Pulling a boat back home from the lake of the Ozarks about 6500 lbs yesterday.
reaching the top of the third of three big hills in about a ten mile strech of highway the truck started sounding a chime and said to check the temp.
The coolant guage was at the top of its range.
we were about a mile from a rest stop area for truck so I stopped there.
by the time got there temps were back to normal and I found that the degas bottle had puked.
My son was following me in his truck and he said that he did not see any white smoke.
Drove it to the next town and checked it.
temps still good and the coolant level about an inch below the min mark on the bottle.
drove it the rest of the way home with no problems.
still had the same level in the bottle this morning.
It started as usual and I watched the exhaust.
after about about a 1 min saw the slightest bit of white smoke from the exhaust and thought i could smell a little antifreeze but not sure.
the slight amount of smoke stopped.
Oil level still at max mark, was changed about 1500 miles ago.
the cooling system was flushed about 10000 miles ago.
We don't have a scan guage but we need to get on since we now have two Ford six liters sitting at the house now.
Where should I start?
Thanks

 

Sorry didn't mention its a 07 with 180000 miles on it.

 

I am dealing with the same issue. Only during moderate to high boost I get puling. First question donyou have any mods. From what I am being told a coolant.pressure test is required to ensure head GASKETS/EGR are not leaking. My question is does this have to be done at the dealer or can we rent the tool.

 

My first thought would be EGR cooler leaking, caused by a clogged oil cooler. The best way to determine if your EGR cooler is leaking, point the truck nose down and pull the EGR valve; best if you let it sit overnight. You more than likely will need to use a pry bar and 18" section of wire (formed like a paint can handle) to pull the valve up....using the top of the alternator as a leverage point. If there is "water" in the opening, your EGR cooler is leaking...do not drive the truck any more; you can cause the engine to hydro-lock. Assuming it is the EGR cooler, when you replace it/have it replaced budget in an oil cooler. I'm willing to beat a set of injectors it is clogged.

The SG2 will allow you to confirm the oil cooler is clogged by getting the truck up to operating temperature (min 160F) and crusing the highway at 65-70mph. If the delta (spread) in the coolant temperature and oil temperature is more than 15F; your oil cooler is clogged.

If there is no coolant below the EGR cooler, might look into replacing your degas (overflow) cap. They do get weaker over time, and can cause puking when the engine gets warm under heavy boost conditions (towing).

 

My truck has no mods as far as I know, we bought it used.
Just bought a scan gauge will try it out after we work on my sons truck.
But what gets me is why did it only happen once and the was good for another hour and a half pulling a boat home?

 

Is there any white residue around the degas cap? Maybe the reason it only did it once could have been because of the steepness/length of the hill. All of the other times the grade was over before the engine got to that point of heat that it vented/overheated.

If your smelling coolant in the exhaust there's only two ways for it to get there...cracked head (not a common issue) or leaking EGR cooler. I would put money on the EGR cooler first. It doesn't take much of a leak to smell it. Sort of like a fuel leak...a little goes a long way.Maybe able to rent the tool at a parts store like Oreilly's, AutoZone or Advance. Worse case you find a Snap-On or Mac tool truck and see what they can do for you. You don't need to do a pressure test to confirm the EGR cooler is leaking...every reported failure I've heard about has been tipped off by coolant in the intake below the EGR valve.

 

Don't forget head gaskets.

 

It was the longest hill but not the steepest, I had been watching the guages like a hawk till that hill and coolant temp would move just a little, like a 1/8 inch.
And yea there is white stuff around the cap it puked

 

Would a head gasket cause an over heat condition and then go away?

 

IMO - Yes. Over-boost can lift head gaskets.

 

So i installed a scan gauge II and we drove the truck for about 45 min this after nood watching EOT and ECT the delta stayed about 5 except when it appeared that the thermostat was opening more and dropping ECT temps.
The EOT was staying higher than the ECT.
No puking, no white smoke, ran good.
Ideas?

 

Puking while towing is often times indicative of head gasket leaks. Get a pressure gauge on your degas bottle. Tech Folder has a thread on coolant loss.