Railpoler
Member
- First Name
- Eric
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2022
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- Philadelphia
- Vehicle(s)
- 22 Sarge Green D Gladiator, 06 TDI Golf, 74 Thing
- Occupation
- Mechanical Engineer
- Thread starter
- #1
I have a 2022 Ecodiesel Gladiator with 34,000 miles. Over the last year I have had to add small amounts of coolant to keep the level above the "Min" line in the "expansion" tank, adding 8 or 16 ounces of coolant at a time for a total of 40 ounces.
In December I had the truck at a local dealer for my second round of problems with my Stop/Start system and failed batteries and told them about my coolant loss. They performed a coolant leak test, pressurized the system to 20 psi and left sit overnight. In the morning pressure was 17 psi which they said was normal. They examined the engine and found no external signs of a coolant leak. I have never had to add this much coolant to a vehicle, even with a noticeable radiator leak. Despite this, I ignored the possibility of an internal coolant leak.
In the past few weeks my wife and I noticed a strong odor coming from the exhaust of the truck when its idling in our garage. I started to wonder if I do have a coolant leak inside my engine so I started to do some searching online. What I found is that earlier versions of our Ecodiesel did have a problem with leaky EGR coolers. Apparently coolant can travel thru the EGR diffuser pipe from the EGR cooler to the intake manifold. Here is a picture of my EGR pipe where it enters the intake manifold:
I have read that dry soot buildup is normal but gooey tar-like buildup is an indication of an EGR cooler leak. I do have a gooey tar-like substance forming on the end of my diffuser tube. Does anyone have any experience with what my tube should look like? It looks to me like the liquid dripped out of the hole closest to the attachment flange and pooled at the lowest area of the tube by gravity.
Regarding the exhaust smell, a friend has a 2023 Ecodiesel Gladiator. We warmed up each of our trucks the same amount and sat them side by side and took turns putting our faces in exhaust stream of both trucks. The exhaust of his new 2023 smells fresh, like the outlet from a clothes drier. My exhaust smell it totally different. Its hard to describe, but its not a pleasant smell.
Finally, I saw some posts where the coolant bottle was tested for exhaust gasses with a "block tester". I blue fluid changes color in the presence of CO2. I did have a color change, but I may have allowed outside air to ender the test fluid. I was hard to get gas pulled from the bottle once a vacuum was formed. When I placed a stopper and hose in the bottle and the end of the hose in a bottle of water there were no bubbles.
Has anyone else had coolant consumption similar to mine? Has anyone else pulled their EGR diffuser pipe and seen soot and wet tar similar to mine?
In December I had the truck at a local dealer for my second round of problems with my Stop/Start system and failed batteries and told them about my coolant loss. They performed a coolant leak test, pressurized the system to 20 psi and left sit overnight. In the morning pressure was 17 psi which they said was normal. They examined the engine and found no external signs of a coolant leak. I have never had to add this much coolant to a vehicle, even with a noticeable radiator leak. Despite this, I ignored the possibility of an internal coolant leak.
In the past few weeks my wife and I noticed a strong odor coming from the exhaust of the truck when its idling in our garage. I started to wonder if I do have a coolant leak inside my engine so I started to do some searching online. What I found is that earlier versions of our Ecodiesel did have a problem with leaky EGR coolers. Apparently coolant can travel thru the EGR diffuser pipe from the EGR cooler to the intake manifold. Here is a picture of my EGR pipe where it enters the intake manifold:
I have read that dry soot buildup is normal but gooey tar-like buildup is an indication of an EGR cooler leak. I do have a gooey tar-like substance forming on the end of my diffuser tube. Does anyone have any experience with what my tube should look like? It looks to me like the liquid dripped out of the hole closest to the attachment flange and pooled at the lowest area of the tube by gravity.
Regarding the exhaust smell, a friend has a 2023 Ecodiesel Gladiator. We warmed up each of our trucks the same amount and sat them side by side and took turns putting our faces in exhaust stream of both trucks. The exhaust of his new 2023 smells fresh, like the outlet from a clothes drier. My exhaust smell it totally different. Its hard to describe, but its not a pleasant smell.
Finally, I saw some posts where the coolant bottle was tested for exhaust gasses with a "block tester". I blue fluid changes color in the presence of CO2. I did have a color change, but I may have allowed outside air to ender the test fluid. I was hard to get gas pulled from the bottle once a vacuum was formed. When I placed a stopper and hose in the bottle and the end of the hose in a bottle of water there were no bubbles.
Has anyone else had coolant consumption similar to mine? Has anyone else pulled their EGR diffuser pipe and seen soot and wet tar similar to mine?
Sponsored
