maybe368

I just read your original post again and, if I were a bettin' man (and I am), I would say your radiator is plugged up by corrosion. I say this because every time I have encountered your complaint, it has turned out to be a plugged up radiator. Depending on how it's done, flushing will not clear a badly corroded radiator...Mark

joeytechman

Simple chemical test or sniffing gasses from radiator with a co/hc tester will rule out or confirm head gasket leak.

bannerd

I don't know the galleys well on the cummins motor but wouldn't that leak into the head causeing white smoke?

autocar56

No load high rpm cooling system performance test, you need a laser heat gun , put new radiator cap on right away, start off when engine is cold ac off , doesn't have to be fully wound up. you can measure engine temp at a spot before the t-stat , watch the dash, measure the block at different location to get a estimate of when your close to 180-190, measure the spot before the t-stat now and the top of radiator, should be with in a couple of degrees, if it is you know your t-stat open up, check your dash gauge now and compare to block readings , kinda give you a indication of how well your dash gauge is working, kick your heater on now , if its working more than likely your water pump is pushing water. I know you can hook a gauge to your block and actually measure block pressure to test a pump but I don't know what the actual pressure should be. Back to the test, I think around 195-200 the fan should start kicking on if it kicks on measure the top and bottom of the radiator, should be around 10 degrees cooler, indicates good internal flow, if its a lot colder radiator might be plugging up, hopefully your not throwing coolant threw the cap if u are and you have a new cap, possible head gasket. Also its a good idea and blow out the radiator and charge air cooler and ac condensor with high pressure air clean out all those bugs and dirt, I have seen trucks overheat from overfueling, plugged muffler of restricted exhaust. This is just a base test to give you starting points , cooling systems work a lot harder under a load, hope this helps .

Steven M

bannerd

You can test the thermostat. You can make sure it is working by putting it into boiling water. It should open up. If it doesn't then replace it. I replaced my radiator because mine was so full of crap when I flushed it. Unfortantly when I flushed it it started to leak and I had to replaced it. Looking at it now the lower portion crumbled.

KRB

Good stuff to know when troubleshooting, thanks.

So Rotten, what was the problem?

Rotten

It was a head gasket. White smoke out of the pipe.

I just pulled the head last Sunday. First time I've ever pulled a head off any motor. The gasket is disintegrated, so I'm going to get a valve job, new springs, and put it all back together as soon as I can get all the parts, and I can find time.

Rotten

I'm tempted to pull the whole motor/tranny and scrap the rest. That way I can work on the motor, get it built right, then swap it into something worthy of it. Like my Mac tools truck

KRB

I think Greenleaf says its cheaper easier & quicker to just swap your head with a new one. There was a thread either here or over on cumminsforum.com I can't remember.

Is your body trashed?

GIT-R-DONE

I just had my spare head redone. Checked the valves, 60# springs checked the head for cracks and new oil seals, checked pop pressure on injectors and new tips, total cost was 430.