July 18, 2018/Asheville Engine, Inc./

Diesel fuel in coolant bottle

Have ever wondered how a cylinder head cracks to allow diesel fuel to get into the coolant bottle in a 6.0 Ford Powerstroke or VT365 International? Here is a picture and description of where they crack.

Refer to picture

In this cut away of the cylinder head, you can see a thin wall between the injector bore (where arrow is) and the coolant passage to the right of the wall.  Cracks are generally caused by overheating and because this area is thin, it is most susceptible to cracking.  The fuel pressure from the injector rail cast into the head (small hole to the left of the arrow) is far greater than the pressure in the cooling system.  When a crack occurs, diesel fuel easily passes into the coolant.

Kill two birds with one stone

If you have diesel fuel in the coolant, you need to buy new heads.  New cylinder heads will fix the fuel issue. Asheville Engine sells o-ringed cylinder heads which give you reliability without the worry of blown head gaskets. https://ashevilleengine.com/product/oringed-cylinder-heads-for-the-ford-powerstroke-6-0l-diesel-engine/

A Tech Tip from Asheville Engine

Many shops want to replace both cylinder heads but there is no need to fix something that isn’t broken.  You can pressurized each head individually by adapting an air fitting to the front of a cylinder head.  With a pressure gauge in the degas bottle, pressurize he fuel rail with shop air. If that head is cracked, pressure will register.  If the crack is really small, it may take a couple hours for the pressure to show on the gauge.  This is best done if the engine is at operating temp before you put air to the head.  If one head holds air, then go to the other head and do the same.  Doing this might save you a lot of work and money.

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Diesel Fuel in Coolant

Diesel fuel in coolant on a 6.0 Powerstroke is the result of the head cracking just above the injector cup.

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Asheville Engine, Inc.

Asheville Engine is the leading independent Powerstroke engine builder in the world, powering trucks in Guatemala, Switzerland, Australia, Iceland, Denmark and other countries around the world. We are serious about our business and keep enough inventory IN STOCK to build 50 to 100 Powerstroke engines so our lead time is generally only 1 to 3 days.