Hey everyone,

I've read alot of your forums over the years, but this is my first post.

I purchased an '06 F250 XLT with the 6.0L almost exactly a year ago with ~24,000 miles - my first diesel. It now has ~39,000 miles. I am the second owner. About a month after I bought it the turbo shaft went. Luckily I was still within the warranty period and Ford fixed it for me. I'm now out of warranty, although I did purchase an 'after-market' warranty from the dealer.

So now with the syptoms:

When running, (not specific to just started or having been run, although it does seem to happen more when it is chilly out), I am blowing a white smoke. It seems pretty dense, staying closer to the ground and not floating off quickly. On my last oil change I noticed that I was starting to burn coolant (slightly low). I made a mental note to watch it, and low and behold I am burning a good amount of it.

I have read that this is likely a cracked cooler, perhaps oil cooler, egr cooler, etc. But again, this is my first diesel and I'm not sure what to look for.

Any advise would be awesome. Should I do this myself, take it to the dealer, get the warranty activated..... anything really!

Thanks guys!

 

yes run it into the Dealer may as well use that warrenty

You need Both oil cooler and egr cooler replaced

The best thing you could do here is flush cooling system b4 it goes in

 

This question is a obvious one : Blade what would be the cause of that @ 39000 miles???

 

theres 2 ways an EGR Cooler can Fail

1. being a Manufacture Defect not to common this one

2. Plugged oil cooler and most common

The Oil & EGR Coolers are plumbed in a series coolant flows to oil cooler 1st and then onto the EGR Cooler. When the oil cooler plugs (COOLANT HALF) then no coolant/NOT Enough coolant will flow into the EGR Cooler Basicaly then the EGR Cooler overheats and the Soilder/welds break down and it springs a leak and there is no longer 2 sides to egr cooler the Coolant side and the exhaust side combine and coolant can now free flow into the Intake manafold VIA the exhaust gases route producing white smoke and even Hydrolock

This is why everyone is doing coolant flushing aND installing coolant filters

Mine (OIL COOLER)was full of casting sand others have had yellow Goo that is suspected to be the Ford Gold Coolant I beleive the casting sand is more cmmon

 

this is also why its very very very important to monitor ECT vs EOT temp spread and dont let the 2 temps get more than the 15-20* apart

Ford says 15* I beleive they built alittle CYA in it or ( Cover Your A$$ )

Most trucks do survive Hydrolock in short term But in long term dont be surprised if you blow a Connecting Rod threw the side of the Block

Hydrolock is a Tremendous amount of force that Stops the engine Imediatly all that force has to go somewhere so parts tweek most of the effects dont show untill down the road after some miles when its forgot about the parts that are tweeked wear wrong and Fail Early

So if its Leaking now DONT PUSH IT Fix ASAP

 

Sounds to me like you have blown your Exhaust gas cooler. First off these things should be removed at the earliest possible opportunity.

Primer, if you with a 6.0 are not running a 125 dollar coolant filter your headed for trouble. As stated the part is 125 bucks, the install time by a half arsed home mechanic is less than 1/2 hour. The effect of not having one is a tumble down and the tumble costs more and more and more. First the 6.0 blocks are chock full of casting sand. As this sand circulates around your engine it encounters very very tiny passages in your exhaust gas cooler. It plugs them up and they cannot cool. They then rupture and coolant enters directly into your exhaust and the result is white smoke and loss of coolant. Zackly as you describe.
The cost to replace a blown cooler is in the zone of 4000. After the EG cooler your antifreeze/coolant flows next through a heat exchanger inside your oil cooler. There the cooled coolant passes again through very tiny passages as oil is pumped the opposite way. The "exchange" is supposed to cool your oil. An oil cooler plugged with casting sand CANNOT efficiently cool your oil. You are now lubricating your high strung 6.0 with HOT oil.
Do not replace your blown EGCooler without replacing your oil cooler. You'll just be back for another 6000 in about 6 months.
When its being done completely flush drain and replace your coolant with Ford Gold coolant. And do not move the truck without installing a coolant filter.
I fully believe the 6.0 is a good engine with some weak spots. I was lucky and drove 80,000 miles without blowing up. Then thanks to guys like Blade I learned about the deadly sins of the 6.0. Spent 2000 on "prevention" instead of 10,000 on repairs.

 

Your so darn dedicated. Glad your here. I thought the EGR was first in line then oil cooler. Thanks for the correction. Ok My question ECT is what? And EOT is I'm guessing Exhaust Output Temp????? Agree 1000% on the coolant filter.

 

In rereading your posts above I see you said "you need both your oil cooler and EGR cooler replaced". I'm not arguing but why do you suggest replacing rather than removing the EGR. If it is only a matter keeping within the laws of omission controls I can understand replacing with stock. But I'm so darn happy I lost that piece of junk and gained 3 miles per gallon as a bonus. I'm up in Canada and so far they have left us alone on smog issues. They just wont let us carry handguns, and I like that tooooooo.

 

Is there a practical way to completely flush out the antifreeze and replace.
I have been draining my radiator and refilling it with the ford gold stuff around 15k intervals. But I am not getting it all by a long shot.

On MKMs website theres a Sinister coolant filter kit using a wix filter a for the 6.0 .
I am going to order it as long as you approve $148.00 comes w/hoses and all the stuff.

 

Blade you are a Rooster,lol I hope the owners of this forum at least have givin you a hat/loli-pop or atta boy for dealing with all us dumbas_es with blank looks on our faces.

 

When my 6.0 went in for EGR delete and oil cooler change, I also paid to have the engine flushed and coolant changed. First step is 2 liters of FORD brand engine flush (about $50) and let it idle for an hour. Then drain all coolant. Next came the engine parts for the rest of the 2 days. While I was at it I had the 2 serpentine belts replaced (mine has 2 alternators) and one idler pulley sounded suspicious. After all the work it was filled with Ford Gold coolant. I installed the Sinister Coolant filter myself and honestly it took less than 20 minutes.

I fully believe if these coolant filters had been installed by FORD and the 120 bucks added to the dealer price Ford and International would have saved about 3 billion dollars of warranty and loss of face in the diesel truck industry.

About 200 miles after the engine work I ran the truck from Saskatchewan Canada to Phoenix Arizona. About 1800 miles. Pulled the filter and cut open the can. Even after the flush, and overhaul there was STILL considerable sand in the filter. I can only imagine the crud and sand that were plugging my oil cooler and EGR cooler. Thank whomever I did not suffer a failure. I did the conversion before a failure, and fully believe I saved at least 8000 hard earned dollars.

 

I feel they all do the same thing in the same way. The Sinister by far and away LOOKS way better than the others. Its a cool look with the sexy shutoff valves instead of the plumbers ball valve look. Classy, but as I said they all do the same thing. Bye the way I paid 129 last year. This year has jumped to 148. I had one shipped for free to Arizona and smuggled it back for a buddy. If you order one shipped to Canada your end cost after shipping and that darn duty will cost you well upwards of 300 bucks. We call that "free trade"

 

Ok its in the mail! Funny thing here is MKM is 50 miles from me, kinda nice. will have on thursday.

Murray, is there a set of guages that are small or a tuner/programmer that is capable of monitering the temps you guys are talking about that doesn't stand out like a sore thumb in the cab.?
My truck knock on wood has been trouble free for 67k exept for a ficm.Its stock exept for 4" turbo back,no muffler or cat and a k/n intake.
I like it plain in the cab w/no guages ect, but thinking its not wise not to moniter the engine health.

 

EOT= engine oil temp. Important to monitor. As the oil cooler plugs on the water coolant side the oil temps will run hotter.By monitoring these temps. you have a good indicator of a cooler plugging and trouble headed your way..

 

Yes Its the emission thing I know some wont agree but the EGR System is a Good system to get RID of

And its also the Fail senero that determines if 1 cooler or both coolers need to be changed. In this case Its pretty clear his egr cooler is bad so the oil cooler being bad is a Given due to the Flow order or path

I got rid of mine (EGR System) and Gained MPG too it also keeps the Intake manafold clean. Next time you guys see a Pic of a Junked up egr Valve remember that your Intake Manafold looks the same and so do the sensors in the Intake manafold . I feel pretty confident I gained 2 mpg just removing it