Next question...water pump

[JDubya]

Judging by this video, does it look like the water pump is working?

Thermostat shows just over 190 at this time.

But, I have my doubts about the thermostat. It was showing the boiling point earlier but I could hold my finger on the fitting it's screwed into for a few seconds and the spit test didn't boil off and took a few second to evaporate.

https://youtu.be/q8gqlvfdYnM

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yep the water pump is working but it looks like you have a blown head gasket and or a cracked head.

 

[JDubya]

There is no water leaking around the head at all?

I just flushed the system and refilled it, then a dry rotted hose cracked and I rigged up another one that I just noticed is leaking.

I ran it fairly hard today mowing and moving brush with no issues.

 

[JDubya]

And no water in the oil either. Changed it 3 days ago.

 

[Lil Foot]

Have to agree with NIW, and there appears to be some evidence of oil around the inside neck of the radiator around the 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock area. Not a huge leak, but noticeable.

 

[JDubya]

Have to agree with NIW, and there appears to be some evidence of oil around the inside neck of the radiator around the 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock area. Not a huge leak, but noticeable.

But wouldn't there be water in the crankcase? I'm new to diesel engines, but I've never seen a gas engine crack a head or blow a head gasket without the oil going milky???

I went back out there and checked around the head and block again and there's no evidence of any kind of leak. I plan on tracking down a radiator pressure test setup this week when I'm off work to pressurize the system and see what's up. Hopefully nothing major, just bought the dang thing last week

 

[85Hokie]

But wouldn't there be water in the crankcase? I'm new to diesel engines, but I've never seen a gas engine crack a head or blow a head gasket without the oil going milky???

I went back out there and checked around the head and block again and there's no evidence of any kind of leak. I plan on tracking down a radiator pressure test setup this week when I'm off work to pressurize the system and see what's up. Hopefully nothing major, just bought the dang thing last week

Not necessarily water in crankcase........most head gasket "problems" have no evidence around the edge of the head - "I went back out there and checked around the head and block again and there's no evidence of any kind of leak."

rather the hole or even a small pin hole occurs between the the cylinder and the holes for cooling - thus the bubbles and typically a super heated radiator.
A small pin hole will drive you crazy! The cooling sometimes can handle the little bit of pressurized liquid for a bit too.

The radiator pressure test is a good idea. And maybe when all is finished, a new cap just for S&G's

When a diesel is "working" hard, it will take a bit to get to temp - and a temp at the top of head/hose/thermostat of 190 is fine. Most diesels run a little cooler than their gas counterparts, some can run much cooler (which is bad).

When running again, take out your infrared thermometer - check the temps of the complete path of water flow, even 200+ at top of radiator is not unusual - but checking the BOTTOM of the radiator should have a 50 degree if not a 70 drop in temps (F).

Report back all of your findings. In a perfect world, a blown gasket would be a "good" thing......compared to a cracked head!

 

[JDubya]

I ran it up to its operating temp again this morning where the lower hose is showing 190-200, did the "spit test" on the cylinder head and thermostat housing and it set there for a while. A good 30 seconds in 3 places.

I popped the radiator cap and it overflowed instantly then had some bubbles for about 8-10 seconds and no more.

I did notice the lower hose is still leaking, I'll replace it this coming weekend.

The temp gun should be here then as well.

Called the machine shop this morning, just in case, and resurfacing and magnaflux is going to be under 100 pts

The engine, according to the off manual is a D1102ae. Not sure what difference the "e" makes, but finding all kinds of stuff without the "e"

 

[JDubya]

I think the radiator cap isn't working right. There's an overflow tube on the neck that hasn't dripped a drop, but the radiator overflows every time I open it.

 

[Jim L.]

JW, realize that I am getting out ahead here, but will add some info to digest.

If it turns out that it is a head gasket, you're looking at about $100 for gasket, other gaskets, and shop supplies - not including labor.

If it is the cylinder head, still replacing gasket, and looks to be about $750 for reconditioned head - not including labor.

The failure mode on the heads is not to warp, but to crack. So it probably would not be a matter of planing the head. If you know a TIG welder, they may be able to fix cracks. All of this is speculation, you would be correct to pressure test first.

The reason why I am telling you these possible costs is that I see you have electrical issues also. Would a cylinder head crack be a game buster for you?

 

[JDubya]

I've already looked at remanned complete engines, for the just in case scenarios.

I've tracked down several rebuilt heads in the 500 range.

Going to pressure test it first, just to see. It's still odd to me that the lower hose will show a temp in the 200 degree range and the head won't instantly boil the spit test off of it.

I can't so much else until Sunday afternoon though, except look at it when I get home in the mornings

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

What happens with these engines is a small head or head gasket leak will compound when it heats up, so no leak when it's not running, and the leak will not be external it's all internal.
The reason it's doing what it's doing is it's forcing a small amount of exaust gasses into the radiator, they build up and super heat the coolant.

If you can't let it sit there running with the cap off and not have it bubbling and boiling over you have a leak in the head or head gasket!

Resurfacing the heads on these engines is a really BAD idea, they are extremely tight tolerance, and any material taken off will change compression and clearance drastically.

If you do a pressure test on the system and it pushes coolant past the leak into the cylinder and you crank it, you will bend a rod, so safer bet on a pressure test is to pull either the glow plugs or the injector out when you do the test.
test it, then crank the engine to purge any coolant that might have gotten into the cylinders.

And in the event that it does't force coolant into the cylinders, does not mean it's not a head or head gasket leak.