antifreeze gone, oil thin

[werni9]

Oil and filter change and drove 38 miles to home and parked for a month. Went to check fluids and the antifreeze level was empty in the top reservoir. Put one gallon Fleet antifreeze in and then a second and then a gallon of distilled water. Just drank it down. It has never used any fluid to have to top off. I believe it may be empty. Checked the oil and it was light colored like new oil and it was right at the FULL mark. Oil consistency did not feel right. Felt thin. It moved down the stick quicker than normal. I took a quart out of the drain oil pan. It was darker, but no bubbles, no pink antifreeze came out. The oil is in a mason jar and has not settled out. Looks like oil should. If I had lost 7 or 8 gallons of antifreeze into the oil, the dip stick should have showed it well over FULL. I dropped my oil sample off at a Cat dealer for an oil analysis. I have a Cat 330 diesel. It is the 3126-B engine. Any ideas? Major fluid leak may have happened on the interstate? I had no warning lights. Oil pressure was fine and Engine Temp was normal. No alarms going off and just parked her. Started it back up 30 days later and oil pressure came up fine, but I got a LOW WATER LIGHT. That is when I noticed the reservoir empty. I am open for any ideas. There is no antifreeze under the coach. I am on good gravel, but it all looks fine. Maybe a hose? Maybe a water pump? Radiator and hoses and new antifreeze about 35,000 miles ago. Anything set off alarms to you? Thank you.............NO signs of a leak under the coach or around radiator area.

[guardrail53]

After " A month " went to check the fluids! All of your coolant could have leaked out in 1 month very easy from 1 broken hose clamp. In 35 + years of trucking, Clamps fail, let you have a cold water leak, that will drip, when your unit sits for a week or so, and not leak one bit when warmed up! Do what the others say and rent , borrow, the pressure tester, from the local parts house. Check it with the city water, cold, to see if you have the cold water leak that I suspect! My bet it is a clamp that is bottomed out, and will not tighten any more, and leaking when it is cold!! My 2 cents,, No Charge!!

[WILDEBILL308]

Bob, you won't have a problem using city water to check out your problem as long as you don't leave the city water in for an extended time. I would strongly suggest doing what Brett said before driving. You might find it is something minor that you can fix.
Bill

[werni9]

Thanks again. This IS quite the family helping others. Smooth sailing to all. I'll be back.

[B_s_Bunch]

wolfe10 wrote:
Before driving, PLEASE buy/borrow a cooling system pressure tester. It replaces the radiator cap. With the cooling system topped off, pressurize the system and check for leaks!

x2 easy peasy.

[wolfe10]

Before driving, PLEASE buy/borrow a cooling system pressure tester. It replaces the radiator cap. With the cooling system topped off, pressurize the system and check for leaks!

[JimM68]

I'd use the city water. Regardless of what the shop finds, you'll be looking at a bill for a flush and fill anyway...
It won't hurt nothing for a few days.

[Executive45]

With DISTILLED water less than a $1/gallon why would you consider using city water??? High mineral content and/or chlorine in the city water would not be worth the chance to me.

Not sure where your head was when you talked about a power washer unless you're thinking of using one yourself???? Be sure to clean the aftercooler but simply clean them well using your garden hose. I wouldn't use a PW on a radiator or components....Dennis

[werni9]

Good morning,
I'm the antifreeze/thin oil guy. Thanks again for even more thoughts and ideas for me. The oil analysis came back good (actually excellent considering the alternative bad scenarios.)
Here is what Caterpillar found from my sample:

1.16 % Fuel.........Well acceptable below the 2% limit.
13.9 % Oil Viscosity.......Also very good. No traces of water or
antifreeze. The oil change was possibly the different feel it had to the fingers. They put Rotella 15W X 30W in, instead of the 15W X 40W I had been running.
Anyway.........good news and now hopefully the leak is not the radiator, although still good compared to head gasket "talk."
Hopefully the last question for you all. Tuesday I plan on driving it at 55 to the shop 38 miles away. I am going to fill the radiator with water and watch my engine TEMP gauge, LOW WATER light, any lights that are signaling temp change on the trip. First of all.....???
I'm going to be filling it with city water today that will be filtered though a Whole House large filter to try and find the leak. Letting the city water sit in the bottom of the radiator after the rest leaks out, is that a problem to the metal or anything else. I would feel a lot better knowing what volume of a leak I have. I plan on filling up 1 gal jugs of water and see how many it takes. I'll double check the coolant capacity. I'm not wanting to go 12 miles and the fluid is coming out and I have a hot radiator that I can't put extra gallons of water into. So, will I hurt anything by using City Water to check for leaks and leaving some in there for 3 days and then fill it up and go, if the leak is not too bad.
There is 40,000 miles on the fluid now after the new radiator and hoses were put in. The previous owner kept articulate records. Nothing about Flushing out the radiator in 40,000 miles in a 6 year span of time. It would be well due for a flushing and fresh antifreeze. I am wondering about how strong the power washer was set at. I know you can write your name in a wood house if you wanted. A hose getting hit from 14" away could act like a knife. Will probably spend the extra money on CAT antifreeze that is good for 6 years. Babbling again...........Thanks everybody.

[10forty2]

As someone else posted, if the water/coolant was going into the engine block and mixing with the oil, the oil would look like chocolate milk. Been there...done that...on an older Toyota pickup truck that blew a head gasket. Thankfully that was under warranty when it happened and I didn't have to pay for it.

Not really versed in diesel engines, but does it have freeze plugs or core plugs in the block? That could be the culprit for losing coolant without actually mixing in with the oil. If you can find them, look closely with a flashlight and see if you can notice streaking/staining on the block around and beneath them. But if you're not seeing leaks on the ground, then I've no good guess.

[Matt_Colie]

Start by going to Blackstone.
(I have no interest in this company.) They will send you a sample set as soon as you call them. When you get the results, you will know how much trouble you are in - immediately. Even if the engine isn't "making oil", any glycol in the lube oil it deadly. Loosing coolant into the lube oil that fast without the oil going "milky" is not real likely, but a leak is a pretty straight bet. The trick is finding it.

Matt

[tinkerer]

A while ago I posted on this site about faulty radiator hose clamps on a Freighliner chassis with a C7 Cat. Mine had 8 radiator hose clamps and all of them failed within 3 months. Another thing to to check out.

[mpierce]

1. Do not run until you get oil test results back. If in the engine oil, you risk destroying the engine.
2. Do you have a tranny cooler that connects to the radiator? I had a tranny cooler fail internally, and I wound up filling the tranny with antifreeze until it blew out the tranny vent! On a semi truck.
3. You would be able to see an external leak of the amount you are talking about, so it must be going internally somewhere. Get it fixed, or will cause more damage.

[wolfe10]

No, an overflow reservoir is not part of a normal radiator replacement. But, you can check your invoice to verify.

I agree that Caterpillar ELC is a better coolant (as are most of the new generation OAT-based coolants). It is maintenance free for 6 years vs annual checking and replenishing the SCA in "regular diesel coolant".

Also agree you are looking for a coolant leak from cooling system to ground if no "frothy chocolate mouse color" to the oil. That was way too much fluid loss to not be noticeable if it went into the engine or transmission oil.

[werni9]

Thank you all. I will fill it up with water and look for leaks, follow the hoses and check the overflow tank for cracks while it's idling. I won't drive it until everything checks out. I will check the tranny fluid. When they put in the new radiator and hoses (30,000 miles ago), is an overflow reservoir part of the package on a radiator replacement? Last ??? I am not sold on the idea of using quite expensive CATERPILLAR Antifreeze from our local dealer. $10.00 gallons of 50/50 Heavy Duty Fleet antifreeze that complies with CAT-EC1 requirements. Made by Command and sold at Truck Parts Store. I shouldn't skimp, CAT says theirs is good for 6 years and the other brands are good for 3. Any opinions on this area I will be facing? Hope the oil analysis goes good Friday. I'll let ya all know. OIL CHANGE, RADIATOR GOES DRY, OIL FEELS THIN. I hope this isn't going to be the norm for Class A Motor-homing. My wife and I had a Living Estate Sale and sold 99% of our possessions and then the house. We're Full Timing it and what a pain when it has to be worked on. Have to find another place to live for the time being. It's late...........