Goodmorning everyone. I had some higher temps yesterday at idle. They were over 210 and it had me wondering if it may be time to get into my truck and replace the head gaskets. This morning, coolant temps climbed faster than I was thinking they should also. Are there any tell tell signs that direct you towards replacement of the head gaskets of the engine oil cooler? Im a long way from any good mechanics but im quite the wrench myself. Just was hoping i wouldnt have to get in there just yet. Truck is an 07 w 274k on it. I have recently replaced my tstat and water pump.

 

I dont think that higher temps is necessarily indicative of bad head gaskets. A difference between the engine oil temp (EOT) and engine coolant temp (ECT) of 15F or more is a symptom of bad gaskets.
Higher temps could be for several reasons. Thermostat issue. EGR cooler issue.
Is there any coolant coming out of the degas bottle cap?

 

No coolant coming from degas tank

 

It could be a thermostat issue, you said at idle, what is the temp doing while driving. what about while towing? Did it go back down after the 210?

 

That is not correct. The temperature differential between coolant and oil is indicative of a bad oil cooler if it is too high.

The best way to identify head gasket issues is with a pressure gauge on the degas bottle.

 

I was towing a trailer and let the truck idle for 15 min and when i got back in the coolant was at 218 while the oil was at 210. Those are high numbers by my truck. When i started driving the numbers did come down. Decided to do an oil change this morning and I have never had an oil analysis done but i love my truck so its a great time to start getting one

 

Verify that all the temperature sensors are reasonably accurate at the low range. Post EOT, ECT, IAT1, IAT2, and TFT on a totally cold engine (takes easily 12+ hours of cool-down to get to a totally cold state.

What coolant are you using and are you sure it is at a 50/50 mix? How full do you have your degas bottle? Have you checked to verify that the coolant system will hold pressure (say 15 psig) for a day or so?

Again - I would recommend a pressure gauge on the degas bottle.

 

My personal opinion is that you either have EXTREMELY blown HGs or you have something going on with the cooling system.

I think it's the cooling system if it's just idling and getting that hot. I had blown HGs and the ONLY time I had issues with temps was when I was towing. Now that is on stock programming. A hot tune did make the temps fluctuate a little higher unloaded running 70mph.

Like bismic says, hook a pressure gauge to the degas bottle.

 

I agree with Ford.Dude and Mark, plus I recommend FEL PRO for HGs............in my shops we've had ZERO problems post install......................outstanding product and I highly recommend.

 

Make sure your fan clutch is working. Mine is really lazy and takes a while to kick in. Especially at idle.

 

If it is overheating at idle but temps are fine going down the highway loaded or unloaded I would first check the fan hub for not engaging.

 

Well i found out my temps are normal when cold. Drive a short distance and my Eot gets to 208. This isnt were it normally is. Usually have to really push it down the highway w a load to reach 208. Engine coolant is still in the 192-196 range.

 

You asked about head gaskets. The oil temperature is separate from head gaskets. Where are you going w/ this thread?

 

im now wondering how my EOT would be higher than whats normal for my truck. Just trying to diagnose so i can figure out what is needed

 

Coolant decomposes (Ford Gold will decompose in high heat and when exposed to combustion gasses) and will form gel or solids. These will plug the coolant side of the oil cooler and cause high EOT, The plugged oil cooler will also restrict the coolant flow to the EGR cooler and eventually cause it to fail. If the EGR cooler fails, it can lead to head gasket failure. Also (eventually), with a plugged up coolant side, the oil cooler will fail mechanically and then you will see oil in the coolant.

The way you identify a plugged oil cooler is to get the engine FULLY warmed up (it can take 20+ minutes of driving to do so) and see if the EOT is 15 degrees or more higher than the ECT. IMO the differential should be less than 10, but you probably don't need to replace the oil cooler unless the differential is 15 or above.

The 6.0L community has learned that switching to an EC-1 rated ELC coolant will prevent this.

If your oil cooler is already plugged up, then you should probably try backflushing it. There are lots of threads on that if you are interested in doing it,

Cleaning up the coolant system is important because if/when you replace the oil cooler, the new one could plug up again if the system isn't clean.

If the cooling system is clean, the OEM oil cooler works well. Some people have bought aftermarket oil coolers that were labelled as OEM ... not the way to go. Some people didn't cool as well and some had gasket failures on these aftermarket oil coolers. Installing an "air-to-oil" oil cooler is an option provided by BulletProofDiesel, but it is expensive and has a few issues.