Hi everyone;
I have an 1989 7.3 IDI in an ambulance (E-350) with 72,000 miles that I bought 4 years ago. My dilemma began recently when I heard a muffled "popping" sound and found that it was coming from the air intake on the air cleaner. After a few minutes at idle, the noise went away. I drove the ambulance all day and when I shut it down, I heard a gurgling sound and soon found the coolant reservoir empty and the radiator low, so I added about 1 gallon of antifreeze and water @ 50/50.
Drove it the other day and heard the air cleaner popping sound for a short time, but otherwise, it ran fine until late in the day when the temp gauge kept going up until it was just about pegged and the "engine temp" light came on. This happened a couple of times until I finally made it home. After letting it cool down, I checked the water level and , again, it was low. I pulled the dipstick and it is showing about a gallon over full. I unscrewed the oil filler neck cap and it shows evidence of moisture (whiteish beads). I drained the radiator and there was some oil beads in the water. I filled the radiator and reservoir with water, started it and ran it for about an hour with the radiator cap off. Water was moving but not flowing like I would have expected and there is definitely oil present in the coolant.
This is my first diesel so I'm learning as I go. Is there a way to determine whether I have head gasket issues or I need to put new seals on the oil cooler?
Thanks