Broke down in iowa

[Te300]

Oh man I put e85 in tank. Had half tank of diesel and put in fifteen gallons of e85. Drove quarter mile and it quit running. Getting towed to dodge dealer now in nabraska city. You think I messed truck up? They are going to take fuel out and replace.

[olred92]

That ain't ever good. You may get lucky since you still had a half tank of diesel. It would seem that you could just pump out that and replace a long as the E85 doesn't eat up the orings and or clog the injectors. Be sure the change all of your filters out and if they can for a relatively low price run a fuel system cleaner through it. John Deere has some that the motor will run off of and you just unhook supply and return lines after the filter and run engine til it almost runs out of the cleaner. Hope everything goes good

[Te300]

I guess I'll find out. It's in their hands. The fuel I got came from a green handle so I don't know how Iowa works but in the other 47 states green is diesel, or sometimes yellow. Still I feel so dumb right now.

[Mopar1973Man]

(Moving to normal forum no longer in danger)

[rickf]

Not good but if they empty the tank and all of the lines and replace the filter you should be alright. I mean ALL of the lines, take the lines loose all the way to the pump and drain/bleed til you get clean diesel. Then loosen the injector lines and bleed them out to complete the process. As was mentioned, as long as the seals and O-rings survived you should be alright. A quarter mile means it did not run much through at all before quitting. I would almost thing E85 might run in a diesel, you need high compression in a gasser to run it.

[Te300]

Well they got it goin. I smell ether so that's not cool but whatever. Guess they just drained tank and used the starter to run it through. Now it leaks. Coolant out of that tiny freeze plug on back of head. I'm afraid I have to use stop leak till I can fix it.

[diesel4life]

Was the freeze plug leaking before? Ether isnt good on any diesel due to the dryness but it can be used in a pinch. The critical step in using it on our trucks is to disconnect the grid heaters and then a shot or 2 occasionally really wont hurt anything. Are you close to home or on the road?

[Te300]

No freeze plug wasn't leaking before. I guess it's a small price to pay for my bonehead move. In my defense, I've been on the road stacking nine hundred miles a day so I'm a little jaded to say the least. I'm 2000 miles from home. My friend has a nice heated shop in Columbia, Missouri. Ill be checking it out real good tommorow. Incidentally I did put stop leak in which I hate to do. It appears to have plugged it, and the temp got up to 201, and jumped around between 184 and 201 for a hundred miles. Prior to adding it it never went above 190 since I've owned it. Must be sticking to thermostat? What size thermostat is in this? 2001 qclb 5 speed 4x4. I'm going to pick one up tommoro morn to throw In glove box in case I need it.thanks.

[olred92]

No freeze plug wasn't leaking before. I guess it's a small price to pay for my bonehead move. In my defense, I've been on the road stacking nine hundred miles a day so I'm a little jaded to say the least. I'm 2000 miles from home. My friend has a nice heated shop in Columbia, Missouri. Ill be checking it out real good tommorow. Incidentally I did put stop leak in which I hate to do. It appears to have plugged it, and the temp got up to 201, and jumped around between 184 and 201 for a hundred miles. Prior to adding it it never went above 190 since I've owned it. Must be sticking to thermostat? What size thermostat is in this? 2001 qclb 5 speed 4x4. I'm going to pick one up tommoro morn to throw In glove box in case I need it. thanks.

Should be a 190 degree thermostat. you can get a 180 but most factory ones are the 190.

[Te300]

Almost home. Be there tomoro. Got caught in some snow twice. First time in Missouri it snowed about ten inches with Ice under it. I whipped on my chains on the back and tore the seventy a new one all the way to Kansas city. Throwing a serious roost the whole way. Truck made that road it's bi@!ch!! Everyone sliding off simi and car. Not me. Why don't people take the five minutes to put chains on over there? I mean safety is number one. I don't get it. Most states it's a law to have them. Second snow in nabraska and Wyoming today. Very Icy and scary. For everyone else. Anyway truck is all good and is about ten miles shy of one hundred thousand. So it's not broke in yet. Ill be spending some time on it over the next couple weeks fixing freez plug and trying to get more than thirteen psi out of lift pump. Also waste gate is siezed or something. I'm sure l will be asking about it. Exhaust brake would be cool on those long Icy downhills too.

[Mopar1973Man]

Exhaust brake would be cool on those long Icy downhills too

As long as you chained up and in 4WD I see then you can use the EB. But I typically turn it off in the snow and such. As for your 2 pictures. Make sure when you do thaw out that you rinse the truck off with fresh water ASAP. as long and you keep the truck rinsed down good and remove all the mud and grime the salt won't eat the body and start the rusting.

[Rogan]

WOW.... http://forum.mopar1973man.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5091&d=1361767698

[diesel4life]

What part of Wyoming you goin through? Ive got family scattered around that way, sure do miss being out there.Reading Mikes post reminded me of an article I read somewhere talking about the rusting process and it was saying one it gets down below a certain temperature the oxidation process that causes rust all but stops.wish I could remember where I read that and the temperature they claimed. I know around here in the rust belt it does get down around zero quite a bit but we get some real wild temp swings depending on where the front comes from. Canada is only 20 miles or so from the lakeshore so thats where the majority of our cold weather comes from. But then we get a front coming up from south or southwest and temps get back into the 20s and 30s real quick. Which is why so many vehicles look like swiss cheese around here :banghead:

[flagmanruss]

Sure can't prove it by me. The C30 I bought was a Canadian truck & what a rust bucket it was underneath.

[diesel4life]

Yes but remember Im only 20 miles or so from Canada and the vehicles here get pretty bad too. Its got to be pretty dam cold I think below zero, Ill have to poke around later and see what I can find.

[rickf]

Exhaust brakes and ice are a bad combination. I don't have one yet so I don't know how hard they pull you down but I drove for many years on big rigs with Jakes and that is why they have a switch to turn them off and some have the option of less cylinders. On a wet road with even half the cylinders if you were empty it could slide the tires and that was an instant jackknife! Ice, forget the Jake altogether. By the time you realize what is happening it is too late to do anything about it, even if you switch it off you are already committed to the slide. Chains would definitely help but it is a bad habit to get into because you don't always have the chains. While out there it is mandatory to run them a lot of places here in the east it is illegal to run them! They just declare a state of emergency and you are not allowed to go out.Rick

[pepe]

Breaking down while so far away from home is never any fun, it's happened to me on a few occasions. I hope it turned out alright. The darn gas in the diesel tank, I had a station attendant attempt to do this to me before, caught him just about in time, he did end up getting a gallon in the tank.

[rancherman]

ok, I've read a couple of red flags here! First you smelled ether. Next you found a coolant leak.enquiring minds wanna know: Did they blow the head gasket and you are pumping a little compression pressure into the system?Take the radiator cap off, (when it's cool) and fire it up. Look for bubbles, it'll take a little time for them to appear.If they've stretched the head bolts with half a can of ether, You better not try to plug it with stop leak.Or, you might of just had a weak frost plug that was going to go... (corroded) and it just happened to show up sooner or later. a little more system pressure might be all it took. Good luck!I've used up lots and lots of cases of starting fluid over the years.... and it's easy to over do it! Head bolts/gaskets are the victims.Starting fluid evaporates very very easily, and it's a certainty that it's totally gaseous by the time it hits the combustion chamber.. So it really isn't any more 'dry' than air itself. It takes a liquid to actually 'wash' the film of oil off the walls and rings. Most starting fluid these days has a upper cylinder oil added to it anyway. (light oil).

[Te300]

ok, I've read a couple of red flags here! First you smelled ether. Next you found a coolant leak.

enquiring minds wanna know:

Did they blow the head gasket and you are pumping a little compression pressure into the system?

Take the radiator cap off, (when it's cool) and fire it up. Look for bubbles, it'll take a little time for them to appear.

If they've stretched the head bolts with half a can of ether, You better not try to plug it with stop leak.

Or, you might of just had a weak frost plug that was going to go... (corroded) and it just happened to show up sooner or later. a little more system pressure might be all it took. Good luck!

I've used up lots and lots of cases of starting fluid over the years.... and it's easy to over do it! Head bolts/gaskets are the victims.

Starting fluid evaporates very very easily, and it's a certainty that it's totally gaseous by the time it hits the combustion chamber.. So it really isn't any more 'dry' than air itself. It takes a liquid to actually 'wash' the film of oil off the walls and rings. Most starting fluid these days has a upper cylinder oil added to it anyway. (light oil).

Good lookin out. Ill check for bubbles right now. It's the tiny freez plug on the back of the head that appears to be leaking. I put stop leak in and made it home a week ago. Haven't had time to further inspect, but will check for bubbles first.

I did change the oil in Missouri before I left and its lookin clean and at same level. All three gallons and new filter, so I see no oil in coolant. I wonder how you fix that little freeze plug back there. Do I have to pull head. ?

- - - Updated - - -

As for the ether they sprayed it right on the bhaf. Still a nice stain on it.

At the dealer I was pacing like a new dad in a waiting room wondering what they were doing to my truck, telling the guys to crack and bleed etc etc. then finally I couldn't take it anymore and peeked in just in time to here it clack to a start and see dude putting can of ether on shelf!! I said NOoooo!!! And was like wtf man you don't do that. That's when I noticed there wasn't one drop of fuel on the floor, so they just drained tank and filters and cranked it through. I mean if it was done right there would be diesel on the floor. Oh we'll I still feel like a moron.

[rancherman]

Good lookin out. Ill check for bubbles right now. It's the tiny freez plug on the back of the head that appears to be leaking. I put stop leak in and made it home a week ago. Haven't had time to further inspect, but will check for bubbles first.

I did change the oil in Missouri before I left and its lookin clean and at same level. All three gallons and new filter, so I see no oil in coolant. I wonder how you fix that little freeze plug back there. Do I have to pull head. ?

- - - Updated - - -

As for the ether they sprayed it right on the bhaf. Still a nice stain on it.

At the dealer I was pacing like a new dad in a waiting room wondering what they were doing to my truck, telling the guys to crack and bleed etc etc. then finally I couldn't take it anymore and peeked in just in time to here it clack to a start and see dude putting can of ether on shelf!! I said NOoooo!!! And was like wtf man you don't do that. That's when I noticed there wasn't one drop of fuel on the floor, so they just drained tank and filters and cranked it through. I mean if it was done right there would be diesel on the floor. Oh we'll I still feel like a moron.

Thinking back, I've had at least 2 or 3 frost plugs 'rot' out on my various diesels... and they have ALL been at the back of the head. I wonder if that location is prone to erosion/corrosion/electrolysis? Brand of engine didn't seem to matter... It might be my water!

If you can get at the plug to pry it out, (the larger one's will 'spin' sideways when hit along the outside edge) You might have to drill a small hole and snag it with a screw) I've tack welded a pull knob (old bolt) when all else fails.

Those smaller ones are pesky lil dudes.. they don't spin sideways, not enough room to weld a pull point, and tend to just get deeper and deeper in the bore when you try to hack them out...

If you find a head gasket leak, you can kill two birds with one stone here. If that plug is really rotted out, you might want to do them all at the same time. I use Indian head gasket shellac on frost plugs to glue/seal them in.