Deal says nothing is wrong i do not believe them. Please provide suggetions or advise if this is normal first time diesel owner

 

I too had this happen. It occured while I was pulling a trailer with a 5k load. It only happened when I was going up hill. I think (key word....think) it was because I had the speed control set at 85 and the fact of going up hill, it overloaded the turbo. My brother told me when I bought mine to never let the turbo gauge go past the halfway mark when towing. I was at 3/4s or higher when this happened to me. Otherwise, I have never had it happen. I am no expert on this so dont quote me.

 

There are some guys on here who can probably give you a good idea but you need to supply a little more info. When does it happen, what it the temp and weather, are you accelerating or cruising, or does it do it all the time? Answer the stuff like that and someone will be able to help. One thing for sure, it should not be doing any smoking.

 

They may have been good advice on days of old but not with modern computer controlled engines/turbos. Don't worry about the PSI the turbo is pushing on this motor in stock form.

Just don't shut it down when working hard till the EGT's come down and the turbo has slowed.

 

Senix, all I did was turn off the cruise control and start to slow down a bit and then gradually increase (very slowly) my speed again. By doing this it caused my turbo PSI to drop. It solved my smoke problem and also the decrease in power. It seemed very strange to me that my truck did this when I was pulling a measly 6x12 Uhaul trailer loaded down. I read in another forum that people had some shutter issues while towing huge 5th wheel RVs. If I am having these issues with a tiny uhaul, how will I tow an RV in the future? How do I correct it now?

Dumb question: what are EGTs? Sorry, I am so new to diesel engines.

 

EGT's are Exhaust gas temp. Important in diesels so you don't melt something.

In stock form the PCM will monitor and defuel if needed to keep you from hurting it.

Some of us, especially Stanley tow and tow heavy. So you have something else going on. Sounds like you might just have some moisture built up in your Charge air cooler (CAC). Making the motor work harder causing more air flow and allow it pick up the moisture. Having an occasional WOT is not a bad thing.

Those that tow heavy all the time have fewer problems because of the demand for air.

 

Does the moisture come from water in the fuel or is it introduced through the air intake/turbo? Again, new to deisels and not mechanically inclined. Do I need to do some preventative maintenance on the CAC prior to long hard trips? like maybe inspect the CAC for moisture already present or something else? Or is this something that I cant prevent regardless of what I do. I read somewhere here that the CAC needs changed out every so often? Where do I find the interval and procedures to do this?

 

also how do I monitor the EGTs? My message center never posted anything nor do I have a gauge in the dash? I assume an aftermarket gauge needs installed. Once done, how do I monitor it? Is there a "red line temp" that I should never cross? Obviously how hard you use the truck determines the EGT. Most of my driving now is to and from work. So I really doubt my EGTs are that high that I need to monitor them. However, my wife and I do plan on getting a 5th wheel RV in the future.

 

Moisture build up is due to the moisture in the air. Either raining or high humidy are usually the causes. There is not alot you can do except give it the occasional hard run to help with the build up.

If you are still with in your 36/36 warranty and it is a real problem then you could take it in and have the dealer look at it. Some have had it replaced.

There is no guage to monitor EGT's, and one is not needed either.

 

My 2010 will blow a lot of white smoke while accelerating during the first few minutes of a regen, when it is cold outside. The 6.4 manual says this is normal.

 

Hull I don't see what year yur truck is. If it's an 09 or 10 it should have the new and improved CAC (charge air cooler). If it's an 08 it probably has the one that you can get replaced. I'm not gonna tell the whole story here but search white smoke, or cac on this site and it should come up. I had mine replaced as did a lot of others. I think it's safe to say that even the new one still has a bit of the problem. Water accumlates in the botton of the CAC during a routine run on humid or rainy conditions. It sits there until the motor is put under a heavy load, hard acceleration, down shift to top a mountain, that sort of event. The water is then sucked from the CAC into the turbo and to the cylinders which cause misfires which cause 1, white smoke ,2 a shudder. The whole thing is over quickly and since the water is now gone from the CAC you can not get it to repeat. There are a couple after market CACs available, Banks is one. However, I read either on here or another ford site that the Banks doesn't totally solve the problem, besides it's $1300 or so. For that price I'm willing to live with it. I just stay aware of conditions and look for a place to kick it in the *** when it doesn't matter if it shudders and do so once in a while. That has made the problem a non-factor and I still have my $1300. As far as towing your uhaul don't worry. My 5er is 17,000 lbs or so and I pulled all over the rockies last summer and passed everything except a couple of those 400 HP diesel pushers. never had so much as a hic cup. this is a great towing truck. It's just not a good grocery getter. Hope this helps

 

Now I am dumbfounded. The trip I was on when this happened last was from central Texas to El Paso. I was almost in El Paso when it occurred. There was no rain and West Texas is very dry with no humidity. Is it possible that rain/humidity had gotten into the system some time before and the engine didnt run hard enough to blow it out until it did?

I just read the 6.4L Bible that Senix had posted on another thread. Tell me if I understand the mechanics of this properly. In order to get maximum air flow/oxygen/combustion and air cooling, I need to install a better CAC (intercooler) AND a ram air system. But if I do this shouldn't I delete the DPF to get the maximum effect for performance? I don't want to delete it as I am still under warranty. If I dont delete it, would it be a waste of time and money as I wouldn't see much change? Would this do more harm than good? And I would still have a chance to get water in the CAC which causes the smoke/shudder.

 

hull, your problem may have been caused by something else. I see now your truck is a 2010 so you should have the updated CAC. I just went back and read your first post again, you say you lost power, did you also experience a shudder. If so it sure sounds like the CAC problem. Heres how you tell. Drive a good while without running it wide open. Then remove the bottom hose on the CAC and see if there is water pooled in it. The CAC is the very front radiator. if there is water in it then you know, if not you should probably look elsewhere. I think if you go to the dealer the TSB on the CAC will not apply to your truck.

As I understand our warranty position with Ford, if we make any modifications we risk having the warranty voided. The book implies there has to be some relationship between the mod and the problem but that's in the eye of the beholder. Would an after market CAC be considered to have caused a turbo failure? I sure don't know but it doesn't sound unreasonable. I think for sure the "delete and tune" would pretty much void everything engine related. I for one am OK with the stock performance of my truck and am unwilling to give up the engine warranty I have left. And I've reached a point in life that if I had to eat a $12,000 repair I could. I think with a new truck you are wise to not take the risk. There are some very expensive repairs that can happen to these engines.

 

Yea It happened maybe a total of 3-4 times. Each time I was hauling my uhaul. I was moving from VA to El Paso. If I remember correctly it was raining and definitely humid on the east coast part of the trip. But the last time it happened I was near El Paso. I had the cruise control set since I was on a long trip and when it occurred, white smoke billowed out of the exhaust and the truck shuddered and lost the power to maintain its set speed. Needless to say it scared the bejesus out of me and I thought I destroyed my truck. To remedy the problem I turned off the cruise control, and very slowly accelerated not allowing the boost gauge to exceed the halfway mark (dont remember what PSI this is, 20 I think). I just assumed it was from my driving habits as this is my first diesel. I just assumed that I needed to remember that its not a sports car but rather a power house that needed to be driven properly. It was just disheartening to me when it happened that my beast was having issues pulling a tiny uhaul. I thought I would be able to tow my house up Mt Everest if needed with no issues. But the water in the system makes sense now. Guess I will have to check the CAC every now and possibly drain any accumulation. I will take her for a spin this weekend and check it out like you said. Will let you know what I find.

 

I think the water buildup is the case here. A WOT once in a while is a good thing.