OK, so now I know what that loud whistle was last summer when pulling our 5er in the Rockies. It was from the coolant blowing out of the degas bottle and making it whistle like a teapot on the stove. The dealer ran all kinds of tests and said that everything checked out but the fan clutch so they installed a new one under the factory extended warranty. Now last month we went to San Diego and I chose to go thru the desert rather than straight down I-5. While pulling the Tehachapis the coolant temp reached 230 for a brief time. When the temp was up around that area it started to whistle again. When I got to the next stop I looked under the hood and sure enough it had puked a bit. The entire rest of the trip I tried to keep my foot out of the throttle while pulling hills and there was no further puking or whistling. The temps would get in the mid 220s but came right down when backng off or topping a hill. Oil temps were always within 5 to 10 degrees of coolant except when topping a hill and the coolant came down rapidly, the oil would also come down but a bit slower.

This truck has 65,XXX miles on it and is bone stock but for a coolant filter. Do I have a problem or is it my trying to push the truck to hard. When coming home from Indiana with the 5er in October I had a nasty head wind through much of Nebraska and Wyoming and she whistled a lot. That was before the fan clutch went in. Also a new degas cap went on when they did the fan clutch.

On Edit: one more thing, she never kicked up any codes at all through all this.

Steve

 

When does/did your warranty run/ran out?

Sounds to me like you have head gasket issues and the dealership wanted for you to keep driving until the extended warranty ran out. I am not sure what the incentive is to a dealership to let the warranty run out unless the repairs cost the dealership money.

 

Sounds as if head gaskets but before going and tearing into it I would make sure your coolant level is not over filled. Should be at the minimal line. Next put a pressure gauge on the return coolant line to the degas bottle. Anything over 16lbs would be head gaskets. Are you running a tuner??

 

x2...Needs to kept at the MIN Line always, otherwise a good engine can puke when working hard if overfilled & Full Line = OverFilled
Since truck seems to be running fine & dealer said its ok UNLESS monty is on to something about warranty time

 

Warranty has about 2.5 more years and about 18K miles left. Bought the truck in October 2010 with only 11,600 miles on the clock and bought the extended plan a year and a half ago just prior to the 5/100,000 expiring. It is a Ford plan that has worked well so far.

The dealer I go to is a small town dealer that I do not believe would do that to their regular customers, I have faith in their service and business practices.

Steve

 

No, no tuner, truck is bone stock except for a coolant filter.

 

Well, you are lucky to have an honest dealer.

I say either (1) the coolant level was too high, (2) the degas bottle cap is defective, and/or (3) the head gaskets have issues and the leak is pressuring the coolant to more than 16 psi.

 

Sounds as if head gaskets but before going and tearing into it I would make sure your coolant level is not over filled. Should be at the minimal line. Next put a pressure gauge on the return coolant line to the degas bottle. Anything over 16lbs would be head gaskets..I think I seem to remember saying that earlier.

 

I would call it a clogged oil cooler/egr cooler..... but then I'm a pessimist. I've been there, done that. Mine only had 50,000 on it and also bone stock when the oil cooler/egr system/head gaskets went south. I too was covered with the Ford ESP...thank goodness!

 

Possibility, wonder if the op can get the eot and ect readings????

 

I've had 3 coolers and learned the simplest test is to tee an inline gauge 0 - 25 with a needle that holds max. drive it hard and open hood read gauge repeat repeat repeat.
Gauge Manufacturers
Our most recent fuel pressure gauge purchase was a Noshok 25-510-300-MIP. It was purchased from a local Noshok distributor. The Noshok corporate phone number is (440) 243-0888 to find a local distributor. Other gauge manufacturers are:
1. McMaster-Carr model 3842K717. We am not sure that P/N has all the features. Phone number; (330) 342-6100
2. Wika, Lawrenceville, GA (770) 513-8200 http://www.wika.com
3. Chicago Stainless 2N-6-1/4NPT-GF-BT. Again we am not sure that P/N has all the features. Phone number: (800) 927-8575
4. Reptech, Cato Western, Inc. (800) 822-0804
5. Branum
6. Rototherm.
Fuel Pressure Peak Recording Needle
The extra needle to store the peak value after a run is called different names from the different manufacturers: maximum indicating needle, maximum pressure register, tattle-tale indicator or needle, drag follower or pointer.
Gauge Scale
The gauge scale can be specified from any of these suppliers. A 0-300 scale was chosen for our FI application. That scale puts our 150 psi target reading in the middle of the scale, that is the most accurate and repeatable reading range of the gauge.
Cost & Delivery
Around $100 to $150 USD. They all have to be built from a pre-order, taking 1 to 3 weeks. No one had them in stock when we ordered our gauge.
Pressure Gauge + Check Valve Alternative
For blower boost monitoring, we installed an Autometer boost measuring kit. It uses a lower cost gauge with a check valve to hold the highest reading. Circle Seal Controls (951) 270-6200 Circle Seal Controls - Fluid Control Solutions makes the check valve used in this kit. It is the 2200 series, available in various sizes. The check valve can leak in time. We always carried a spare for our boost gauge. We considered switching over to one of the gauges with peak indicator needle for boost reading, but this setup with the check valve worked fine for many years.
Posted on March 19, 2012 by Bob



Denny

 

ECT topped out at 230 before backing out of it at the top of the hill and EOT was the same at the top of hill. I was pulling an 11,500# fifth wheel at the time. It was whistling between about 226 and 230.

Steve

 

A couple years ago I had the tea kettle issue. Mine would whistle (ie puke) at normal temps (190-210) if boost was over 15+ psi and I was pulling a trailer. This was from stretched headbolts that allowed the head to lift at higher cylinder pressures, pressurizing the cooling system. If you are getting the whistle at temps under 215 I'd say you need another dealer visit to determine the exact cause. Oil/egr coolers or headgasket issue.
Does it only happen at high temperatures or is it boost dependant? A 16psi cap is going to start venting at around 228-230 degrees without any help from combustion gases. As mentioned only fill the coolant to the minimum line.

Good that you have the warranty. Just don't let it go too long.

 

I have a 2003 and had the puking problem. I had the head gaskets replaced with the head studs and also did the EGR delete as the EGR cooler can be overwhelmed by high EGTs.
After the mods I have no more overflows.
I have a small pin-hole leak/crack on the top of my bottle at the mold seam that sweats. I need a new bottle