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coolant leak

jwmalone84
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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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I would crawl under the driver side and look up past the body and transmission and you can see nearly all the back of the head. There is a freeze plug back there. Like CUMMINSDISELPWR said there is a return fuel rail back there. Yes even #6 injector line could be leaving a wet mark like mine is right now.

 

If its a coolant leak take a cooling system tester and pump it up to 14-16 PSI and grab a bright flashlight and watch the back of the block it will dribble out for you on a cold block.

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jwmalone84

jwmalone84

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Also another question not to do with coolant when I start my truck it takes what seems like forever for my oil pressure to come up is this normal as well? I was running six filters but read somewhere that there not good so I switched to molar but the same result

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WesHawkins

WesHawkins

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I had a headgasket leaking in the same area on a friends truck that you describe here.  In fact its the same truck I have been posting about here the last day I'm working on now again.  If its coolant leaking I wouldn't wait to long to change the headgasket, it will just get worse.  The're really not that bad to change, actually one of the easier headgasket jobs I've had to do in the last several years.

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MnTom

MnTom

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I'm assuming couldn't retorque head bolts and possibly stop the leak?

Probably not, but you may get lucky! I had a gasket weeping for about a year by the water pump before I changed the gasket. It never got any worse either.

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moostang

moostang

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Mine did the same thing.  Just enough to form a drop on the bottom of the bell housing. It wasn't bad to repair, if you have a cherry picker.  It's heavy.  I found that my head was cracked when I took it to the machine shop.  The cracks didn't have anything to do with the leak, it was in the exhaust seats.  It would be a good time to put head studs in.  I did studs and injectors while I had it apart.

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rlane547

rlane547

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Thing about it is you are going to have to do it one way or another. Is it your daily driver? Do you have to have it to tow often? Like everyone says it's not a bad repair as long as you have a cherry picker or some other way to remove the head. I don't know but a gallon or more a month seems like quite a bit. If at all possible, I think I'd go ahead and repair it. I know its easy for me to say when I'm not paying for it.  Tell us a little about the truck. Any mods?

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jwmalone84

jwmalone84

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No its not my Dd just looking for some insight on what others have done I guess I will start tearing her down I was really wanting to wait til it warmed up but I hate not driving it. I haven't needed to pull anything with it lately so its just been parked til I figure out what I'm gonna do for sure.

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rlane547

rlane547

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For me, studs would depend on how much power you are looking to get out of it. If you are wanting to go big then studs should be at the top of your list.  If you are going to be 400hp or lower I don't think you're going to have a problem. I'm not sure about machining for the studs, maybe someone else will chime in about that.  As far as the head and the deck, you can check those with a machinists straightedge and a feeler gauge. I believe the tolerance is .005 or less as far as warpage.  If you have a dial indicator you can check piston protrusion to find out if the deck has ever been machined and a thicker gasket has been used or if you're lucky you will still be able to see the part number on the old head gasket. If it's readable you can call Cummins and find out if it's standard, .10, .20 etc.

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