coolant an oil sludge in CCV

Sequential6.4L · Dec 23, 2012

So i was doing an oil change on my truck yesterday an discovered a bunch of sludge on the underside of my oil fill cap, so naturally i got my flash light out an looked down inside the CCV canister an found that it was also lined with sludge but further down underneath the valve cover is clean, there is no evidence of coolant in the oil pan an the oil level has also stayed put, what hasnt stayed at correct level is my degas bottle which has been emptying itself about every 5000 miles, what are your thoughts? I know for me a headgasket is the first thing that comes to mind but i dont think that is the problem because i cant get the truck to puke and it is ARP studded but i suppose its still a possibility, ive heard of other things like water pump cavitation? Oil cooler issue possibly? Truck still runs real good an oil an coolant temp are always between a few degrees of each other i dont know if that helps but just figured id throw that out there. Thanks for the help!

DSTRYER · Dec 23, 2012

could be oil cooler, I know my 6.0 never gave me any sign of coolant/oil problems (or I was just too dumb to realize it) I had to look under the hood and see the sludge in my coolant resivoir...did the cooler and the studs in one shot!

Heavyhaul · Dec 23, 2012

Thats what happened on both our 450's Both got the front cover replaced. I haven't heard much about oil coolers maybe others have. How many miles?

Rivets are the new duct tape.

Heavyhaul · Dec 23, 2012

You will have to zoom in to see the cavitation in the front cover. While I was unable to see the hole the dye penetrat showed it to me. It dosent take much of a hole.

Here is the new one to compare.

Rivets are the new duct tape.

Sequential6.4L · Dec 23, 2012

64,000 miles, this thing has seen a lot of 1/4 passes an alota 4000rpm burnouts, an as i understand high rpm is really hard on the water pump? Where do you guys think all my coolant is going? The amount that ive lost should register on the dip stick, is it just getting vaporized outta the oil or?

White_monster · Dec 23, 2012

You been doing a lot of short trips without getting the engine up to temp? That will cause the sludge you speak of as well.

Big Angry Hillbilly · Dec 23, 2012

White_monster said:
You been doing a lot of short trips without getting the engine up to temp? That will cause the sludge you speak of as well.

This.

Sequential6.4L · Dec 24, 2012

No not really, almost everytime i drive she gets to operating temp. How would coolant get into the ccv? You can taste the coolant bittering agent in the sludge lol

Heavyhaul · Dec 25, 2012

Sequential6.4L said:
No not really, almost everytime i drive she gets to operating temp. How would coolant get into the ccv? You can taste the coolant bittering agent in the sludge lol

Been drinking but I will tell how tomorrow Front cover time I think.

Rivets are the new duct tape.

Heavyhaul · Dec 25, 2012

Rivets are the new duct tape.

Sequential6.4L · Dec 25, 2012

Pour me some jim beam. Merry xmas guys.

Heavyhaul · Dec 26, 2012

This is just my idea of what happens. I'm not saying its fact. Were dealing with needle tip size holes. There not opening enough to let the coolant out until its hot and pressure has reached the upper levels. So I think with the small doses and high engine temps there is time for the coolant to be turned into steam and condense again in the ccv and upper areas of the engine. Some may even run though the engine.

Now I'm sure there are alot of flaws in this explanation. Like coolant turning into steam but I think you can understand where I'm coming from. Ive had two trucks eat coolant with no rise in oil and plenty of sludge. Both had cavitation in the front cover.

Rivets are the new duct tape.

tensixniner · Dec 27, 2012

Heavyhaul said:
This is just my idea of what happens. I'm not saying its fact. Were dealing with needle tip size holes. There not opening enough to let the coolant out until its hot and pressure has reached the upper levels. So I think with the small doses and high engine temps there is time for the coolant to be turned into steam and condense again in the ccv and upper areas of the engine. Some may even run though the engine.

Now I'm sure there are alot of flaws in this explanation. Like coolant turning into steam but I think you can understand where I'm coming from. Ive had two trucks eat coolant with no rise in oil and plenty of sludge. Both had cavitation in the front cover.

Rivets are the new duct tape.

You think there is porosity in the casting from new or its the cavitation making pin holes and cracks?

Have you seen any of the revised front covers with cavitation?

kyle43335 · Dec 27, 2012

tensixniner said:
You think there is porosity in the casting from new or its the cavitation making pin holes and cracks?

Have you seen any of the revised front covers with cavitation?

cavitation causes the errosion of the front cover. im sure there has been some with casting flaws, but 99% of the time its cavitation.