Hey everyone! New to the site and still somewhat new to the diesel world! So I have a 1989 7.3 idi and it's been the best damn truck I've ever owned, but starting 2 weeks ago I started blowing white smoke and it wasn't bad in the beginning but progressed to smoke from start up till the time I shut it off..I've also been loosing coolant at a rapid pace and it'll puddle up right under the harmonic balance but also found some sprayed all over the transmission...Is my truck burning coolant? I was told to replace the water pump first.. I've also checked for anti freeze in the oil and vise versa but there's no signs of either of the two being mixed... Thanks for any advice or ideas that can be given!

 

there is a weep hole on the water pump. go to the parts store and look at one for your truck its usaly on the bottom side of the shaft housing, it will leak when the seal is shot. so its time for a new pump

 

Another thing to consider is the 7.3 IDI's known issues with cavitation. Even if it's not your issue, its worth knowing about to keep the coolant additive up.

 

Awesome, appreciate it guys!

 

I had a leak in the HG right at the front top of the passenger side head .... coolant port was leaking out of hean and down block ... will be posting pics of that all soon... not fun to do in a 87 W/ a/c .... head blots and push rods on the last two int & exh i had to pull them half out and tape up then do the same to the head bolts and then use the bolts as handles for lifting head out by hand ..... what a PITA that was .. thankfully the heads arent real heavy ... as compared to 8v92 heads that I have to lift @ work ... thats a bit of weight there ...

 

Is it required to replace fan clutch when replacing water pump?

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Correction * recommended*

 

if its were me .... and i am .. i pulled the fan off a tossed in the metal bin at work and grabbed a flex-a-lite 17" fan w/controller has built in adjustable temp controll and such .. works awesome so far ... used the same thing on my SBC 4x4 .. picked up 2 mpg on freeway ..

 

if it aint broke dont fix it.