Coolant flow

[TA2510]

Hello and good day. Can some one tell me where i can find a coolant flow that shows everywhere the coolant flows on a 2013 LML duramax? I am losing coolant but cant find any external leaks. I can smell coolant under the hood which is leading me to believe my leak may be burning off on the engine. I was told possibly head gasket issue. I tested coolant for hydrocarbon gas and it tested good. I deleted EGR cooler and still having issue losing coolant. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MrMarty51]

Get You a radiator/coolant system pressure pump.
Pump the system to the DATA spec PSI then look for the leeeeks.
Mine 2000 K3500 was loosing coolant and I could not find the source of the leeeeks.
Pumped it up and it was both the heater hose connections at the firewall.
Tightened those, then went around to the clamps on everything else and no more coolant loss.

 

[TA2510]

Ok. Just ordered one. Will try it when I get home from work in a month. Thank you for your input.

 

[Will L.]

CHECK OIL DIPSTICK!!!
Since no exhaust gases in coolant and no visible leaks only other inside the engine possible is into crankcase.

Oil turns to a milk like with water/coolant in it. Is so DO NOT START AGAIN.

 

[TA2510]

No water in oil. That was first thing I checked.

 

[Will L.]

No water in oil. That was first thing I checked.

Winning! With nothing in oil, no exhaust going into coolant, this shouldn’t be anything internal.

Regular oil cooled turbo or a water cooled turbo on it now?

Water to air intercooler added?

Examine carefully between radiator and rest of the cooling stack. Sometimes a pinhole leak in radiator gets hidden well.

Assuming in a normal pickup not Rv, custom built anything, no extra heater cores added into camper body?

Have you done the regular pressure test on the coolant system? Sometimes I had to charge it up to pressure and leave it for a few hours like that before a pinhole leak could be found. Make sure you see the water pump weep hole is not the source.

Pressure test the radiator cap. If it’s going bad but not totally toast - it could occasionally pop open at too low a pressure and spit out only for a moment while driving, by time you park there is no evidence.

When a leak has eluded me too long- I do an extensive flush. Like after flushing out the cleaning chemicals I run so much water through the garden hose through it that a person can drink the water coming out (obviously dont drink it)
Then you can buy a UV reactive dye to mix with water. It works like the dye used in a/c systems but is NOT the same kind of dye. You have to mix the dye in a 5 gallon bucket before pouring in and be 100% you dont spill any when putting it in or this is all for nothing. Then drive the truck on this. Not a test drive- but daily commute, road trip type use for a week or two until you notice you have lost a decent amount of the water.
Then in pitch black garage- or under tarps at night to ensure no outside light gets in-
UV flash light and you will find the source.

A different approach some people take that I almost never agree with is to replace 100% of the hoses, clamps, etc. be obsessive cleaning the hose mounting fittings. Hair spray on hoses helps them slip on easier and acts like glue. (Old bicycle handle grip trick) this works for turbo hoses well too. I don’t always agree with this method of firing a parts cannon hoping for a fix because you might add a new leak (or problem) that wasn’t there before. But on hoses with a truck that might have 100,000 miles or more on it- this is about the best parts cannon attempt that exists in non diagnostics that there is.

 

[TA2510]

Winning! With nothing in oil, no exhaust going into coolant, this shouldn’t be anything internal.

Regular oil cooled turbo or a water cooled turbo on it now?

Water to air intercooler added?

Examine carefully between radiator and rest of the cooling stack. Sometimes a pinhole leak in radiator gets hidden well.

Assuming in a normal pickup not Rv, custom built anything, no extra heater cores added into camper body?

Have you done the regular pressure test on the coolant system? Sometimes I had to charge it up to pressure and leave it for a few hours like that before a pinhole leak could be found. Make sure you see the water pump weep hole is not the source.

Pressure test the radiator cap. If it’s going bad but not totally toast - it could occasionally pop open at too low a pressure and spit out only for a moment while driving, by time you park there is no evidence.

When a leak has eluded me too long- I do an extensive flush. Like after flushing out the cleaning chemicals I run so much water through the garden hose through it that a person can drink the water coming out (obviously dont drink it)
Then you can buy a UV reactive dye to mix with water. It works like the dye used in a/c systems but is NOT the same kind of dye. You have to mix the dye in a 5 gallon bucket before pouring in and be 100% you dont spill any when putting it in or this is all for nothing. Then drive the truck on this. Not a test drive- but daily commute, road trip type use for a week or two until you notice you have lost a decent amount of the water.
Then in pitch black garage- or under tarps at night to ensure no outside light gets in-
UV flash light and you will find the source.

A different approach some people take that I almost never agree with is to replace 100% of the hoses, clamps, etc. be obsessive cleaning the hose mounting fittings. Hair spray on hoses helps them slip on easier and acts like glue. (Old bicycle handle grip trick) this works for turbo hoses well too. I don’t always agree with this method of firing a parts cannon hoping for a fix because you might add a new leak (or problem) that wasn’t there before. But on hoses with a truck that might have 100,000 miles or more on it- this is about the best parts cannon attempt that exists in non diagnostics that there is.

It is a water cooled turbo. I will examine radiator good when I get back home from work in a month. I have done a pressure test on it. The engine was hot at the time. When I get home I’m gonna do a pressure test with engine cold so maybe I can find leak. The day I done the test we pressured up to 14 psi and about 15 mins later it had dropped down around 10-11 psi. I bought a new radiator cap and put on truck. Have not tried the dye and UV light but it is on list to do also. I also considered replacing ALL coolant hoses. I just can’t see dropping 6500 for head gasket job and I’m not 100% convinced it is my problem. Thank you for you reply.

 

[Will L.]

Ok - at this point you loose pressure from the regular pressure test so just continue to pressurize it by hand with engine off. The coolant will go somewhere.

Water cooled turbo means it could go into the cylinders where it is burning away or straight into the exhaust.

So when you pressurize DO NOT START IT EVEN AFTERWARDS. You might hydrolock the piston(s).

Keep pressurizing and monitoring liquid level. If pressure keeps dropping but liquid stays at a certain level- basically you will find your leak at the height somewhere.

No need for the dye since you get that much loss that fast.
If you have to keep filling with plain water and pressurizing- do it. A cheat code we use in the pro shops is an air pressure regulator from a paint gun or similar. Instead of hand pumping we used shop air and rig to the system somewhere.
Make sure your search includes the heater core.

 

[TA2510]

Ok - at this point you loose pressure from the regular pressure test so just continue to pressurize it by hand with engine off. The coolant will go somewhere.

Water cooled turbo means it could go into the cylinders where it is burning away or straight into the exhaust.

So when you pressurize DO NOT START IT EVEN AFTERWARDS. You might hydrolock the piston(s).

Keep pressurizing and monitoring liquid level. If pressure keeps dropping but liquid stays at a certain level- basically you will find your leak at the height somewhere.

No need for the dye since you get that much loss that fast.
If you have to keep filling with plain water and pressurizing- do it. A cheat code we use in the pro shops is an air pressure regulator from a paint gun or similar. Instead of hand pumping we used shop air and rig to the system somewhere.
Make sure your search includes the heater core.

Will do thanks again for your reply’s.

 

[MrMarty51]

One thing to not do.
After You get Your coolant system pressure pump, absolutely do not star or run the enjun with pressure in the system.
It might not blow like a bomb but ittsa gonna blow out something when the coolant begins to warm and build pressure of its own.