My overflow cap is very hard to turn once you unscrew it about 1/2 a turn.

Well given my recent experience and the cap that's always acted in this manner you describe, replace it...otherwise it's difficult to remove the broken portion.


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the trucks have had some issues with egr coolers. oil coolers were an early issue due to metal shavings left over in the the cooling passages from manufacture. they found their way into the coolers and wore holes in them. hasnt been a typical point of failure for a while.

haven't heard too much about caps. but there were somr trans cooler/heater lines thst had a slow seep. the rate you are loosing coolant sounds like an EGR cooler.

 

But why on a short trip and not on the longer one?

 

Kevin,

We haven't seen this type of issue for a while but this thread came to mind.

http://www.ram1500diesel.com/forum/.../forum/ram-1500-diesel-general-discussion/46953-2014-ram-1500-coolant-leak.html

 

Thank you TexasJoe. I have read several posts on the issue. I have no visible leak at all that I can see. My question was more for what tests I should make sure are performed. In one post it was suggested that they do a dye test?

 

Several thoughts and questions come to mind.

Do you know the prior history of truck, has it been sitting for any extended period?

Climate does effect the natural coolant evaporation over time I live in hot weather climate area i've had my EcoD since new and only recently seen slight dip in the coolant lever roughly about 3/4 of an inch from the reservoir. If you haven't noticed a change in color of the coolant and NOT noticed any type of oil like residue in the coolant reservoir or any leaks where the truck is parked it may just be something more basic.

Keep in mind sometimes reading on this website is like reading WEBMD, if you look too far in you'll tie together symptoms rather than actual issues, you'll come out thinking your truck is ready for the heap pile or as we say just cause your horse has a cough doesn't mean she's ready for the glue factory.

 

The truck was not sitting long. It was owned by a construction worker previously and I purchased it less than a month after it was traded in. I do not know the maintenance history beyond the first couple of months that the dealer could show me and an oil change and new tires that was done 2 months prior to the trade in. The truck came with the extended 120 000km Gold Warranty and I made the dealership tell me in writing that since I cannot prove previous maintenance it will not affect any future claims and I am regarded as a new purchaser.

 

The coolant level well vary some but if it stays between the low and full mark its fine. The only time you should add any is if it drops below the cold minimum mark.

 

Diagnosis from the dealer - leaking EGR cooler. Part is on back order. We mutually agreed that if it takes more than a week to get the part in they will supply me with coolant to add to the reservoir. I think that's fair. Why should the owner be out because a part is not available.

RB

 

Thanks for the update and that's very fair of the dealer to do that. Either they're very awesome or you have excellent negotiating skills, sir!

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don't want to alarm you , another member just last week started a thread about his EGR cooler leaking , but he was out of warranty ,
it was B-g-K , posted a link to his thread but it didn't work ???

so he went with a GDE tune , and deleted the EGR cooler,
,,,, now ,,,, for the part where I don't want to alarm you ,,,, he mentionned that the coolant leaking from the EGR cooler
was going to the exhaust , and he was worried , that this wax like coolanf ,once dry , could have made a mess Inside his
DPF , he went on to do a full delete , because he mentioned that he removed the DPF and he was bringing it home , from
the shop where he was doing the full delete , to " doctor " the DPF , meaning removing everything Inside , and he was going to reinstall it
so he would not have to purchase a piece of tubing to replace the DPF , and if anybody was to inspect his truck visually , they would see a DPF , and not know
that he had a full delete .
he did not come back with a review of what he saw in the DPF when gutting it.
..
I would ask the dealer to make a note of the EGR Cooler defect , in case you have to replace the DPF , you could argue that the Crap from the coolant leak was responsible for the early
damage to the DPF.

 

I had this happen too. Make sure they do an oil change too. My 2015 had coolant in oil that I sent out to Blackstone I am doing a second oil change and testing to Blackstone again to make sure I get this out of my system

 

I plan do do an EGR delete after my warranty expires, or at least do the GDE tune. We still have 40, 000km on the extended Gold warranty which covered the EGR cooler. I made sure that the service advisor made a note of my concerns for the downstream sensors and how they were being affected by unburnt fluids passing by them.

i try to be pretty thorough. If it takes longer than 2 weeks I will talk to them about keeping the truck and giving me a replacement while they await the part. I will also note my existing mileage and have it signed by the service manager as evidence, just so they don't drive it around.

RB

 

I'd also have the dealership/service writer put on the note about coolant going out the exhaust and into the 2100.00 dpf filter . Not Good ....

 

Agreed... the guts of my filter were DISGUSTING after being 100% full due to the egr cooler. Even a slow leak is a losing battle for the DPF.

 

Any chance EGT is hot enough to burn off even coolant deposits caught in the DPF? If it can burn soot, I would think so.

I'm on the verge of deleting my EGR completely with a kit from CFT Performance.

 

I don't know if the DPF is covered under my extended warranty or not, but all I can do is make them note it and if anything happens I will fight as hard as I can.

 

Do they provide a rental? If they do, park the truck as to avoid damaging it.

 

Coolant damaging the dpf is speculation at this point, right?

 

Speculation? Hardly. The problem is that these DPF’s aren’t canister style. When I worked for cummins we could remove them and had a machine that shot compressed air through them. Really bad instances would be sent out to get baked. Can’t do that with these.

 

Typically coolant causes a buildup on the face of your doc. That then causes a high pressure differential across the doc/dpf. Im not sure how much heat and flow it would take to burn it off but more than you want there.

 

My truck stopped regenerating due to the CEL coming on. However, it’s a losing game even if you are regenerating. In my opinion it’s a major disservice to us that the DPF isn’t canister style like it is on the big OTR cummins. It’s a $2k filter, it should be serviceable. Also it’s worth noting that my coolant level was only dropping for maybe 1000 miles. It didn’t take long.

 

I sent an email last night :

I purchased a 2016 Ram EcoDiesel just before Christmas 2017 and had noticed that the coolant level from the overflow reservoir was going down, but no leak was visible around the vehicle. I brought the truck in on January 8 and it was determined that the EGR cooler was leaking and needed to be replaced. I was told that the part was on back order but the service department would have an ETA in 3 days. On January 12 I called the service department for an update and was told that the part was supposed to be in that day but it did not arrive and that it should be there January 15 (today). I have not been updated today.

The engine has a strong coolant smell and I am very concerned that allowing coolant to continue leaking into the exhaust through the EGR is causing damage to downstream components such as the diesel particulate filter.

If I could please be updated as soon as possible about the status of the part it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

The response this morning from the parts manager:

Good morning….I received your email this morning regarding the part on backorder..Upon further investigation I have managed to call in a favor to another dealer in Niagara falls..They are willing to sell me the part and I can replace it with the one that was originally coming in for you,,,If you’d like to call the service department this morning and speak with Pat..You are more than welcome to book in the vehicle anytime after 12:00 today…Hope this helps
Thank you

Appointment is set for this Thursday at 7:30 am.

 

If you want to see something funny look at this kijiji ad. Specifically go to the picture they show under the hood with the coolant overflow way low... Where did it go? Previous owner drink it? lol

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks...aramie-eco-diesel-4x4-clean-carproof/1306178361?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

 

Going by the thread Vern started , the tank will go low like you see in that picture ,
then will remain at same level in that tank , but coolant level will continue to drop in the rad , and in the engine ,
at some point you will have no heat coming out of the dash , big hint coolant is lower by a lot more than what is missing in the apparent tank.
don't buy that truck....

 

Good that they arranged for an EGR cooler to arrive sooner.
..
I would still bother them ,again and again , about the condition of the US$2100.00 DPF ,
probably $3000 here in Canada , until they tell me they will look Inside it , or give me some written
piece of paper , stating the DPF will be covered , if the " wax-like" dried coolant , causes issues later.

 

The EGR cooler wouldn't cause the coolant smell I have coming from under the hood. I mentioned it to the service manager today when I booked the appointment and they said that they will pressure wash everything when the job is complete to see if it was just some spilled coolant. When they diagnosed the EGR cooler they did top up the overflow and it was noticeably darker purple than before, and they said they disconnected a few things during the process. I didn't smell it like that before they tested it out so it is possible it was just spilled coolant, but I have a weird feeling that I will still be losing coolant even after the EGR cooler is replaced.

On a side note that pic from the kijiji link above is exactly how my bottle looked. My fault I didn't look at it sooner.

 

When I refilled mine it took about 2 litres to put it back up to the full when cold mark so it wasn't too bad.

This ad is at a dealership and I bought mine at a dealership too. Wouldn't you think that they'd top up all fluids upon inspection?

 

I caught a faint wiff every now and then, but I am sensitive and actually sniff for things now and then. My Dad on the other hand...

 

They replaced the cooler today so I guess we'll see how it goes. They said that they visually verified that the part was seeping once it was removed to validate the initial diagnosis. Took them less than 3 hours total so must have been a quick job.

 

EGR delete instructions



Does anybody have detailed instructions on how to do an EGR delete? I bought a 2015 and have had it a few months now. Yesterday I notice this same problem with no signs of leaking anyplace. I just installed the GDE tune a few weeks ago, so I guess I will just do an EGR delete. I have aftermarket warranty for the truck but not sure they will cover this issue. From all the forums and issue's I have seen on this, when will this be a recall issue and not an owner problem?

 

Just got the bad news. EGR cooler needs to be replaced on my 2016 with only 30k miles. Lucky it is under warranty just have to wait several days for part to come in.

 

Checked the reservoir this morning and it is about 3/4" low. I checked it before leaving the dealership and it was right up to the line. I'm hoping it is just air in the system after the repair so I will wait a week or so before reporting it. Hopefully it stops.

 

When the EGR is replaced do you end up getting all new coolant or just a top off?

 

I looked at the bill and it says nothing about coolant at all. Just the parts related to the cooler.

 

The stuff is good for so long , I would expect that they use a funnel ,
get the same coolant back in your truck , and just fill it up , it is not contaminated .
.
Maybe they even use some of those " hose squeeze pliers" to squeeze the line ,
like we see it the 3 way coolant valve video, minimal leaks then.