2.9 losing coolant

[biggieou]

Default 2.9 losing coolant
My truck kept going low in coolant. Initially I thought it was going into the oil, so I changed it so I would know exactly where the oil level was. Run the truck for awhile, coolant goes low, oil level is the same, so I cross that off. Then I was wondering if it was simply leaking out of the radiator, so I leave it parked for a weekend on my driveway and it was bone dry come Sunday.

I had to drive it a few times because the weather was poor and put a gallon of coolant in it, drove it appx. 100miles and it overheated, bone dry. I believe the coolant is burning off in the exhaust. Bad head gasket? Cracked head? The guy I bought the truck off of in October had just put the engine back together, new cam, lifters, etc.

 

[Shoddy Cologne]

it could have been overheated before it was rebuilt, just a thought but a pretty sure tell would be froth around the oil filler cap thats what happened to my 2.9 but i drove it till it died. overheating a 2.9 usually isn't too good

 

[RonD]

Leaking in cylinder(head gasket or cracked head) wouldn't just have a low coolant symptom.
Temp gauge would be going up and down as air built up in the head and was then purged to radiator.
And overflow tank level would be high.

 

[Luke2.9]

Check the compression and see if radiator hoses get pumped up.
Do you see white smoke coming out of the exaustpipe? This would mean your engine burns coolant, this is what happened to mine engine.

Overheating this engine often means warped heads, so you might to want to have them surfaced.

When my head gasket blew I had no froth around the oilcap and no high overflow tank level, although this is always a safe bet.