coolant disappearing

johndeerezach · Aug 21, 2012

so i hope this doesnt mean i have headgasket issues but here we go. so when i bought truck coolant was little low which was in may. so i filled it up and now i checked the battery connections after my p0603 code and notice she was low again but what i am considering low is cold right below min on res. first time i filled cold past max a little now below low cold? so i guess how do i check to see were its going? thank you

Arisley · Aug 22, 2012

Look at the bottom of the water pump, especially under the pulley, see if you can see signs of any leakage. Look at the oil cooler, both ends, see if you can see any signs of coolant leakage. Check hoses and heater core. Send off a sample of your oil to get tested for signs of coolant.

johndeerezach · Aug 22, 2012

Were can i get a sampler cup for oil?

TARM · Aug 23, 2012

Its rare for these to blow a headgasket without high boost or nos so I am betting on a pump as the issue. They are well know to fail from 40-120K as the sand casting leftovers chews up those cheap alum pump bearings. Mine had 1/2 per week disappearing with no puddle left when parked over night. It only leaked when running. Only indicator besides the low degaus bottle was the wiff of coolant odor you got when you opened the hood or got near the grill.

johndeerezach · Aug 23, 2012

so should i go oem ford or is the internataional pump alot better?

JLDickmon · Aug 23, 2012

smell it in the cab?
Sticky goo on the windows?

TARM · Aug 23, 2012

I think the IH pump is many times better than the stock ford pump. Its cast iron instead of aluminum. It has a built in bypass filter with cut off. It put the heater port way off to the passenger side instead of right in front of the access cover to the HPOP bolt. No issue getting to that anymore. THe only things in a superduty that have to be modified are a few different bolts which you can get from a hardware store or IH. The bottom rad hose has to be a flex hose. The top hose is still stock either version. THere is one boss on the pump that you need to grind or cut off. That is it. Honestly it takes no longer to install it then a normal pump. Oh another huge plus is it takes the short or long stem Tstat ( can;t recall which is which right now but its the one that is not used in the super duty.) This Tstat there are tons of temp ratings for, 180,195,203, 207, 220. SO no need to worry about getting some special one or being stuck with only the 195. You can go to any parts store and pick up the 203 and run what it is suppose to have in it. No more issue with bolts galling and breaking off and needing to be drilled and tapped since its all cast iron not alum. Not sure how other stock ford pumps are with the tstat housing but the IH does not use the extra gasket it seals well with just the gasket on the tstat body. IMO it does not leak like the fords do. ( it does use the same tstat housing neck though but just seems to seal better IMO.

BTW I just finished installing one of these a few weeks ago. Very happy with it. So I am speaking from direct experience. Some have said the Cummins Rad hose fits the bottom on these but this is only true of the OBS it does not come close to being long enough for the 99-04 that is unless my 01 Excursion is somehow very different which I am fairly sure its not.

johndeerezach · Aug 23, 2012

JLDickmon said:
smell it in the cab?
Sticky goo on the windows?

i dont smell it in the cab. and what do you mean by sticky goo on the windows?

johndeerezach · Aug 23, 2012

TARM said:
I think the IH pump is many times better than the stock ford pump. Its cast iron instead of aluminum. It has a built in bypass filter with cut off. It put the heater port way off to the passenger side instead of right in front of the access cover to the HPOP bolt. No issue getting to that anymore. THe only things in a superduty that have to be modified are a few different bolts which you can get from a hardware store or IH. The bottom rad hose has to be a flex hose. The top hose is still stock either version. THere is one boss on the pump that you need to grind or cut off. That is it. Honestly it takes no longer to install it then a normal pump. Oh another huge plus is it takes the short or long stem Tstat ( can;t recall which is which right now but its the one that is not used in the super duty.) This Tstat there are tons of temp ratings for, 180,195,203, 207, 220. SO no need to worry about getting some special one or being stuck with only the 195. You can go to any parts store and pick up the 203 and run what it is suppose to have in it. No more issue with bolts galling and breaking off and needing to be drilled and tapped since its all cast iron not alum. Not sure how other stock ford pumps are with the tstat housing but the IH does not use the extra gasket it seals well with just the gasket on the tstat body. IMO it does not leak like the fords do. ( it does use the same tstat housing neck though but just seems to seal better IMO.

BTW I just finished installing one of these a few weeks ago. Very happy with it. So I am speaking from direct experience. Some have said the Cummins Rad hose fits the bottom on these but this is only true of the OBS it does not come close to being long enough for the 99-04 that is unless my 01 Excursion is somehow very different which I am fairly sure its not.

where would i go about getting a international pump if that is indeed bad?

littleredstroker · Aug 24, 2012

johndeerezach said:
i dont smell it in the cab. and what do you mean by sticky goo on the windows?

I assume he's talking bout a film . Turn your defrost on full tilt and if you catch a smell of coolant and your windows fogged up could be a leaking heater core

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

TARM · Aug 24, 2012

johndeerezach said:
i dont smell it in the cab. and what do you mean by sticky goo on the windows?

Cheapest place I have found is http://international-t444e-water-pump.com/

In speaking with them they have yet to have one come back from failure in 5 yrs so that seems like a very good track record. Most are used in school bus and dump trucks.

johndeerezach · Aug 24, 2012

ok well when i look at it tonight i will decide if thats what the cause is.

Arisley · Aug 25, 2012

TARM said:
Cheapest place I have found is http://international-t444e-water-pump.com/

In speaking with them they have yet to have one come back from failure in 5 yrs so that seems like a very good track record. Most are used in school bus and dump trucks.

No failures in five years. I find that a little suspicious. Not saying it is not a good pump, but I find a zero percent failure rate a little suspicious.

It is like a mechanic that says he has never had a come back.
1. He is lying.
2. He has not been a mechanic very long.

TARM · Aug 26, 2012

More correctly they have not had one sent back to them in five years IIRC. I know for sure it was years and I think it was 5. I would need to check my message notes. He is not a mechanic he is the rep at the company that sells and has them manf. The mainly all are sold to school bus and dump trucks so real IH engines. I do not take this to mean none have failed for 5 years just that none have been returned under a warranty claim in that time period. The warranty period IIRC is 1 yr /100K