15 lbs and then the coolant tank cap releases the pressure out the overflow hose. This is why you see no smoke or changes in the oil.

When the light comes on and you take the tank cap off, does it hiss and raise the level in the tank and inch or two? Are the radiator hoses rock hard before you crack the cap?

I think the Dex-Cool is eating gaskets in these motors. Any other thoughts?

[David Proske]

Would have thought GM would have figgured this out after the 6.5 problems. Guess not. At least we hear about it less than in the past.

[310-MAN]

Had the same problem,but coolant was coming out the overflow. The dealer replaced the head gasket & the head because the head was etched where the gases were escaping. There is a new torque method for tightening the head bolts that the dealer needs to be aware of. John

[JERMCK]

Yes the hoses are hard and the level in the tank raises when you take the cap off. The truck has 67,000 miles. I discovered today after I refilled the tank and started the truck the overflow flows continuously when the truck starts reaching operating temperature. I let it warm up to about 180 degrees and switched it off and it started overflowing like crazy. Is it possible I have a bad thermostat?

[ 06-22-2003, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: JERMCK ]

[Maverick]

I highly dought it. They replaced both thermostats when they were trying to figure my truck out. Didn't help any. Exact symtoms of a head gasket. Sorry.

I have no idea how they determain which head to pull. They replaced the passenger side gasket first and put it together and gave it back. It did the same thing again. The right was bad also. They replaced both gaskets at the same time the second time. The heads checked out fine.

At least you are under warranty yet. Pay your $100 deduct. and they will get you on the road again.

Good luck.

[JERMCK]

Thank you for your replies. Does this mean there is a problem with the aluminum heads? I read awhile back that there had been absolutely no head failures. I guess they were not including head gaskets. How do you feel about the durability of the truck after the repairs?

[Maverick]

There have been no documented head failures that I know of.....only head gaskets. Service has been excellent after the repair. About 50K after the fix so far. No problems.

There have been others saying bad things about Dex-Cool and aluminum. I am going to switch both trucks over to the green stuff. There has to be a reason why the gaskets can't keep a seal between the comustion chamber and the cooling jackets.

[JERMCK]

Spoke with tech today and he stated they have determined the injector tube is leaking on the #8 cyl. Can anyone give me some info regarding injector tubes?

[chuntag95]

That's strange. I had 3 tubes leaking. The coolant went into the cylinder and out the tailpipe as gas. Never saw a drip and nothing out the overflow. Coolant just disapeared. Kept getting faster and faster. I can see how you could force combustion gases back into the cooling system though. After my repair, I have not lost any coolant unless the system was opened and it ended up on the floor due to an injector replacement.

[dmaxalliTech]

Sorry for the long wind, but.......

Engine Coolant Loss with No Visible Leaks (Reseal Injector Sleeve) #03-06-02-005 - (06/13/2003)

Some owners may comment on engine coolant loss with no visible leaks. Excessive white smoke or a coolant type odor coming from the exhaust pipe, along with low coolant levels, may indicate coolant in the combustion chamber

Condition may be caused by engine coolant entering the cylinder due to a dirty or damaged seal between the fuel injector sleeve and the cylinder head.
On a cold engine with the cooling system depressurized, install the J 24460-01 Radiator Pressure Tester.
Start the engine and bring it to operating temperature.
Shut off the engine.
Using the J 24460-01 Radiator Pressure Tester, bring the cooling system pressure to 15 psi (103 kPa).
Allow the engine to cool. Observe for a drop in the cooing system pressure.
Disable the fuel system by removing the IGN 1 relay on C/K trucks or the IGN B relay on C4500/5500 trucks using the J 43244 Relay Puller Pliers.
Disconnect the 4-wire glow plug control circuit connector from the glow plug relay/controller assembly.
Remove the glow plugs. Inspect for evidence of coolant on the glow plug tips. Note any cylinders that show evidence of coolant leakage.
Place white paper in front of all the glow plug holes and crank the engine over for two compression strokes.
Inspect the paper for evidence of coolant and note the appropriate cylinders.
Release the pressure from the cooling system and remove the J 24460-01 Radiator Pressure Tester.
Install the J 35667-9 Cylinder Head Leakdown Adapter and the J 35667-A Cylinder Head Leakdown Tester to the cylinder.
Apply shop air to the J 3566-7 Cylinder Head Leakdown Tester and adjust according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Inspect for excessive cylinder leakage and air bubbles in the cooling system.
Repeat steps 3.1 through 3.4 for each cylinder. Note any cylinders that indicate leakage.
Inspection and Repair:
Remove the fuel injector sleeves of the cylinders that show evidence of coolant leakage.

Inspect the inside of the fuel injector sleeve for damage to the fuel injector sealing surface. Damage to this portion of the fuel injector sleeve may indicate a loose injector caused by improper tightening or a missing copper washer. A loose injector will allow the fuel injector and the fuel injector sleeve to bounce inside the cylinder head, resulting in coolant leakage to the cylinder. If damage is found, replace the affected components.

Affected components could be cyl head, sleeve, sleeve seals, injectors and necc gaskets

[george morrison]

I would highly suggest you capture an oil sample and run an oil analysis to determine the level of coolant in the oil and potential damage/accelerated wear which has occurred.
And continue with oil analysis after repairs are completed to follow up on the condition of the engine/bearings/components.
George

[XLR8 2 DMAX]

How much coolant loss are we talking about?
I purchased my truck at the beginning of the year, and have about 8000 mile on it. About three weeks ago my low coolant message came on. I put about 1/3 gallon in and filled to full mark. After reading above posts I checked today and noticed level was about and inch and a half below full line. I added exactly 48 oz to bring back to full line. I am not sure how long truck was sitting the first time I added it, so it is possible that it was still hot and possibly sucked some coolant back into engine. Truck was sitting all day long this time,so I know it is cool and will keep a very close eye on it. Should I be worried, or is the amout of coolant loss you guys are experiencing much more substantial? Thanks

[JERMCK]

I was having to add about 1/3 of a gallon every three days.

[JERMCK]

I read several posts on here the other day regarding leaking head gaskets possibly being related to performance mods, is this the same case with leaking injector sleeves? Would a box that increased fuel pressure possibly cause this problem?

[Alli-max]

Well sure, performance mods can cause a number of problems, but lets see the proof says a law from many a years ago. ;)

I was adding coolant as well, as some have seen other posts. Still in the shop right now, today was the beginning of week 5. Waiting for injectors to come back (in the morning), and back together.

[chuntag95]

Like I said, mine got faster and faster. 8000 miles when the light came on the first time. It was around 5000 the next and less than 2500 the next. I check in a day or so and it was down, so in the shop she went. Took about a week and a half due to the sleeve puller tool being backordered. You should not loose any coolant when all is right with the world.

[george morrison]

Again, a $15 oil analysis will reveal for certain whether the coolant is getting into the engine/if an internal leak is occuring. Also, on the oil analysis send in sheet, indicate suspected anti freeze contamination to ensure that the glycol test is run. If the oil is within viscosity parameters, the coolant/fuel dilution tests are not run... Which many times a low level coolant/fuel dilution will enable the oil to pass viscosity check and labs will not run the appropriate test.
George

[chuntag95]

Take the sample before you take it into the shop. They did an oil change on mine, but I had pulled a sample just before that.

[JERMCK]

I have never done an oil analysis. Where do I get the kit and where do I send it?

[Maverick]

I believe you could get one from George Morrison.

www.avlube.com (http://www.avlube.com)

Or

Call Greg

1-888-306-4255
greg@lubespecialist.com
www.lubespecialist.com (http://www.lubespecialist.com)

[JERMCK]

Picked up truck today. Tech stated there was no coolant getting into the oil or cyl. Injector tube leaking was allowing exhaust gas to enter the coolant system and in turn pushing the coolant out the overflow. This was only occurring under very high pressure. Do you still think I should do the oil analysis?

[Maverick]

Good to hear its not a gasket.

What does the injector tube have to do with the cooling system. Could someone explain this please.

An oil test is still not a bad idea. Its under 20 bucks. What could it hurt.

[dmaxalliTech]

Mav, the injector tube is a almost tin like sleeve that presses into the head and the injector is housed in that, it goes directly into a cooling passage, albiet to help cool the injector. They are sealed on the side with oring s and seal at the base with a smear of sealer. After a while, the oring can leak, or the seal will not be good at the base, extreme circumstances, the head will pit and not seal to the tube, thus requiring replacement of head and tube. Usually tube problems show up after injector replacement due to the distrubtion of it..

[Maverick]

Thank You.

[george morrison]

The oil analysis kit will have everything you need, including a container to send the analysis, spec sheet (be sure to mention possible glycol/coolant contamination on the detail sheet), and a sterile 4 ounce sample bottle. It is *most* important to follow the procedures to capture either a mid-stream sample inito the bottle (or draw one through the dipstick via a thief). Do NOT capture the sample from oil already drained into a container. Since we are capturing such a small sample of the oil, it is imperative that it be representative of what the engine was seeing. Not the first, nor the last oil out of the drain..
George Morrison

[JERMCK]

I picked up my truck last Thursday. As stated in another post the tech pulled the #8 injector tube, resealed and reinstalled per instructions from GM tech. He advised there may be some air in the system and I may have to add some coolant. The coolant light came on Saturday. I added about 1/3 gallon of coolant. Monday I headed for Chicago. Enroute the coolant light came on again. I checked the coolant and there was about one inch in the tank. My temperature never flucuated all the way to Chicago. I added more coolant this morning, the light was back on within three hours of driving around town.

dmaxallitech,

Since I am so close to you can I bring my truck to you and get it fixed once and for all?

[sdaver]

mine was a oring seal on the metal coolant pipe and a bad waterpump......no leaks 10k