coolant in oil on 1997 7.3 Powerstroke

[mrvmax]

I have a 7.3 truck with around 150k. I bought it from the original owner and have been fixing it up. I added a FS2500 bypass filter and added Amsoil 15w40 HD diesel and marine oil. After 9k miles I sent in a sample to Blackstone and it showed positive for coolant with 33 ppm potassium, 16ppm sodium and 12ppm copper and 14ppm lead. I pulled the oil cooler which is the most likely source and am pulling the water pump to see if any cavitation caused holes in the front plate. I have also been told that injector cups can be leaking too but I will wait on that. Once I get it together I plan on running regular oil for 1k with new bypass and full flow filters then chaning oil and filters and running for a couple thousand then changing one more time and sampling, Is there any kind of flush to remove contaminants? Those ppm levels are so minute that I figured dilution would work. I sampled through the dipstick and wish I would have off the outlet of the bypass filter.
Any advice on what else to do?

 

[heyu]

This guy has alot of useful info .. . http://powerstrokehelp.com/

 

[Boczech]

Originally Posted By: heyu
This guy has alot of useful info .. . http://powerstrokehelp.com/


X 1

Might be worth a call to speak to Bill and get his two cents on the situation.

 

[bioburner]

AS above suggestion to go to powerstroke. Also did the previous owner keep up with the addition of antifreeze additive FW15. There was notice sent

 

[bullwinkle]

For the time being I would shorten the OCI to 4-5K & use a Big 3 HDEO (Mobil Delvac 1300, Rotella T4, Chevron Delo) 15W40 & keep a close eye on coolant levels-if you're losing coolant without an obvious cause, it's going to be a challenge to find where it's going.

 

[mrvmax]

Thanks for all the input

 

[turbowhistle]

used to own a 2002 F350, the 7.3 is a work horse. I agree cavitation is a huge issue with diesels. My 7.3 had the gold coolant that was the new choice when the 7.3's were built in 2002 until final production in mid 2003 when the 7.3 was replaced with the 6.0, that was still made for Ford by International. Although the gold coolant lasted for several miles and years, I changed mine ahead of schedule due to the fear of cavitation. The 7.3 is the best motor that Ford choose for their trucks.

I agree with previous comments, the powerstroke help website is top notch and Bill is a wealth of knowledge.

 

[bbslider001]

I have had 7.3s for the last 15 years of my life. Coolant in the oil is almost always oil cooler O-Rings. DO NOT use any other parts than Motorcraft. The O-ring kit can be bought from RiffRaff Diesel. It comes with the orings and gaskets for the cooler head for less than $70. Cavitation or bad cups in these engines is pretty rare unless the motor was just maintained in a very poor manner. Try Ford Truck Enthusiast forum. It's the best site out there with some really knowledgeable guys.

 

[turbowhistle]

Originally Posted By: bbslider001
I have had 7.3s for the last 15 years of my life. Coolant in the oil is almost always oil cooler O-Rings. DO NOT use any other parts than Motorcraft. The O-ring kit can be bought from RiffRaff Diesel. It comes with the orings and gaskets for the cooler head for less than $70. Cavitation or bad cups in these engines is pretty rare unless the motor was just maintained in a very poor manner. Try Ford Truck Enthusiast forum. It's the best site out there with some really knowledgeable guys.


100% Correct on oil cooler ring and RiffRaff for Motor Craft Parts.

 

[mrvmax]

Just replaced the oil cooler and installed new o-rings and gaskets. I also pulled the water pump just to inspect the front plate of the engine (it was fine) and installed a new water pump. I changed out the full flow filter, FS2500 bypass filter, sucked the oil out of the h-pop reservoir and filled it up with regular 15w40 oil. I will run this for 1k and then change everything out again and run that for 5k or so then send another sample to Blackstone and see how it looks. Thanks for the help.

 

[CT8]

I would agree with then DELO Rotella or the Mobil Delvac 1300. Freezing weather starts? 5W-40.