2002 7.3 water/coolant under valve cover

[Superstroke58]

My 2002 7.3 started running off the left bank assuming it was the valve cover harness this is notorious for going bad I pulled the valve cover an there is water an like a foamy substance there I also have loss of coolant in the coolant tank. The harness did come unplugged due to the foamy stuff I believe I just need to know why I have water in there???

 

[gnxtc2]

Oil cooler o-rings/gaskets or the core has rotted.

Billy T.
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[POWER-STRUCK]

Do you have the crankcase vent blocked or rerouted?

Usually there is only 2 places where water can get in the oil
Head gasket failure
cracked block in the main webbing.

If the oil cooler would happen to fail the oil would go into the coolant since the oil pressure is higher than coolant pressure

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[JLDickmon]

If the oil cooler would happen to fail the oil would go into the coolant since the oil pressure is higher than coolant pressure

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except when a hot engine is shut down.. then oil pressure falls to zero and coolant pressure would still be 16psi for a few minutes

 

[co04cobra]

Is it foamy on the dipstick also? I have found this on 1 or 2 blocks that cracked cylinder walls.

 

[golfer]

Is it foamy on the dipstick also? I have found this on 1 or 2 blocks that cracked cylinder walls.

yep.

drain oil from oil pan, leave drain plug out.

pull valve covers, pull all glowplugs...put coolant pressure to the cooling system with shop air...

bar the engine over (move the pistons up & down in cyls) 2-3 revolutions.

then bump the starter to see which cylinder (glow plug hole) ejects coolant.

once you find out which cylinder has the problem...

then put shop air INTO the glow plug hole on that cylinder...bar the engine up/down..and see at what position the coolant starts coming out of the oil pan..

we've seen vertical cracks in a handful of 7.3L blocks over the years..not common..but your symptoms are consistent with a cracked block, unfortunately.

 

[Arisley]

yep.

drain oil from oil pan, leave drain plug out.

pull valve covers, pull all glowplugs...put coolant pressure to the cooling system with shop air...

bar the engine over (move the pistons up & down in cyls) 2-3 revolutions.

then bump the starter to see which cylinder (glow plug hole) ejects coolant.

once you find out which cylinder has the problem...

then put shop air INTO the glow plug hole on that cylinder...bar the engine up/down..and see at what position the coolant starts coming out of the oil pan..

we've seen vertical cracks in a handful of 7.3L blocks over the years..not common..but your symptoms are consistent with a cracked block, unfortunately.

Great advice right there. I would probably stop after the highlighted part though. A cracked block is a cracked block.

On second thought, the next step may narrow down between a block or head gasket.