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head gasket or radiator cap?

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Old Dec 7, 2007 | 04:26 PM
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head gasket or radiator cap?

I was talking to a buddy and he brought up a good point.. I donno if i believe it but he said that the reason i might be blowing coolant out of my overflow is because i have a bad cap. My truck doesn't have any oil in the radiator fluid nor does it burn coolant. It just blows out the overflow, and bubbles.
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Old Dec 7, 2007 | 04:48 PM
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pressure check your cap and then you'll know.
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Old Dec 7, 2007 | 05:33 PM
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yea but would that really do it?
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Old Dec 7, 2007 | 11:50 PM
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have you checked the system and cap? once you rule those out then you dig deeper.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 08:01 AM
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No...your not boiling your coolant in the engine. C2O is probably more familiar with a high temp gasser. Your Head Gasket is shot. Get it done before it blows your oil cooler like mine did. Your running a lot of pressure for an o-ringed head, especially with spray, your cylinder pressures are high enough to warrant fire rings and XHD Studs, not saying you need both, but overkill is nice.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 12:31 PM
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Its' the gasket, just replaced mine for the same reason.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 12:40 PM
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I'm going on the 3rd gasket in a week...make sure everything is super flat, or you'll regret it.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Need95-00CTD
. C2O is probably more familiar with a high temp gasser.
uhhhh i know nothing about gassers. the only engines that come through the shop are diesel, i was just helping diagnose the prob. sorry for trying to help i've only seen this numerous times ill keep my typing to a minnimum now,
again sorry.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 04:08 PM
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so its not good to drive it like this? Yea i will be replacing it these next couple weeks. I dont have the money to get it fireringed with now.. i wish i did.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 08:34 PM
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I chased water leaks for a while and just figured I was not getting things tight or had bad luck. Ended up pulling the head for broken bolts and found the head cracked. I would suspect you could have the same issue with what you are describing; It could be a gasket, but usually if they go to water you would not be able to drive it due to it puking water like crazy. I did find a source out of Canada for new Cummins heads under $500, so if you need one let me know and I can hook you up with them.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Goalie990
so its not good to drive it like this? Yea i will be replacing it these next couple weeks. I dont have the money to get it fireringed with now.. i wish i did.
I would not drive it at all. Washing down a cylinder would not be worth having to catch a ride until you can fix it. If it were mine I would park it, drain the water, and run it for a few seconds to dry it all out. If you dont do this you can open up the engine to find a cylinder holding water with a nice rust line in the cylinder right at the water level....trust me, I have had it happen.
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Old Dec 8, 2007 | 08:57 PM
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Regardless of what anyone on here says, Keep in mind theres millions of variables, 90% of all shops when diagnosing, if oil is not coming out the from of the head or anywhere near the head will do a pressure test and test the cap and go from there! Most likely it is your headgasket, but just because someone else had a similar problem in no way says thats your problem! Start at the bottom and test up! In the mean time dont drive or run the truck!
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Old Dec 9, 2007 | 12:02 AM
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yea it has been sitting for about a month.. i didnt drain the water tho. All i plan on doing is driving it about 45 min away to where it will be fixed.. will that be ok u think?
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Old Dec 9, 2007 | 05:51 AM
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Test the cap, if good move on. Compression test on engine or if you have a bore scope(cheap ones available) you can remove injectors and look down in cylinder and look for the really really clean piston, steam cleaning a piston will make it look different than the rest. Or pressurize the cooling system and look for the leak in the cylinder. A good diagnostic is key cause at the end of the job if you have not found anything obvious you'll be wondering..."did I really fix the problem?"

That's just me though, I like to know exactly what's wrong or the cause and why......just curious I guess.

And make sure to use the K.I.S.S method at all times, Keep It Simple Stupid. I.E don't just replace a computer without first checking your fuses.

Not calling you stupid, just a general rule as far as a starting point that people forget.
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Old Dec 9, 2007 | 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by dodgeguy71
Test the cap, if good move on. Compression test on engine or if you have a bore scope(cheap ones available) you can remove injectors and look down in cylinder and look for the really really clean piston, steam cleaning a piston will make it look different than the rest. Or pressurize the cooling system and look for the leak in the cylinder. A good diagnostic is key cause at the end of the job if you have not found anything obvious you'll be wondering..."did I really fix the problem?"

That's just me though, I like to know exactly what's wrong or the cause and why......just curious I guess.

And make sure to use the K.I.S.S method at all times, Keep It Simple Stupid. I.E don't just replace a computer without first checking your fuses.

Not calling you stupid, just a general rule as far as a starting point that people forget.
i agree 100%
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