Well it has happened- Wed my truck goes in for a cab off repair – 2008 F250 with 63,000 miles on it and the rear seal is leaking - under warranty until Sept.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Glad it is under warranty – but I do have reservations about this whole process. <o></o>
Took the truck in with photos and 5 oil analysis reports to talk to the service writer about my concerns, which included loosing coolant, the oil leak (rear seal) and aluminum and iron showing up in the oil reports. Oil reports have little persuasive powers with service writers or technicians. Blackstone has suggested in the last three reports that they suspect there is a problem with the EGR valve. Diesel tech stated that the EGR Valve tested with Ford’s parameters of performance. <o></o>
Anybody know how an EGR valve is tested? I do have periodic blue / gray smoke for short periods during acceleration, like many others when the outdoor temp is around 40 degrees and within 10 minutes or so of city driving. Doesn’t last long but is very impressionable to the folks behind me. <o></o>
Tech stated this was a 1 ½ day project – I am dropping it off Wed am but really don’t expect it to be done before end of day Fri.
Optimistic or pessimistic<o></o>

 

So..how much coolant loss? Also they have to pressure test the coolant system. Do you have the old style egr valve?

New style deletes the coolant hose. Might be something to point out.

Tell them how much coolant you are loosing. Take it with the coolant low.

 

Make sure the serivce writer puts the loss of coolant consearn on the paper work, if later on this issue come back to haunt you out of warranty you might have somthing to come back on them, a per existing issue.

Our serivce dept can do a bed plate or a rear main in a one day turn around, i think they have the cab off in less than an hour.

 

I did take it in with the coolant low- it was down about 1 qt over about 13,000 miles, of which about 3,000 was pulling our 5er done (9,000 lb dry) to SW FL and back in Jan. Even with a little work coolant loss is not acceptable.
I did not know there was an old and newer EGR valve - I've had the truck since 27,000 miles and since Oct 2010 - I've had it to Ford dealers a number of times - like all the other early builds (June 2007) I had to pony up for my new radiator - when the crimp failed. Had the CAC cooler replaced for white smoke - but nothing with the EGR Valve.
I'll try a search on thi site to see what info I can find.
- these trucks do pull great, but it seems they demand a lot for the work they do.

 

I had the rear seal leak, when I first purchased the truck at 25k. It took them a only an hour or so to pull the cab. About the same to put it back. They had a special hoist and I watched, looking now, its not big deal for the dealer to do this. Everything was plug and play. After watching, to me its not big deal if they have to do it again. I know there may be cost when the warranty is out, but still, not that much room for error in my observation.

 

I too had a very slow coolant leak; been pressure tested many a time. Oil analysis high on aluminum and something else; with elevated potassium. Last oil change I disconnected the coolant lines from my EGR and put in a bypass piece. I took photos every week of the cold level for about 1700 miles and could not detect any drop (other than temperature related). For mornings with same temperature I don't believe it was dropping anymore. Mine too would drop more if towing, won't be doing that till March.

I traded my truck earlier this week; prior to trade I went ahead and cut the hose and moved it to the EGR cooler; so now it is bypassed just like if it had the later model EGR valve. I wish I had pulled an oil sample just so I would know for sure

Point is my dealer could never find anything with pressure test. I had thought about doing my own pressure testing on my EGR valve's cooling ports while I had the hoses off but was waiting for warmer weather.

No increase in my oil quantity during oil changes; I had not even been getting fuel dilution back on oil analysis the last several changes. My warranty would ran out in Oct w/ 5 years and no extended coverage; if I had kept the truck then at that time the EGR system would have been deleted just to remove the risk of EGR cooler failure destroying the engine.

Bob

 

Was it doing this before you had the cab off and other repiars done?

Reason I ask is because mine is doing almost the exact same thing. I purchased the truck (2008 6.4L) used last month with 54K miles. I have 55.8K now. I have noticed this happening 3 times since I bought it in exactly the same place/situation all 3 times.

Situation:
The truck sits for 24 hours while I am at work. When I leave to go home in the morning I drive for about 10 minutes in stop/start slower city type driving. When I get to the entrance ramp and begin accelerating to get on the freeway, I then begin to notice the blue/grey smoke in the mirror. It lasts for about 5-8 seconds and then quits. There is no performance reduction, and I have scrolled through the "info" display while it is happening with nothing appearing.

Im about to post a thread on this also.....

 

What kind of issues has anyone noticed after a cab off repair?
Rattles, squeaks mis alignment?

 

I had problems fixed on my cab off repair! From time truck was new Left headlight has not always came on & cruse control has not always worked. Turned key off and restart worked for a time. They were both fixed after cab off repair. At this time 15k miles I had no problems.

 

I had a cab off done 15 months ago for the oil leaking into the well on top of engine. To this day, I have had no issues resulting from the cab off. In fact, if I didn't know it was done, I would have never realized it was done.

I had the original thermostat replaced while the engine was off frame as my truck is a very early Job 1 built in January, 2007. It seems the original thermostat may be one of the causes of radiator leaks while the latest ones have addressed this with a design change. I still have the original radiator. It cost me about $50.00 for the thermostat with no labor charge as the engine was apart for the well leak.

 

Not a thing here, in fact I had a rattle on the passenger side before it went in and no rattle when it came out.

 

My '08 had the cab off and the engine replaced before I bought it. The truck was brand new, and the tech told me that he took his time, and I never had any rattles or squeaks.

But my A/C compressor started making lots of noise within a couple thousand miles and was replaced under warranty. I think that when they opened the system some junk got in and munched up the compressor. Haven't heard of this from anyone else so it sounds like a rare thing.

 

Update - Tech was able to replace the rear seal without pulling the cab - Stated that on some of them there is enough room to drop the tans and get to the top bolts to pull the cover to be able to get the job done. I'm guess I'm a little surprised that they set me up for a cab off when it wasn't needed. I suspect it has something to do with what FoMoCo pays for this type of warranty work. I guess this should bother me more than it does - but I've still got a chapped back side for having to pay for my radiator replacement. Out of pocket for replacing the upper radiator hose ended up being $249 must be a dang fine hose.

 

HI, could you explain in a little more detail how you bypassed the EGR, here or see my post today. I'm having the same problem and seeking a solution.