Had a moment last Tuesday troubleshooting a Cat C15 and found a cracked cylinder liner I missed the first time

I was chasing a coolant loss for hours and finally pulled the head again on a hunch. Has anyone else had a liner crack that only showed up under a certain pressure?

2 comments

2 Comments

taraw168d ago

Did you try using a pressure tester on it while it was still warm? Because that's ALWAYS when the sneaky cracks decide to show their ugly face. I swear these liners are like that one friend who only acts up when nobody is looking. You check everything twice, cross your T's and dot your I's, then BAM there's a hairline fracture hiding like it's a secret agent. Next time just drain the coolant, pressure it up to operating temp, and watch for that slow weep - it'll save you from pulling the head AGAIN like a dummy.

caseys308d ago

Honestly that's the most frustrating thing about these engines. I had a 4.8 that I swore was fine cold, then as soon as it hit operating temp it started seeping from a crack I couldn't even see with a flashlight. You gotta let it warm up fully and then get your eyes right up on it with a good light. That slow weep is pure evil, it'll trick you into thinking the head gasket was your problem when really it was a liner all along. Saved myself a second teardown after I learned that lesson the hard way.