Found a coolant leak

[djevox]

What's not accurate?

And you said the upper and lower hoses should feel "similar" in temp. But the lower hose should be noticeably cooler. Not what I would consider similar

It should not if the thermostat is open. I’m not going to argue with you over it, you’re free to use whatever method you like. I’m sharing tricks of the trade that were taught to me by men who’ve owned an auto repair business since the ‘70’s, and not a single thing I’ve been taught has been incorrect yet. I think it would be best if we agree to disagree.

 

[djevox]

Wouldn't you expect to see a puff of white smoke at startup? Especially after it sat @20psi for almost an hour?

Also, just read over the warranty and it looks like the EGR was only covered for 24k miles so might be on my own anyway if that's the issue. The 5yr 100k doesn't state a word about exhaust or emissions related items.

Not with the dpf system. Is yours still intact?

Edit: I should clarify. If there is not an extreme problem with coolant in a cylinder, then the DPF system should mask that. I have no idea how long the DPF and associated components would last if coolant was passing through it. That’s outside of my knowledge, at least currently.

 

[HSKR R/T]

It should not if the thermostat is open. I’m not going to argue with you over it, you’re free to use whatever method you like. I’m sharing tricks of the trade that were taught to me by men who’ve owned an auto repair business since the ‘70’s, and not a single thing I’ve been taught has been incorrect yet. I think it would be best if we agree to disagree.

We will definitely have to agree to disagree I guess. If the upper and lower hoses were the same, or "similar" temps, then the radiator is not cooling the coolant down properly.

 

[tom318]

Not with the dpf system. Is yours still intact?

Edit: I should clarify. If there is not an extreme problem with coolant in a cylinder, then the DPF system should mask that. I have no idea how long the DPF and associated components would last if coolant was passing through it. That’s outside of my knowledge, at least currently.

Everything is intact. No Mods. Not a fan of damaging or reducing the life of the DPF, I know that's an extremely expensive part. I don't like where this is heading but we will see what I come up with. I don't think the issue is massive at the moment but it would be nice to catch it sooner rather than later. Seems like a tough one to diagnose.
Be nice if I could buy a full service manual for this thing like i did my old Subaru's.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Everything is intact. No Mods. Not a fan of damaging or reducing the life of the DPF, I know that's an extremely expensive part. I don't like where this is heading but we will see what I come up with. I don't think the issue is massive at the moment but it would be nice to catch it sooner rather than later. Seems like a tough one to diagnose.
Be nice if I could buy a full service manual for this thing like i did my old Subaru's.

Just pull the spark plugs and see if they show signs of coolant.



Yes, I know it doesn't have spark plugs

 

[tom318]

Just pull the spark plugs and see if they show signs of coolant.



Yes, I know it doesn't have spark plugs

I wish there was a simpler way to confirm.....even a puff of white smoke would of helped.

 

[djevox]

@tom318 Let’s back up a little bit. I just noticed you have a matco coolant tester. Are you a mechanic? With the coolant at room temp (engine cold), can you do a 60min coolant leak-down with checks at 15min intervals?

 

[tom318]

@tom318 Let’s back up a little bit. I just noticed you have a matco coolant tester. Are you a mechanic? With the coolant at room temp (engine cold), can you do a 60min coolant leak-down with checks at 15min intervals?

Im not a mechanic but a good friend of mine is and he now lives right across from the street so it’s been really convienent to have full acess to about 40k worth of Matco tools hahaha.
We didn’t do a 60min test but maybe closer to 40minutes and it held at 20psi the entire time. Then we ran the truck up to temperature and watched the gauge climb up and down to see if anything jumped out at us. It climbed up to almost 20psi and then back down so nothing too conclusive. We are thinking the leak is very small or only occurs during high temp/regen situations...even still I would of expected to see some pressure drop. His next steps would be dig into the the egr cooler and look for signs of white or gel like residue on the egr valve or intake. We just didn’t have the time to do that.
Since he moved in, I’ve been exposed to many great tools I’ve never heard of or used and now want them for myself hahaha.
-Torque sticks for lug nuts-awesome
- matco plastic stapler/welder - great for fixing kids toys.
- large matco impact. Gets any bolt off.
The list keeps growing as each day goes by haha. When moving he had the tow truck drop the tool box off at my place for a few days before closing. It’s impressive and convenient!

 

[djevox]

Im not a mechanic but a good friend of mine is and he now lives right across from the street so it’s been really convienent to have full acess to about 40k worth of Matco tools hahaha.
We didn’t do a 60min test but maybe closer to 40minutes and it held at 20psi the entire time. Then we ran the truck up to temperature and watched the gauge climb up and down to see if anything jumped out at us. It climbed up to almost 20psi and then back down so nothing too conclusive. We are thinking the leak is very small or only occurs during high temp/regen situations...even still I would of expected to see some pressure drop. His next steps would be dig into the the egr cooler and look for signs of white or gel like residue on the egr valve or intake. We just didn’t have the time to do that.
Since he moved in, I’ve been exposed to many great tools I’ve never heard of or used and now want them for myself hahaha.
-Torque sticks for lug nuts-awesome
- matco plastic stapler/welder - great for fixing kids toys.
- large matco impact. Gets any bolt off.
The list keeps growing as each day goes by haha. When moving he had the tow truck drop the tool box off at my place for a few days before closing. It’s impressive and convenient! View attachment 158901

That’s a gorgeous toolbox.

 

[Masoud_Oman]

In RAM specifically, I would advise to check on air conditioning heater lines that might be the only suspicious section of coolant leak and it might be very minor but longer range

 

[mikeru82]

That’s a gorgeous toolbox.

You know it's a serious tool box when it need 6 wheels to support it.

 

[N7GZN]

I have heard of failure of coolant fittings connecting to the thermal management module attached to the side of the 8hp75 transmission. If the EcoDiesel uses the same system as the 1500 hemis this might be something to look for as well. The thermal module is a oil (transmission) to water (coolant) heat exchanger with an integral thermal element which throttles oil flow through the core.
The thermal module is located on the driver's side of the transmission.

 

[tom318]

I have heard of failure of coolant fittings connecting to the thermal management module attached to the side of the 8hp75 transmission. If the EcoDiesel uses the same system as the 1500 hemis this might be something to look for as well. The thermal module is a oil (transmission) to water (coolant) heat exchanger with an integral thermal element which throttles oil flow through the core.
The thermal module is located on the driver's side of the transmission.

Would these leaks be visible if I were to crawl under the truck or would they be internally leaking?

 

[N7GZN]

One would see a puddle of coolant underneath the truck where the transmission resides. The thermal unit is tucked up above the shift linkage, a mirror and flashlight might help. Also note that leaks could be in the coolant lines going to/from the water pump, and radiator return in which taps off to feed the transmission thermal unit.

 

[BigRedTD]

You have coolant that also runs to the rear diff, so check there as well.