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Old 07-06-2009, 05:21   #1
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Help! 2GMF Overheating!

Hi All,
I’m desperately trying to convince myself that I don’t have a blown head gasket as we were planning to leave to take a sail down the Gulf Coast on Wed. After performing maintenance (changing the oil, freshwater coolant, thermostat and flushing the heat exchanger) I went out for a sail. The engine high temp alarm went off after ~1/4 mile. I check the exhaust water (fine) and stopped the engine. I found the freshwater coolant level low and the overflow reservoir (2 L bottle) half full of coolant. I removed the thermostat in case it was bad (it was fully open on removal), replaced the coolant and tried again. The same thing happened. The system pressurized and pushed the coolant to the reservoir. The only things I can think of that would cause this are, a bad head gasket, a broken freshwater pump or a major blockage to circulation. I did not notice any diesel contamination or odor in coolant, but I not sure I would. Am I missing something else? All insight is appreciated

Thanks
Paul
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Old 07-06-2009, 07:20   #2
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Too much coolant?
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Old 07-06-2009, 07:49   #3
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I take it it worked fine before you did the service?? If yes, you may have air in the system, when refilling you need to let the thermostat open and top it off. A head gasket I would think you would see water in the oil. Circulation could be a tough one, I had issues with that before, not on a diesel, but I had pieces if my impellar in the engine and blocked some points. Very hard to find because it was not 100% or even looked reduced, but one part of my engine was not getting a flow through it. You should be able to pull a hose as far back in the system as possible to check for flow of the freshwater, but would sugest you pull and inspect the pump itself. Hope this helps some. James
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Old 07-06-2009, 09:46   #4
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Overheating

I ran w/o a t-stat same problem. This evening I plan to check for flow with a hose and possible remove the water pump.

Paul
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Old 07-06-2009, 09:49   #5
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Gord,
How do you get too much coolant in the system?
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Old 07-06-2009, 13:26   #6
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By filling the overflow tank to the top
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Old 07-06-2009, 13:32   #7
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Would overfilling give you an overtemperature condition in such a short span of time?

I'd certainly check the flow on the fresh water side. While the engine is COLD. Remove the cap on the fresh water side. start the engine, You should be able to see coolant flowing through the heat exchanger. If no flow, check you fresh waterpump. Don't run the engine for while it is hot with the cap removed. VERY bad thing can happen!
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Old 07-06-2009, 14:44   #8
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Do you

Have a water heater plumbed into your engine?

They can cause an airlock
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Old 07-06-2009, 16:24   #9
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Possibly a blown head gasket. You need a mechanic to check the pressure at the radiator cap. High pressure here indicates a blown gasket.
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Old 07-06-2009, 16:34   #10
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There is a possibility of an air lock, and or you might have a perforated heat exchanger. I would eliminate the possibility of an air lock first. If you have done that; with the engine running at temperature, if you see bubbles in your expansion tank, that could mean you have a head gasket problem, or if you have either oil in your coolant or coolant in your oil.
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Old 07-06-2009, 17:04   #11
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How many hours on your engine since you replaced the mixing elbow. If the mixing nozzle is obstructed and the seals between the raw and fresh water sides of the heat exchanger are weak or poorly installed, you may be getting raw water pushed into the fresh water side of the system and, if so, it sure isn't going to cool you engine. The mixing elbow on that unit is good for about 500 hours.

Good Luck!....
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Old 08-06-2009, 05:12   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulM View Post
- I found the freshwater coolant level low and the overflow reservoir (2 L bottle) half full of coolant.

- I removed the thermostat in case it was bad (it was fully open on removal), replaced the coolant and tried again.

- The system pressurized and pushed the coolant to the reservoir.

The only things I can think of that would cause this are, a bad head gasket, a broken freshwater pump or a major blockage to circulation. I did not notice any diesel contamination or odor in coolant, but I not sure I would. Am I missing something else? All insight is appreciated

Thanks
Paul
Freshwater coolant low and overflow tank half full.

The freshwater system should overflow to the puke tank if the pressure is too high. Low raw coolant flow is one reason the fresh water can overpressure. Head gasket failure (extremely rare unless an overtemp has occurred) can also do it but there could be side effecs such as bubbles in the fresh system and perhaps oil in coolant or vice versa.

After a puke event there should be a suction line that allows the fresh coolant to be drawn back into the fresh system as the pressure drops.

To find the fresh system low and the puke tank not full sounds strange.

It is also possible that you are not getting the fresh system full to start with.

I would:

-Reinstall the thermostat
-Fill the raw system - leave the heat exchanger cap off
start the engine - monitor the fresh tank, once the collant reaches thermostat temperature and the thermostat opens the coolant should start circulating and the fluid level will drop
-Once the coolant start circulating continue to fill the fresh system until the coolant is flowing properly and the coolant system is full - the system could appear full but have an air lock in the block until the system starts circulating
- Fill the puke tank to the witness line or if no line about 1/3-1/2 full.

- Concurrently - with the engine running make sure the raw water system is flowing

"the system pressurized and pushed coolant into the reservoir"

-Can you validate this? Was it a little coolant? How much coolant was "pushed." There is a lot of coolant in the system if it is actually getting pushed into the puke tank the puke tank should be overflowing into the bilge - if the coolant is really escaping via the puke tank the puke tank won't hold the volume of the coolant.

The only other scenario is the coolant is going into the oil - not likely as you would surely notice this and also the oil pressure is higher than the coolant temperature except after shut down and it is more likely for oil to be in the coolant.

One theory for this is that there is an airlock in the block. The air heats rapidly, presurizes the fresh system and blows the exchanger cap seal.

- Check the air lock scenario and check the heat exchanger cap seal and seating surface as well

(edit - PS - If your puke tank has no line fill to 1/3 cold and mark it. If you note the level at normal operating temperature and it is higher, mark that as well - then you will know where you are in the future. Lowering of the cold temp over time means you are vaporing off some coolant and will need to add some perdiodically. Too much is not good)
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Old 08-06-2009, 06:41   #13
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Overheating Problem Solved

Thanks to all for your replies. Chief, nailed it. The water heater was full of air. I removed the higher of the two lines and flush it with a gargen hose until I got clean water. Reconnected the hose, topped up the heat exchanger. Started the engine and topped up the coolant until the t-stat opened. Thanks again to all for their help.

Paul
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Old 08-06-2009, 16:29   #14
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I am happy it worked out for you....thanks for the kind words....
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