Once you’ve replaced your cap, and the cap is functioning correctly and the system is pressurizing, you have to pay close attention to your cooling system. I will tell you this, every single truck that has come into my shop with head gasket problems, has had a malfunctioning coolant cap. However, I would venture to say that a malfunctioning coolant cap has a significant impact upon head gasket failure. Is this to say the coolant cap is a primary cause of head gasket failure in Ford Powerstroke diesel trucks? That is hard to say because of tuners, heavy footed people, and lack of maintenance are huge contributing factors also. Your engine is self destructing because the coolant is boiling out of it because the coolant cap isn’t holding the pressure. If you’ve poured a little bit of water in your system and your coolant cap isn’t working correctly, you are boiling the coolant before the cooling fan even has a chance to cool down the mixture. If your cooling fan that cools off the radiator comes on at 230° F engine oil temperature, which means engine coolant temperature is a little less (5 degrees if your oil cooler is functioning correctly), then your engine coolant temperature is at 225° F when the starts fan kicks on. The 0-4 psi is where I see the majority of trucks that come in. If you are running 40% mixture of glycol to water, then the boiling point 265° F (etc see chart below). If we are running a 50/50 mix of coolant to water, and we hold the 15 psi then the boiling point of the coolant is 267° F. The coolant cap is designed to hold 16 psi when it is functioning correctly. It is very basic, but everyone has ignored it in automobile applications. The chemistry of ethylene glycol and water boiling points under pressure is something that has been around since the beginning of time. They didn’t want to make a separate part just for diesel coolant cap so they just used the same part. All Ford vehicles (Mustangs, Crown Vic, vans) had the same coolant cap and it is inadequate for a diesel application. Replacement caps have larger springs that do not lose their temper. The problem with Ford’s caps is that the spring on the inside is very small and the heat and pressure that is produced inside the engine of this truck takes the temper out of the small spring. Ford Motor Company produced these caps until about 2009. I have tested hundreds of coolant caps off of 6.0L and 6.4L that do not hold pressure. They pressurize cooling systems because it increases the boiling point of the coolant. The physics of coolant and water has been around since the beginning of automobiles. It is the single most important thing you can do for your truck right now. They are five dollars at Advance Auto Parts (Stant 10238). If you don’t listen to any more of this video go to the auto parts store right now and get a new coolant cap. A very seemingly simple, insignificant part plays a crucial role in making your truck run correctly or it can causes very serious problems. The subject of this video is probably the single most important subject I have put on video.
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