Have a hard decision to make and would appreciate your input/thoughts!

1.) Purchased my ride last spring for $2,900 knowing that it probably had head gasket issues (and it did, but the price was right and 5,000 to have new gasket and arp studs and egr delete done seemed reasonable.. and I did)

2.) Truck has 270,000 km (171,000 miles) on it.
3.) Oasis report I have said head gaskets replaced by Ford at 65,000 km
4.) Other than about 400km per month; about 100km to city and back just to exercise it; and some other use... the purpose of this Truck is to pull our 5ver.
5.) After first towing trip (15,000 plus km in total) It overheated and puked on the drive from Paige, AZ to Grand Canyon Village doing about 90-100 km/hr. at 103F. Even though it puked max ECT temp was 235F
6.) In balance of trip (about 8,000 km) it got warm on grades but did not puke again (max temp about 225 on a long grade doing 80-90km hr (50-55mph)
7.) No tunes in truck, always used tow haul when hitched to trailer and trailer max weight is a tad over 10,000 lb.

Returned truck to shop that did work... They will honour the warranty but here is the catch!
1.) Truck will be disassembled and heads sent out again for pressure testing( this was done last year too and they passed.)
2.) If heads pass test then:
Shop will redo job 100% under warranty
3.) If heads are cracked... New heads required at about 1.6k each (from ford) and pay for reassembly (less the studs and other work that is already done. Total new cost is about 8,200.

That means I would have spent a total of 15,000 in a year for this truck; and it still has 270,000 K on it!!!

Is it worth it? I don't know... love how the truck runs, doesn't overheat when not towing; but towing is what I bought it for...Would I be throwing good money after bad or should I sell the truck as is and my fiver and buy a tent?

By the way... I am still pondering my options myself and will probably make decision next week.

 

Well ask yourself this.....can you afford to sell it in the shape it is in and take a loss on it?

Have you had a compression test or leak down test done on the engine yet? That would be my first step before pulling the heads. Have you put a pressure gauge on the degas bottle to verify you are building pressure over 16 PSI?

I went into my EX knowing that I might get a 6-10k bill sometime in the future for engine issues.

So the big question is do you still like the Truck? Would you miss it if it is not yours?

Will your S.0. be upset with the repair bill?

 

Ok so what exactly is the truck doing or not doing?

 

Not sure of all the tests done, but thanks Restless; will ask about what tests were done when I pick it up Friday... they had it 2 days and diesels are all they basically do! Yes, we both love the truck, the power and everything else about it.

 

That is a tough decision.
Did it puke a lot of coolant? Was it serviced below the add line on the degas bottle? 235° ECT is getting up there a little but not an "emergency" number, especially considering the conditions you described. 225° towing is pretty common even in much lower ambient temps while towing. I know the warranty issue is on your mind but with the ARP's and (I hope) Ford headgaskets and being slightly over serviced could result in some puking without a head/gasket leak. Giving the bucks that are on the table and the work that has already been done I'd tow again as soon as possible and see if it does it again. A little better (and easy to do) test would be to buy a vacume/pressure gauge, a section of hose and a plastic T fitting and a few small hose clamps. Hook the T into the small line on the degas bottle and temporarily hook the gauge under the windshield wiper and take it for a tow on a hot day. The cap vents at 16psi and you shouldn't see over 8-10psi pulling hard and hot. There is a small possibility there is no issue and I'd want to see that number before tear down.

 

Problem only shows itself (to date) when towing; and when pulling long grades >3% (my guess) Short grades and hills have not been a problem. On straight and almost level ground temps run about ECT of 194 EOT 198-200 and boost is around 8-12. In stop and go traffic; not pulling temps are about 198-200ECT and 205EOT; temps drop right away to 190-192 ECT when speed above 60-70 km/h (35-44 mph). Truck has never exceed 235F when one time puking occured and I have never seen boost over 22-23 even on grades I have been on. After the puking incident I did notice coolant slowly disappearing in that after each days drive (about 300-400 miles sometimes) i would check coolant levels and have to top up after each 2 days or so. Fan speed has always increased as it is supposed to; and when it started howling at 2200 or so as the temperatures rose the temperature would drop in a hurry to normal. I managed the coolant temperatures after the first incident by forcing a downshift by depressing the accelerator and as a result the fan kicked in and temperatures quickly recovered. Hope this answers your questions Cheezit ...Just a note I have always used the scanguage and constantly monitor ect, eot, boost and fan speed when towing. FICM voltage is always 48.5 like clockwork and batteries are new (less year old, same brand, same mfr date and are reading 13.8 while driving as a rule..

 

Rusty, thanks for the input, will try the towing again and see about a pressure guage to see for myself. As for hot days; It is September in Alberta and 68-70F is a good daytime temp. The puking was about 2 litres and after it puked I did replace the reservoir cap with a new Ford one that I picked up while on the road. Not sure what you meant by overserviced??? By the way the head gaskets are Ford! The key to me is that after the incident I did notice coolant disappearing in normal driving... and replenished when low...

 

On the over servicing- I'm not sure exactly when but the original coolant level was revised lower. There was a sticker as part of the TSB that put the recommended level very near the add mark (just a little below if I remember right). If your keeping the level at or above the add mark on an original degas bottle it's too high and Could be related to the puking.

If it's using coolant your right, bad sign.. Is it possible there is a small leak somewhere that hasn't caught your eye yet?

 

If the heads were checked for cracks when the were done previously, why wouldn't the shop cover cracked heads now? I would have a difficult time paying for the same work twice when there is a standing warranty on the previous work. Why would it crack a head for no reason if the work was done correctly the first time.

Are you sure the degass bottle was not overfilled and that's why it puked? Even if it was, 235 sounds a bit high because when that fan clutch locks up, it sounds like a prop airplane and the coolant temp should come down FAST. I know when mine hits 219, the fan locks up and it never gets above 221 before it gets back down around 210 and the fan clutch unlocks.

What was your oil temp when the coolant temp hit 235?

I'm not sure there's anything wrong with your heads. Is there something I'm missing that leads to you think heads? Coolant pressure shouldn't build over 15 psi without a blown egr cooler, head gasket or cracked head. As stated above, check that pressure first. Could be just a weak degass cap.

 

What year is your truck? the water pumps have a plastic impeller. Maybe a broken impeller move less coolant than required. I would opt for an inspection if the pressure test passes.

 

If the heads were good before they should be good now. 235 isn't that hot. In leaning toward your degas bottle being to full. You want it a little below the min. line

 

Rusty, Ford sticker for new coolant level in place. Have not over filled, level usually filled to about .25 in below. There is a possibility I suppose of a small leak, but no coolant detected on ground pooling anywhere. Only leak found was when de-gas bottle puked was at Sinister "TEE" from de-gas to radiator. Tightenend this up long ago and do not think it is a contributing factor.
.

 

Bryan, you and my wife both agree about the fact that if the heads passed the test before the last work, why wouln't they replace them...however the fact is they passed the pressure test so barring any mixups at the 3rd party shop in returning same heads or damage caused to heads during reinstallation (impossible to prove either) then the heads could very well have just cracked on their own...

Pretty sure fan working fine because temp spiked quickly and when fan kicked in temperature did drop quickly to 208 or so. Temp rose from 225 to 235 very quickly, passing EOT of 230 (max I observed)

I was told by shop that they think it is may be a cracked head because they don't believe it would be headgaskets as they installed ARP studs during job and their experience was that they have never had a problem before that head gasket failure occured with studs installed. Regarding the weak de-gas cap I hope not because after puking I replaced it; and then later after noticing coolant levels deteriorating and replenishing them I changed the cap again... (always OEM stuff)

 

The next step is running a pressure check. Get the gage and houses to run the line into the can or rest out in the windshield so you can see it. See what pressure you are building in the coolant system. If you don't have s failed hg, cracked head, or cracked egr cooler, the pressure should not get over about 12 psi. Push it hard during this test. If it checks out, borrow a pressure tester from an auto parts store and pressurise the coolant system and look for leaks.

 

nm - I see that you used Ford head gaskets in post #7.

Do you know if the heads were machined?