Possible HE Leak!!!!

[Jed196]

Hello all,

Over about 400 miles I have lost 3/4 of an inch of coolant with a cold engine. It is a new install, done by Daniel, he filled the collant lines during install and we topped if off before i left......Everything else is great. Just wondering if anyone else has experiences this coolant drop?

Thanks

[Hooter]

I experienced this and just kept a watch on it over a week or so and topped it off as necessary. It eventually stopped and I haven't had to add coolant since.

[Clay]

There was one guy who did have a coolant leak inside his tank and he had engine problems from it. Are you noticing any problems with the way it runs?

[Jed196]

CLAY:

I have not noticed and lose in power or anything...its been about 400 or 500 miles....

Thanks guys....I figure it could be some air trapped in hte system or something..I hope.

[John_DFA]

OK couple quick things regarding coolant loss.

For one if there was a leak in the tank you would be noticing your secondary fuel tank rising considerably if there was a problem at that point.

Obviously not the issue.

3/4" is nothing more than settling in the lines and working the air out which can take a little time. As Hooter said above just top it off and you will notice it stops after a bit.

Normally when you drain off your coolant, change hoses or clean out the cooling system you have to run it through a bleed cycle to clear out all air bubbles and pockets which trap heat and the story goes on from there.

[Clay]

Hello all,

Over about 400 miles I have lost 3/4 of an inch of coolant

For one if there was a leak in the tank you would be noticing your secondary fuel tank rising considerably if there was a problem at that point.

Obviously not the issue.

I don't think that little coolant loss would register at all on my 91 gallon tank. Now f you have a small tank, yes.
So i don't think you should rely at all on that. If there is a little leak and if even 2 gallons of coolant were inside your tank the only way you would know it is your truck would react from sucking up the coolant as fuel.
I aggree that the air escaping the system was likely the reason for the drop in level so top it off, run on diesel only for a little while and see if it maintains that level.

[John_DFA]

I don't think that little coolant loss would register at all on my 91 gallon tank. Now f you have a small tank, yes.
So i don't think you should rely at all on that. If there is a little leak and if even 2 gallons of coolant were inside your tank the only way you would know it is your truck would react from sucking up the coolant as fuel.
I aggree that the air escaping the system was likely the reason for the drop in level so top it off, run on diesel only for a little while and see if it maintains that level.

I understand that small amount wouldn't register in your tank but if there is a leak in the tank itself trust me when I say it is not a leak that drops only 3/4" into the tank. It has indeed happened and the engine was fine after a full coolant flush and the tank was replaced. The design that was at fault has since been removed from our lineup with an improved solution and we have yet to see any failures on the new design. When it did happen the person noted that he saw his secondary tank fill considerably in a very short period of time to the full mark.

If however coolant were to get into the fuel source it would get no further than the Donaldson filter and then shut down the V3 system since the element would swell up closing all fluids from passing that point. and you would be back on diesel.

Now you may get vegetable oil into your coolant system if this failure should happen. The solution for this would simply be to run a series of system flushes, refill with coolant and things should be fine.

[Clay]

Just how many gallons does your cooling system hold?
Mine could dump ALL the coolant in my tank and not rase the level enough to see on the guage...Am i missing something?

[John_DFA]

Just how many gallons does your cooling system hold?
Mine could dump ALL the coolant in my tank and not rase the level enough to see on the guage...Am i missing something?

Not sure I may be exaggerating a bit, but I know he said it was definitley a noticeable raise in his fuel level.

My point wasn't really about that anyways but more of the fact that when a leak like that occurs because of pressure etc. it is a much more pronounced amount that the levels drop.

Now you have me searching for coolant quantity because I am curious exactly how much there is as well

[skyskijason]

Now you have me searching for coolant quantity because I am curious exactly how much there is as well

7.3's hold almost 8 gallons coolant w/VO loop.

[Fordnut74]

Ford spec says 32.75 quarts for the 7.3 F-Series and Excursions and 27.5 quarts for the 6.0, and 30.6 for the 6.4.

[Fordnut74]

Now if we wanted to take that a step further, most of our tanks have 10ft of 3/4 tube, and the average length of hose used for a crew cab install is 30ft. so that means that the tank itself will add about 29oz of fluid capacity(2.9oz/ft for 3/4id). The hose will hold roughly 87oz for 3/4(6.0's) and 61oz for the 5/8(7.3). The V3 itself only contains about 2oz of water. So all said and done you will add about 118oz for the 6.0 and 92oz for the 7.3 to your cooling capacity's. Long story short, unless you make a big mess, plan on adding just about a gallon of coolant to your truck.

[Clay]

I know he said it was definitley a noticeable raise in his fuel level.

I know the person in question here and he said alot of stuff that was, well, kinda out there.

Its all good John

[Marv]

My vote would be for air making it way out of the system. I think I topped mine off a little bit at a time for a week or so after finishing the install.

[billman]

I noticed a slight coolant drop with my install. I also noticed a tiny leak of coolant near the tank. A little tightening of a hose clamp and everything seems fine. My guess is the coolant drop is due to air in one of the hoses when you topped off..... Just in case, you should do a visual check of the coolant connection areas.