Milkshake Oil - Ram Ecodiesel

Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
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Location
Colorado
I changed the oil on Friday and the last half quart that dripped out of the sump was frothy and milkshake looking. I am worried that I have a coolant leak into my sump. I did notice that the overflow coolant tank was about an inch low.... only in the past three weeks.

On Monday, 5 days before the oil change, the Ram Dealership replaced the Exhaust Gas Recirculating unit on a recall. I wonder if this had anything to do with it?

Regardless, I am going to keep a very, very close eye on the coolant level and the sound and feel of the engine.


What ya think??? Any wisdom out there or speculation?

The Truck is a 2014 with 120k miles.

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You could always get a UOA done. They could tell you quite quickly if there are minerals consistent with coolant in the oil.

Are you doing a lot of short-tripping? If so, it could just be an accumulation of condensation.
 
No, every time the truck is started, it is driven at least 20 miles, as I live out of town, and it is usually driven around 50 miles just for errands. But is it my long traveler.... 100's of miles around the western us per day.


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It’s very common for the oil coolers to fail in these 3.0 ED allowing oil contamination which cascades into an engine failure. You should read the ED forums about it.

if I was unfortunate enough to actually own one of these trucks I’d looking at a proactive cooler replacement with a better aftermarket part and/or consistent UOAs to catch it early.
 
No, every time the truck is started, it is driven at least 20 miles, as I live out of town, and it is usually driven around 50 miles just for errands. But is it my long traveler.... 100's of miles around the western us per day.


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I would run a UOA asap. Coolant and oil don't like each other, sludges the engine, and is not nice to the bearings. For $30, I think it's worth it.
 
It’s very common for the oil coolers to fail in these 3.0 ED allowing oil contamination which cascades into an engine failure. You should read the ED forums about it.

if I was unfortunate enough to actually own one of these trucks I’d looking at a proactive cooler replacement with a better aftermarket part and/or consistent UOAs to catch it early.


Except for the Tone Wheel (replaced under warranty), I have owned this truck for nearly 7 years and I have put all 120k miles on her. The truck has been spectacular. I love having a little turbo diesel in a 1/2 ton pickup. I can't stand driving HD pickups that are rough bounce me around all the time. Our last camping trip was 2,700 miles, pulling a 21ft camper with motorcycle in the bed and we got right at 14.5 mpg.

Yep... love it.

I just need to figure out this coolant loss thing... I hope it was the dealer during the EGR replacement.

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The ecodiesel looks good on paper, and I considered getting one because they are cheap. Then I saw the ED forums and the post that had THOUSANDS of pages on owners who had engine failures. Many of which were due to the oil cooler, which is why aftermarket solutions exist. I believe there is a class action lawsuit as well and YouTube videos about it.

The EGR coolers can also leak. I would not continue driving the truck until you determine the cause of the coolant contamination. You can also Pull the oil cooler and look to see if it’s cracked.
 
I believe there is a recall on some of these eco's for a leaking EGR cooler. They lose coolant I think through the intake and cause potential fires.
 
I believe there is a recall on some of these eco's for a leaking EGR cooler. They lose coolant I think through the intake and cause potential fires.

For the past year, dealers have been replacing the whole EGR unit on recall for Ecodiesels 2014-2019.

The ecodiesel looks good on paper, and I considered getting one because they are cheap. Then I saw the ED forums and the post that had THOUSANDS of pages on owners who had engine failures. Many of which were due to the oil cooler, which is why aftermarket solutions exist. I believe there is a class action lawsuit as well and YouTube videos about it.

The EGR coolers can also leak. I would not continue driving the truck until you determine the cause of the coolant contamination. You can also Pull the oil cooler and look to see if it’s cracked.

While this happens, it is less than 10%. (Yeah I know 10% is probably about 10,000 engines and is unacceptable.) I have been a member of both EcoDiesel Forums since 2014 and read it all. So far I have been a part of the 90% of owners that have had outstanding trucks.

Vern is another one.....

VernDiesel said:
My ED has 341,000 transporting TTs & boats. Motor has never been apart.
 
I’ve heard of so many failures with these EcoDiesels it’s unreal. But like everyone else has said get a UOA done and also a compression test. From the surface it does sound like a coolant leak based off the fact you mentioned the coolant level dropped. Good luck.
 
For the past year, dealers have been replacing the whole EGR unit on recall for Ecodiesels 2014-2019.



While this happens, it is less than 10%. (Yeah I know 10% is probably about 10,000 engines and is unacceptable.) I have been a member of both EcoDiesel Forums since 2014 and read it all. So far I have been a part of the 90% of owners that have had outstanding trucks.

Vern is another one.....

VernDiesel said:
My ED has 341,000 transporting TTs & boats. Motor has never been apart.

What are the EcoDiesel forums? I own a 2016 Jeep GC EcoDiesel and have had zero problems. I also chose not to have the AEM modification since everyone that has has been disappointed in the lack of performance and loss in fuel mileage.
 
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