My '97 has started having a appetite for coolant. I am really scratching my head because i have been using about 2 gallons of coolant for 250 miles. I was shocked to see no change after doing the head gasket. There is no oil in the coolant only coolant in the oil. Just took out the oil cooler in last hopes but nothing visible there and one would think oil would show up in the coolant if there was a problem there. Any ideas? I wish i was joining this forum for different reasons.

 

Looks like you have hit the Diesel engine replace jackpot.
When had head off, did you by chance have it pressure leak tested?
Not leak from combustion chamber area or between valves. This will blow coolant out the rad cap. Might be visible with pressure test and vcover off.
If not in head it gets real serious with block. Cracked cyl wall is perhaps next on list. Can't think of any plugs in block that leak coolant. Rings and cyl walls don't like antifreeze as lubricant.

 

I have not pressure tested. I have noticed that there is a rise in the oil level and the puke tube seems to be spitting out a lot of junk. There is a chance the oil cooler gaskets are letting coolant into the oil but i think its wishfull thinking. Last effort before i assume the head or block are cracked. Is there any other way coolant can be getting into the oil but no oil in the coolant?

 

I had this problem on my 91. It was a bad o-ring in the oil cooler. The coolant pressure is higher in the cooler than the oil pressure so it pushes into the oil.

 

How i hope thats the problem! Thanks for some hope.

 

I just replaced the oil cooler and the gaskets on mine the other day as it went on me. I thought the head gasket was gone or the head was cracked then i remembered the oil cooler. Hopefully that is all it is for you.

 

did my oil cooler gaskets.... no change. Oil cooler itself looked fine to the testing we did on it. One would think the problem would be obvious since i'm loosing so much coolant. going to pressure test and rip it apart again. Looks like i did hit the diesel replace jackpot afterall!

 

The most frequent cause of a loss of that amount of coolant, with a corresponding oil level rise, is a slightly warped head.

If you crack a cylinder wall, even minutely, you will have a definite miss and both steam in the crankcase and exhaust bubbles evident in the radiator filler with the engine running and the cap removed.

But, a warped head will just weep a bit of coolant in an oil passage, and can go undetected for months as the problem worsens.

On the 97 the best bet is to have the head tested for cracks and warps.