likely cracked head. remove injectors pressure test cooling system and look for coolant coming out of injector sleeves.

 

is there any thing else that could cause there to be fuel in the coolant? seems wierd how the fuel gauge does that.

 

fuel gauge is unrelated. Every 6.0 that I have done with fuel in coolant was a crack in the head I have yet to see a cracked 6.0 injector cup

 

Don't let it go too long a bud had a little diesel leaking into the coolant and venting out the degas bottle which soaked the FICM screwing up the rubber gasket in it so that water got in and shorted it out, plus all his coolant hoses were softened from the diesel so they all needed to be replaced and those hoses are a tad on the expensive side.


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^^^ Those guys gave you good advise ^^^

 

well i guess im gonna flush the system real good and put some clean water in it to make sure that i it is fuel in the coolant. is there any good ways to make sure its fuel without having to take injectors out and pressurize coolant system.

 

you wont find the crack unless you remove the injectors and pressurize the cooling system. Does it smell like fuel in degas bottle?

 

after i put it all back together after studs and gaskets i put coolant in it and run it for a week and drained it to fix cut fan wires and had what i thought was oil in it and i assumed that a little oil got in the coolant passages and due to lack of time i wasnt able to flush it i just filled it back up with straight water to run through it for a couple days and put a quart of vc9 in it at that time. i ran it like this for a week not knowing the vc9 shouldn't be run that long and when i drained it had a slight fuel smell to it and had a grey color in the coolant sticking to the sides of everything to me seems like all the silicate that builds up in the coolant system still had some black spots that would surface in the coolant and disperse but much less than first drain i run clean water through it for 10-15 minutes about 5 with motor running and put straight water back in it. that was last weekend this weekend i am going to drain it and see what it looks like and put some vc-9 in it to try to clean it correctly that is if i can find my big drain pan cause i will be at fire house all week end and cant let it get on the ground where as at the farm i just let it go. my question is without pulling the drain plugs on the sides of the block how and how long should i run clean water through the motor to be effective and what is the best way to use the vc9 effectively how long should i run it? thanks

 

To the people posting about cracked heads, yes you could be right. But please for the sake of all mechanics out there that get a bad reputation for these sorts of things, quit assuming the worst. I hate it when people say "oh you need this $2000 dollar part when meanwhile you need the $500 dollar repair. Every truck is different. I don't care if they were made on the same day, exact truck, maintained the same, doesn't matter. Rant over.

To the OP, you could also have an injector cup leaking. As unlikely as every one has said they are, these trucks are getting old, like it or not. If you have the knowledge and ability, pull all 8 injectors out of the truck. Use some paper towel to clean the injector cups. When they look dry, put a half a sheet or so of paper towel in each injector cup. Pressurize the cooling system to 15 psi. Leave it for 30 mins or so, then check the pressure on the gauge. It is normal to have a little bit of pressure drop (2-3 psi). Check the paper towel pieces in the injector cups. If you find one is wet with coolant, there is your issue. If not, then maybe the unlikely (in my experience) you have a possible cracked head.

Spend the time, diagnose the job correctly. Don't throw away money guessing.

 

7.3 cups crack all the time I have yet to see a 7.3 head crack leak fuel into coolant "brass cup" very common have done 50 or so
6.0 stainless cup I have personally yet to see one with cracked cup. Yes it is possible I have yet to see it on 6.0 but would not surprise me. I have scrapped about 25 heads due to fuel rail cracks
I personally hope it is not fuel in coolant..

 

Another way to check for leaking injector cups is to use a glycerine mix, or proper bottled stuff. Drain some coolant so the heads have air in them, then pressurize coolant and spray into the injector cups and look for bubbles.
Don't stop after you find one, I've had 3 leakers on different heads in the same truck

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Ford even has a tsb for fuel in the coolant. it has you do the pressure test with the injectors out to isolate which HEAD is CRACKED. if it cannot be isolated, replace both heads. at the time this tsb came out, ford would have made us replace injector cups if that was the issue and not replace the heads.

I've never really paid attention, but does a 6.0 injector cup even come up as high as the fuel passage section of the injector? Could a cracked cup even cause fuel in the coolant?

I have also heard that someone was designing a cup that was a bit taller to cover the CRACK in the head. that sounds like it might work.

 

well i just got done putting all new injectors in so i hope it wouldn't be a cracked cup but at the same time i would rather a cracked cup than head but hopefully i can flush the coolant and clean real good and not have a leak at all

 

Well the 7.3 cups are brass but aren't the 6.0 stainless steel? So I'm thinking a cracked cup on a 6.0 is not likely. So that leaves a cracked head.


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Cracked cups on the 6.0 are very common. Have personally seen a few. Have never seen a cracked 6.0 head though I'm sure they are out there. It's more common to have the cups cracked than the head.

 

TSB 09261? Read it again. The closest it says to cracked head is to replace if it is leaking through the casting. And just because we have all seen cracked heads, doesn't mean that only the heads can crack. I've never heard of any company saying if you can't find the problem, replace 2 cylinder heads.

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IIRC, there is a company that makes cup removal tools so you dont have to pull the heads.

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ok im new to diesels all together at first when talking about cracked cup i thought u guys were refering to the injectors. but now it seems you are refering to the heads are the cups on the head or the injectors.

 

TSB 09261? Read it again. The closest it says to cracked head is to replace if it is leaking through the casting. And just because we have all seen cracked heads, doesn't mean that only the heads can crack. I've never heard of any company saying if you can't find the problem, replace 2 cylinder heads.

Yes, that is the tsb I was referring to. I went back through and reread it. it never implies any other possibility of the fuel entering the cooling system other than a cracked head. If you read through the labor operations in the tsb, they are all to replace one or both cylinder heads. It does not state to replace both heads if the leak cannot be found like I remembered it saying. Possibly I got that from ford technical hotline at one time. I guess I'm not sure anymore.

Cracked cups on the 6.0 are very common. Have personally seen a few. Have never seen a cracked 6.0 head though I'm sure they are out there. It's more common to have the cups cracked than the head.

I have never seen a cracked cup on a 6.0 cause this problem. I have seen a handfull with cracks in the head just above the edge of the cup. Doesnt the cup only come up to the bottom o-ring on the fuel area of the injector anyway? If this is the case, why would a cracked cup cause fuel to enter the coolant? Im trying to picture this in my head.

 

I'm getting so confused. I'm reading on other forums for diesel in the coolant that lots say it has to be cracked heads and lots say it has to be cracked cups.


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The heads are the heads obviously, and the cups are what are in between the injector and the head. The coolant jacket of the head is open in the head, into the hole where the injector goes. The cup seals these holes, and allow the coolant to get as close as possible to the injector, allowing the injectors to run as cool as possible. When they are replaced, they are essentially held in place by red lock tight (I believe),which holds the cups and helps seal the coolant.

This is all off the top of my head, so don't quote me (not literally)

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that is a very understandable way of putting it thank you hauser so if the cup is cracked will that put coolant into fuel or fuel into coolant.

 

Fuel in the coolant is a cracked head. If you disagree, then take it up with Ford.

 

I have only done 2 motors that had fuel in the coolant but both of them were cracked cups. My brother in law has done hundreds of them he said they have always been the cups.. why would I need to take that up with Ford?

 

The heads are the heads obviously, and the cups are what are in between the injector and the head. The coolant jacket of the head is open in the head, into the hole where the injector goes. The cup seals these holes, and allow the coolant to get as close as possible to the injector, allowing the injectors to run as cool as possible. When they are replaced, they are essentially held in place by red lock tight (I believe),which holds the cups and helps seal the coolant.

yes, I agree that all of what you said here is very accurate! I myself am thinking however, that on this engine, fuel is not in contact with the cup. I could be wrong as I have not actually held a cup up to a 6.0 injector. Probably becuase I've never replaced a cup on a 6.0 because it has always been a cracked head. lol

Fuel in the coolant is a cracked head. If you disagree, then take it up with Ford.

That is my understanding as well and I believe but have yet to confirm it is the only way possible.... unless someone pours fuel into the degas bottle of course. haha

 

There are actually 3 possiblilites to what can put fuel in the antifreeze on these engines. And YES they are all injector cup/ cylinder head related. The worst is yes, A crack in the fuel rail of the cylinder head can cause this. Second, A cracked injector cup could cause this. Third, There is a Green loctite (dont recall the exact number)(its actually called retaining compound made by loctite) that seals these injector cups after they are driven into the cylinder head. As we learned on the 7.3s, loctite breaks down with time, age and usage. An injector cup dont have to crack to leak. If the bond of the loctite fails, you now have a point where coolant can leak up out the top, or seep down at the bottom towards the bottom copper seal of injector. Next thing, Is that above the seal, (of the injector cup) is hi pressure diesel fuel feeding the injector. This fuel can make its way past the broken bond of loctite, and make its way into the cooling system. This is why if you have the heads off the 6.0 or 7.3, and you have many miles or lots of age on them, the sleeves should be resealed and replaced. Like mentioned above, Troubleshooting and pressurizing the system can go a long ways. Plus it helps you pinpoint the exact cause. And dealers usually dont want to gamble on the labor if replacing the sleeve fixes it or not. Its more cost effective from there end to put a warrantied reman head on it, that way if it should fail again, warranty will take care of the repair costs- where as if they replace the injector sleeve, and it leaks, guess what, the dealer is eating that cost.

 

Also, If people want a better idea of Injector sleeves and the tooling and removing and installing Injector sleeves, go to YouTube and type in 6.0 or powerstroke Injector sleeves. There you will find a video showing a guy doing Injector sleeves on a 6.0 with the hood popped, cylinder heads on. Its not a great video, but gives you the idea. The steps that he doesnt show, is cleaning the cylinder head bore, and applying the retaining compound to the Injector sleeve.....

 

So, pressurized fuel is trapped in a chamber in the injector bore between 2 orings, an upper and a lower. one oring is black, the other white. both of these orings seal against the head itself if I recall. There shouldn't be fuel any place else other than squirting out of the nozzle inside the cylinder. If everything that I just stated is correct, how does a cracked cup allow fuel to enter the cooling system?

 

If the orings are bad...