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Just watched a 6.4 Powerstroke's oil cooler go from clean to completely clogged in under 10,000 miles.
This was on a customer's truck that does a lot of short trips and idling. Pulled the cooler at 5k for a different issue and it was fine. Came back for a rough idle and coolant mixing, pulled it again and the passages were almost solid with sludge. The only change was the owner switched to a super cheap 'universal' coolant and stopped using the coolant test strips. The before-and-after difference in that short time was shocking. Has anyone else seen a specific additive or maintenance skip cause a failure this fast?
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the_cora1mo ago
Man, "dropping out of solution" is putting it nicely. It's like that cheap coolant just gave up on life and decided to become a mud pie in the cooler. @claire992 is totally right. I made a similar mistake years ago with a beater car, trying to save ten bucks. The heater core turned into a chocolate pudding factory by spring. It's a brutal lesson that the right fluid isn't just a suggestion. What other shortcuts have you guys seen backfire this badly?
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claire9921mo ago
Yeah, that "universal" coolant switch is the smoking gun. Cheap stuff can drop out of solution and turn into sludge crazy fast.
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