Detroit leaking water out overflow tube
 

Okay, DDS60 (1996 model) in FLD120 with 702k. First driver said it lost about 9 gallon all together on about a 2000 mile run in the southeast. Changed radiator cap - old one looked bad - and now driver says truck is loosing about 1-2 gallon over about 2500 miles or so. We took it into the local Freightliner shop and they "couldn't see a problem" - they let the truck idle for a while and no leaking, put the overflow hose in a jug and drove it around for a 30min test run and no water leaked into the jug. The tech said he felt for sure the head gasket was not an issue and mentioned that the valve for the bunk heat could have been "sticking" and pumping some air into the coolant system and pushing some water out - but "must have fixed itself?" cause he couldn't reproduce the issue.

Driver says the truck never gets over about 180-190, but is still leaking water. Any ideas where to look next? I am also thinking of having a more capable shop / tech take a look at it as well.

Just as a side note incase it is relavent - recent oil samples showed 1.5 to 2% fuel in oil, had local Freightliner shop check injectors with dye test and found nothing - chalked it up to excessive idle. Haven't had the next oil sample done yet.

at that particulair mileage.. i would say it's a head gasket. i know of a lot of det ser 60 that had same prob & at that same mileage area. that is my best guess. keep us posted as to what you find.

hey i'm justy trying to sound experienced here. lol. i asked my magic 8 ball if it was a head gasket leak & it said ... most likely.. :lol:

Heater valve = valve in the bunk, right? I read on here somewhere that to check if that is the cause to put a jug of water on the frame and run the overflow hose into it and see if it is blowing bubbles - if so, pinch off the air line going to the valve and see if the bubbles stop - this make sense? If it does, I will check it like that this weekend.

The air compressor was replaced on July 5 with a Detroit reman unit - the original compressor let go out on the road. Not saying the reman unit can't be bad tough.....

When you say you are losing coolant, are there any puddles anywhere? That would narrow it down to a internal or a external leak. I hope you can find a puddle :wink:

Title of thread: :lol: :lol:

My DD50 (500hp) has done this twice. Load her up, you lose water. Run at high idle, whatever you want to do to make it leak at the shop, no way. Never heated at all. Both times, we pulled the head and found a leak between 3 and 4. I'm told this does not happen, but when you remove the head from my detroit, the block sags about .011" in the middle. We have to remove the pan and jack it up in the center when doing the head. That's my experience with the same symptoms. Oh, the last time it did finally get bad enough that it would bubble some in the radiator tank at high idle. We used the fluid and the suction pump thing that you put in the radiator and NEVER detected combustion gasses in the cooling system, but the head gaskets were bad nevertheless.

Eh....... so driver called last night about mid-ways into his first run this week and seems it's getting worse - but he had just crossed Jellico Mt. a bit before with a load, so........... oh, AND the fact that it hit me to ask and he had been putting straight water in to fill it back up all this time :shock: Told him to BE SURE and get several gal of antifreeze at next exit and start topping it off with that until he gets back from the run and we are going to take it straight to a different shop that is known to be pretty sharp (and charges a little more for it :roll: )


Ah, keep the suggestions coming and a BIG THANKS for the ones that have came so far.


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