I just bought a retired shuttle bus 2007 e450 with a 6.0 from South Florida and I'm driving it to New England. Pulled over in Tennessee to catch some zzz's , it fired up,no problem,but the temp gauge took forever to move off of cold, in fact it didn't before I left the rest area. I let it run for like 15 min, I think. I had no pickup and thought it was going to die on me. Are these just really cold blooded or my first thought was maybe it doesn't have a thermostat, spending the first half of its life in Florida.. And do I need to keep it running until I can install one ?? Thanks, I'm not going to shut down until I get a response or have it checked out...

 

It's never good to run an engine on the cold side, especially a diesel. You can try blocking off the grille (or partially) until you get a chance to see it the thermostat was removed. Just keep an eye on the temp.

 

Great idea, I'll do that, thanks!

 

go to autozone and pick up a scan gauge to monitor the engine. You said no power, did you see any unusual smoke? do you know history of the vehicle, what has been done to the engine? Go to the 6.0 section and read up there. Yes there is a Tstat and you may have a bad one, not hard to change. See if ya can find someone in your area with some knowledge on the 6.0 to help. You can also find the scangauge at camp world, or any other typical auto market. Do try the blockoff 1st.

 

Also check your coolant level as you might have Head gasket Issues ( coolant getting into the oil ) via the gaskets Or the dreaded EGR valve / EGR cooler assembly....Is there a foam inside valve covers ?
This a common defect with the 6.0 of your vintage...If you change the oil you will see immediately if that is the case...
http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/ click on the Video that says Bad EGR or Head gasket Issues