Please forgive me if I posted in wrong section. Two years ago I purchased a 2003 f250 crew cab w/6.0l not knowing of all it's issues. Now I am regretting that purchase. My first encounter with issues, I was pulling a utility trailer with two atv's and loaded with camping equipment. Going up semi steep grade hill when I started to smell coolant, but no rise on temp gauge. no lose of power initially. Three quarters of the way up everything just shut down, loss of power like the turbo went out. ended up going over the top at 25mph. Still No rise in temperature. Got over top and half way down other side everything's fine. Same sinerio coming back. Got home changed oil and oil filter checked coolant level, was ok (min) on degas bottle. In town truck ran excellent. Then out of no where I started getting turbo surge. After doing some research found out the icp sensor was bad. Replaced ICP, the hard way, through the top with my wife's help as my arms were to big to get behind turbo. Truck ran great after replacement for aproximately six months. Ok getting to issues I have now. It got cold around 12* truck started to smoke intermittently (white smoke with hint of blue) weather warmed up slight mid to upper thirtys. And no smoke. Got cold again and here comes the smoke, way worse than before. Extremely bad on startup and takeoff with it dissipating at cruzing speeds. On top of that it cold starts very rough with virtually no power to speak of until warm ten-fifteen minutes of driving, not idling. Ok ready (I got bad issues I think) removed egr to check and clean. It was damp with some carbon but it was sticky. Looked down into egr cooler same dampness but not wet to speak of, some black from carbon but not bad really, not clean either. I do believe that might have led to my vgt sticking. I did take it out and ran it hard to run turbo through its cycles four to five times. After turbo seems ok with ok spooling and power but only if I drive it like I stole it. If I run around town for even half a day say fourty miles there is a significant loss in turbo (lags really bad) I have changed fuel filters, oil and oil filter. Ran fuel additive (power system kleen & lucus upper cylinder lubricant and injector cleaner) thinking the smoke might b injectors starting to stick. With no luck so I put obd reader with live data monitors on #'s are as follows after warmed up at idle. Engine coolant temp=171* F load % 40.3-45.5 MAP(inhg) 26.6-27.8 rpm 622-648 intake air temp=55*F (it's 34 outside) MAF(lb/min) 3.770-4.340. Reading driving. Coolant temp 171, load % 25.2-31.6 steady speed up to 99.6 getting on it,MAP spiked at 68.5 at 2640rpm Intake Air temp Goes down while driving to around 36*F then back up quickly after coming to idle MAF spiked at 58.2 at 2640rpm. Rough idle intermittently smokes pretty much all the time now. I'm just getting so much I do t know where to start I have read about egr failure releasing coolant into intake causeing smoke but usually white not blueish white. I have also read about blue smoke and the turbo seal. I have had coolant loss issues since the smoke started but also have had poor fuel economy 11-12 mpg normally 17-19 around town. Any help would certainly b appreciated. Sorry getting long winded. To many little issues to write at this point. Truck has 151654 miles on it and nothing done to motor as far as I know or can tell. Thank you for your time

 

First off, welcome to FTE.

I've noticed more FICM problems with the cold weather.
Can you check FICM Main Power? It should be around 48volts.

 

Well,first off welcome to FTE,does seem like you have some issues,first of which is the coolant temp is too low and it sounds like the engine defueled going over the mountain. We need to know the battery health and FICM voltage. To ck for leaking EGR you need to park the truck with the nose down hill as it helps to see the coolant better,speaking of which how long ago was it flushed?

 

X2 on checking the FICM main voltage, should stay above 45 at all times from KOEO, cranking, idle and WOT. Secondly you need to replace your thermostat at 171 it is too cold it needs to be near 190*. If you are not losing coolant the moisture you are seeing in your intake is likely oil from the CCV system. Do you have white residue on the degas bottle? It sounds a lot like stiction on the oil side of the injectors that you are experiencing. It would also be a good idea to have the dynamic fuel pressure tested, it needs to be greater than 45 PSI at WOT.
Some house cleaning items you can do would be to clean the EGR valve with carb cleaner ( just be sure not to get any in the top side of the valve where the electronics reside ) Next would be to check the MAP hose and hose nipple at the intake, the MAP sensor is located on the passenger side just above the evaporator housing and is connected to the passenger side of the intake via a rubber hose, make sure the hose is in good condition and not plugged and the brass nipple at the intake is clear. Also make sure you are only using OEM/racor oil and fuel filters and OEM oil filter cap and OEM air filter.

 

We just changed out thermostat as it was running cold and had them do a coolant flush. We have 178K on the truck and have had it from new. Towing a 12K fifth wheel.
As stated before these engines are very picky on the fuel quality and filter type and change interval. I always use rancor filters not a cheapo filter and change it at 10K along with the oil change every 5K.
I have found the shell diesel or marathon diesel to be the best quality in this area. Tried truck stop fuel once and it plugged the fuel filter in 3 tank fills. So never went back.
Good luck and this group of folks will help you thru your problems.

 

Thank you for your replies. Ok I will replace the thermostat. 171 to low? Do I get a 190 thermostat? Sorry for being ignorant about all this. Why does the coolant temp need to be higher? I will check FICM voltage tonight (the list keeps getting longer lol) no I have not seen any white residue around degas bottle. Was thinking of changing pressure cap just to be on safe side. Engine defueling going up hill? What would be the cause of that? I think I read somewhere when smelling coolant on hard pulls it's pushing coolant out the degas bottle possibly due to failed head gasket and over pressurizing the coolant system. Is this true? Sorry for all the ignorant questions. I am just very concerned I'm going to lose my powerstroke. Like I stated nothing as far as I can tell has ever been done to this vehicle. Unfortunately for myself I get to pick up the pieces. Again thank you for you time sincerely

 

Yes 170 is way too low for diesels. They require heat to fire the fuel as there is no spark plugs to do the work. With the higher temp you'll find it will run better. This past week here in Michigan it has been from -10 to +15 for the daytime temp. I found our truck running near the C and wasn't putting out the normal heat. It was due for coolant flush so had the dealership do the flush and thermostat . Now we have great heat and runs great.Use only either one from ford or from IH. Others might give a problem. There are threads about this problem of off brand giving fits. All filters use only either ford or IH for proper filtration and volume.

 

That is good news if you have no evidence of coolant residue on the degas as you are correct that usually points to bad head gaskets. The PCM will defuel due to high EOT somewhere near 250 and will also if it has an over boost. You really do need some gauges that read live data like the scan gauge II or one of the smartphone apps like dashboss for IOS devices or torque pro for android as they are absolutely necessary for diagnosing these trucks and can help you spot problems before they leave you stranded.

 

Welcome to FTE!!! I would like to add that the HUEI fuel system we have does not take very kindly to Lucas fuel AND Lucas oil additive. Any additive put into the fuel needs to be liquid,, about the same viscosity as the fuel. I use the clear bottle Howes,, the liquid itself is gold. Or the white bottle power service works great too. Just double up on the treatment when the temps are as cold as we have been seeing.

 

Update!
Last night I checked and cleaned the MAP sensor, EBP sensor, MAF sensor, & EGR valve. Did not notice any coolant in the intake through EGR port as discribed. Took off intake pipe post EGR, it was full of oil (yes oil not coolant mixed with soot & carbon) cleaned out almost half a quart out of intake as far as I could without getting to far into the truck as I had to use the truck today for a trip 400 miles round trip. Did notice coolant puddle (small) under turbo and evidence of a leak from either tube on top of turbo or vgt actuator. Did not get around to checking FICM voltage, figured I would try to do that tonight. Started her up this morning, and she was a smokin bad, but it slowly went away. About twenty minutes into my trip on the interstate she let out a ton of blueish white smoke for about 2-3 sec. Then as quickly as it came it went away. Nothing else for the rest of the day. No smoke, no rough idle, no hard to start. Nothing. Ran like a champ with tons of turbo with no lag to speak of. (Honestly I don't think this truck has ever ran so good since I purchased it) it always had some turbo lag) I did notice after the smoke screen that the temp did rise and stay steady @187*F MAP & MAF readings also were more stable than there erratic behavior before. Still planning on checking FICM voltage and changing thermostat. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all FTE members who have viewed and/or responded to this post. I know there is still a problem lerking somewhere. I'm baffled at this point :-)

 

Did you do a oil cooler job within the past year? I remember right before my dorman oil cooler blowout I would have blue/white smoke intermittently. I think it was chunks of the rubber seals working its way through the injectors.

 

I have not done any repairs to this vehicle with the exception of replacing ICP sensor and pig tail connection to sensor. I do have plans in the very near future to do the oil cooler and EGR delete. Along with rebuilding the turbo, head gaskets w/head stud kit. Flushing coolant system integrating coolant filter, and ccv reroute. Most likely I will also do FICM repair if needed. I am however trying to avoid doing injectors unless suggested otherwise

 

Sounds as if you cleaned your egr valve and intake as good as you could of, then maybe your egr valve was sticking. If the intake has alot of oil residue then it is possible that the oil was mixing with condensation inside your intake and causing blueish colored smoke. And that is nothing to worry about if thats the case.