[QUOTE=
2. With coolant cap off, air is constantly bubbling out.
5. Problem was manageable, maybe 6 ounces of
lost coolant in an 8 hour run and I’d just top it off. Problem got noticeable worse when I tried to fix it the same way I think the prior owner did. I dumped in some radiator leak stop stuff. HOWEVER, as I am an idiot, I only got about half a bottle of that stuff in before realizing I needed to empty the tank a bit, then got distracted by my
kids and only ran the engine for about 10 minutes before leaving that stuff in their to fester. Instead of solving the problem this seems to have exasperated it.
What I’m doing now:
1. I’m running a descaler in there at the dock (back at the dock in Antigua). I am hoping to clean out any wierd clumps I added. I then plan to do the radiator stop leak solution thing again, following the instructions better. As this worked for the prior owner for 3 years and I put hundreds of hours on the engine this year between FL and
Antigua. I’m hoping that May at least get me back to where I was.
BUT, if that doesn’t
work. What’s next? Anything else I should look at?
Head gasket?
One thing that I don’t like is how close the tolerance is on the heat exchanger and the rubber end caps. I can barely get a hose clamp on there to keep the coolant out. I’ve redone them numerous times but if someone has a “foolproof” way to do that I’d be interested in hearing it.
Thanks from Antigua! I have a long way to get home so we appreciate the help.
Justin &
family
SV Allora[/QUOTE]
Hi There,
Retired master
mechanic here. STOP PUTTING radiator
sealant in it. Especially if you don't know what you are doing.
RE 2: If you get a constant stream of bubbles it's likely a head gasket or bad head. There are tools (combustion gas tester. not coolant test strips) that can tell you if the bubbles you get are exhaust gas. On a
diesel more likely you are pushing air from the combustion chamber (485ishPSI without firing, more like 1200PSI running) into the
cooling jacket. WHAT DOES YOUR
OIL LOOK LIKE? If it looks like a chocolate milk shake this points to a head gasket issue also. Assuming the heat exchanger is OK (newish no?)
Another way to test for coolant going into the combustion chamber is to pressurize the
cooling system, let sit over night and see if when it starts there is more than normal white smoke. If it just goes "thunk" when you go to start it you will need to remove the injectors to let the coolant out of the cylinders. Or if it has decompression levers (I doubt it does) you could use those. Whatever cylinder sprays
water out when cranking engine over out of the inject hole is the culprit. Note there are washers between the injector and the head you need to not have go flying. You can loosen the injectors more than likely as opposed to fully removing.
Another way is to put a pressure tester on the coolant tank. Start engine, if the pressure constantly builds up, you release it and it builds up again you have a bad head gasket or bad head. You need to constantly watch the pressure gauge as they do not have a relief valve.
RE the rubber ends. Yes, they are supposed to be that tight and no they are not leaking air into your cooling jacket. Unless someone cracked the heat exchanger when they put it on.
If you must put sealer into the motor, drain the block, remove the thermostat, Flush the coolant, put the sealer under the thermostat, put thermostat back in, fill the engine with water-no coolant, put a working pressure cap of 10 to 14PSI on it and run it until it warms up. Follow instructions. If you do have a bad head gasket the stuff they sell as "block sealer" usually works better. If you have access to a radiator pressure tester put 16PSI pressure on the system from cold to all the way hot. This will help force the sealer stuff into the crack. A bicycle
pump with a gauge on it and a modified radiator cap (save you old one) can be rigged to work. Keep an eye on the pressure though as there is usually no pressure relief valve on the tester.
If your
oil looks OK how many hours are on it since you changed it? If it looks like a milk shake change it, try pressure sealing the block or putting block not radiator sealer under the thermostat then pray to your deity of choice.
From your description it sounds like a head gasket issue but please try to confirm.
Do you get bubbles all the time it's running? Like the same amount when cold as when hot?
Does it loose coolant if resting? As in chekc it daily over two days.