I have a 1995 d5h with the 3304 engine. I can operate 8-10 hrs and lose 1.5-2 gallon of antifreeze. I have it in my shop right now with all side-shields and belly-pans off. I've let it run and get warm and can't visually see any leaks anywhere. I guess it could be "burning" it. Is there any kind of stuff to poor in radiator like you can on a vehicle such as "bars leaks" in case there is a small leak. And if it is "burning" it, how can I tell? I've put my hand over the exhaust and it doesn't smell of antifreeze.
If it is in fact being cooked off you may not smell it in the exhaust. One small step to take before you roast a piston, drop the exhaust manifold, if there is a cylinder eating coolant there should be little carbon in the exhaust port, the steam will be basically blasting that away. We used to look for oil eaters same way, drop the manifold to see which port was greasy. As a few have posted on here look around the pre-chambers, coolant on the head could be evaporating before you see it, look for green staining, buildup.
It could be pressurizing the radiator and pushing it out the overflow tube, or it could be burning it, or it could be transferring to another compartment (is it 'making' oil anywhere?). I have seen blown head gaskets, cracked heads or blocks, cracks or pinholes in liners or low liners, faulty coolers(radiator, oil coolers: engine, transmission, and hydraulic) all cause problems like this. You just have to narrow it down. You can have oil samples done to check for presence of antifreeze. You should, but not always, see some white smoke if its burning it. How many hours on the engine? Have you kept the supplemental coolants additives current to prevent liner electrolysis and cavitation?
Top off the radiator and check for bubbles.
It has around 6800 hrs on it. I've had oil samples tested and all is good. I haven't added any coolant additives. The dozer had around 5000 hrs when I bought it 7-8 years ago. It's always white smoked just a little when first started "when it's been sitting for a few days" and then clears up after just a couple minutes.
Take the cover off the timing gears right behind the water pump. look for coolant laying under the gear. Later Bob.
try napa leak test kit BK.700.1006 WILL help narrow it downthen start looking for the leakage
Bought my D5 a few years ago and was loosing coolant, turned out to be liners moving up and down had to redeck block and cured problem but rad was pressuring up a bit.
i have the same cat and had the same problem that you are having it has 6500 hours on it, took the head off and found a crack between number 3 and 4 cylinder and it was pressuring the cooling system , put in new gasket fixed the problem.. While you have the head off check the valves and guides,, i had mine rebuilt because it was getting tired. good luck
Is it possible to have the antifreeze tested for combustion gases? I am not to sure about this.
I work on autos for a living and they do have combustion leak testers. They work very good when needed. See http://www.tooltopia.com/uview-5600...m_term=UVU560000&utm_campaign=pricegrabber_r1 for an example. Good luck to you.
Dirthauler, sometimes combustion leaking into the cooling system will show up as a cooling system building pressure right away, not as a result of increasing temperature. In severe cases you can pull the radiator cap and watch old faithful erupt from your radiator. Sometimes I wrap my hand around the radiator hose while someone else cranks the engine and puts a load on the engine. Pressure will develop and can be felt on the hose. In the above post I mention a link for a chemical way to detect exhaust gas in the radiator. Got to thinking about it and it may not work on diesel, have never tried it. Maybe someone else has tried it and does know. Diesels run so lean they may produce almost no carbon monoxide. I can't remember for sure, but I think the CO is what turn the blue fluid yellow. Another way to detect slow leaks is the use of flurescent dyes. It will leave a stain trail that can be seen with a black light. I have used it in oil be not coolant.