Bringing this one back up...
Been running the pile a little bit, but not without some issues...
First off, coolant leakage. I cannot get this thing sealed, just about every joint leaks, upper and lower radiator hoses at the radiator ends, and the heater core hoses, also the bypass that I put in place of the auto trans heat exchanger...everything leaks. I put a new thermostat in a while back, and since then, I've popped the heater core and developed the leaks. Also, the gauge will fluctuate between the bottom 1/3rd and the top 1/3rd of the gauge. I used a OE Cummins thermostat, I was thinking of putting the old one back in. The only reason I replaced it was when I had the head off, I figured it would be a good time to replace it. It even developed a leak mid-tube on the hard line for the heater core that runs from next to the thermostat housing back to the hot water control valve...I have a piece of hose in it's place currently. It doesn't leak horribly, but just enough to drip when the block heater is plugged in, and just enough to keep running into the cab when driving down the road...good thing I have just a rubber mat on the floor
Second, It has been burning more oil lately, as it has a fair blue haze at times. Last night on the way into work, the windshield washer system froze up on me, so for the last two and a half hours of the night I let it sit and idle to get some heat under the hood to thaw out the lines. Well, when I got ready to leave I noticed a 9" diameter oil puddle under the right side of the front of the truck...oil was running out of the V-band joint at the downpipe...and I seen about a silver dollar sized oil stain and small bubbling around the pyrometer thermocouple. Yay. I don't know if the extended idle time was causing some oil to get past the rings, or some of the valve stems aren't sealing so good anymore or what the deal is. It has always used "some" oil, even when I had the truck years ago...but I put a good three quarts worth of oil in it this morning and it has about 1500 miles on it since the last oil change.
Thoughts?