White Smoke
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2009
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White Smoke
2007 F550 with the 6.0. About 2 months ago I replaced the EGR cooler with a Bulletproof cooler. Truck ran well for a few weeks. Then I started getting the "turbo fart". I stopped using the truck until I had an issue with another truck. I was stuck so I sent the 07 out without cleaning the turbo. This morning a decent amount of white smoke started coming out of the exhaust. The smoke would sometimes get a bit gray. Going up hill it didn't have much power at all. Any thoughts? Thank you.
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Joined: Oct 2016
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No codes?
Install known good turbo or at least inspect / clean the existing unit.
If problem persists with good turbo, injectors are next suspect. power balance test on scanner. Might even want to check power balance before touching turbo, if you have a scanner handy.
I'm assuming you have diesel gray smoke, not white coolant/water vapor. Does smoke smell sweet or bad? And does it disappear immediately or take awhile to dissipate?
Worthwhile to inspect everything in the engine bay real quick, like intercooler and boots.
Install known good turbo or at least inspect / clean the existing unit.
If problem persists with good turbo, injectors are next suspect. power balance test on scanner. Might even want to check power balance before touching turbo, if you have a scanner handy.
I'm assuming you have diesel gray smoke, not white coolant/water vapor. Does smoke smell sweet or bad? And does it disappear immediately or take awhile to dissipate?
Worthwhile to inspect everything in the engine bay real quick, like intercooler and boots.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 185
Likes: 1
This is what I don't understand. How can a bad turbo result in a white smoking problem? Smoke is predominantly white. It did get gray at times but mostly white which makes me think it is a coolant issue. Coolant was low when the smoking started. Did running the truck with the turbo fart issue cause or affect this in any way?
What is a power balance? Never heard of this.
No codes.
Thanks for the reply.
What is a power balance? Never heard of this.
No codes.
Thanks for the reply.
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 17,836
Likes: 3,136
From: Jersey Shore
My money is on an injector.
If you have consistent smoke you could try pulling an injector connector, restart and see if the smoke continues. But the best way to check is with a tool that will do an uncompensated injector balance.
If you have consistent smoke you could try pulling an injector connector, restart and see if the smoke continues. But the best way to check is with a tool that will do an uncompensated injector balance.
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Joined: Oct 2016
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White water/coolant vapor would never turn gray. Diesel smoke can look a little white too. Coolant vapor out exhaust is almost always EGR cooler rupture. It's the 6.0 signature failure. If you pop out the EGR valve, it should be dry and sooty. If it's wet, your EGR cooler failed. You would be consuming coolant too. Head gasket failure is possible too, but the white vapor is more of an EGR cooler thing.
A couple ways to approach: you can check your coolant for exhaust gas and see if there is coolant consumption. Hard to say without seeing it, but your mentioning of gray makes me think fuel (not coolant).
Power balance is a test on a scanner to see the evenness of cylinder contribution. A weak injector would show up as a dip that other cylinders would need to compensate for.
And you have a known turbo issue, so worthwhile to fix that and reassess.
Narrow down your exhaust, if it is coolant vapor or diesel smoke. Makes a big difference for next step.
A couple ways to approach: you can check your coolant for exhaust gas and see if there is coolant consumption. Hard to say without seeing it, but your mentioning of gray makes me think fuel (not coolant).
Power balance is a test on a scanner to see the evenness of cylinder contribution. A weak injector would show up as a dip that other cylinders would need to compensate for.
And you have a known turbo issue, so worthwhile to fix that and reassess.
Narrow down your exhaust, if it is coolant vapor or diesel smoke. Makes a big difference for next step.
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Clean vanes & unison ring on turbo. Likely sticking vanes from soot buildup and corrosion. Turbo could be bad, but no way to tell for sure until you remove and put eyes on it. If the turbo is farting, it needs attention. Once turbo issue is resolved, run truck again.
Gut feeling here is that you have 2 issues. Dirty turbo and bad injector.
Still assuming your smoke is gray (really light gray). White coolant vapor means EGR cooler most likely. If you are near the fumes and want to die, it's diesel. If it smells sweet and you don't want to die, it's coolant. The water vapor disappears immediately too. Real smoke hangs around longer.
Gut feeling here is that you have 2 issues. Dirty turbo and bad injector.
Still assuming your smoke is gray (really light gray). White coolant vapor means EGR cooler most likely. If you are near the fumes and want to die, it's diesel. If it smells sweet and you don't want to die, it's coolant. The water vapor disappears immediately too. Real smoke hangs around longer.
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Hotshot
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 19,073
Likes: 243
From: Saratoga Springs,UT
You said turbo fart and also truck has sat for a few both lead to stuck turbo
You need a gauge to verify turbo controlling sensors First
Best to collect as much data as possible to make a reasonable decision for repair us a gauge check everything
You need a gauge to verify turbo controlling sensors First
Best to collect as much data as possible to make a reasonable decision for repair us a gauge check everything
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 185
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Got my first look at this truck this morning. First thing I noticed was the turbo was unplugged. I have no idea how long it was being driven like that. Plugged it back in and started the truck. Continued to smoke. Not getting any boost reading at all from the turbo with engine revved up to 2500 rpms.
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