I have an '04 F350 and in the winter it will overboost when cold like the vanes are stuck closed. You hear the turbo spool up, lots of air trying to move but there is no power and lots of smoke. I can baby it around and after about 15 minutes of driving they will unstick. The thing that is odd about it is they will unstick at exactly the same place leaving my house every time which makes me thing its the ecu logic and not the vanes mechanically sticking. I don't have this problem in the summer. The other thing is if I turn off the truck and restart it cures it until the next cold start. The truck has been doing this for a few years now and I've just been dealing with it by letting the truck warm up for a few minutes and then restart it before driving it. Once it is working I have never had any drivability issues or times when the boost doesn't seem right or the vanes sticking. The only thing that could be slightly off maybe is it takes several seconds for the turbo to build a lot of boost (automatic transmission) to get the power needed to to move a really heavy trailer from a stop but maybe that is the way all 6.0s are.

I've taken out the EBP sensor and made sure the tube to the exhaust manifold is clear. I have also checked the EBP value using my scangauge II and I see the EBP rise when it starts overboosting as I would expect which makes me think its not the sensor. Does the ECU use a calculated value for EBP vs sensor value at certain times? Before this started happening I did replace the VGT solenoid with an aftermarket doorman one.

Next thing I think I need to do it see if I can get the VGT commanded value on my scangage to see what its commanding. Anything else to try before I start throwing parts at it like a new unison ring or VGT solenoid.

Another thing I did before all this is I replaced the EGR cooler connector hose, intake manifold gaskets, took apart the turbo and cleaned the unison ring and vanes, and replaced the VGT solenoid and had the solenoid apart. I found this spring and o ring on my workbench and never figured out where it went. I assumed it was in the VGT solenoid I took apart and threw out but could never figure it out. It could also be from another project as I had a lot going on in my shop at the time...

 

You would need to watch your VGT. Typically the truck will use the EBP reading to trim the VGT%.

At idle the truck will modulate the VGT to maintain a EBP set-point. Hot is 2.4psi gauge (add 14.7 for absolute readings), warming up it's higher, I believe 3.4psig. If the VGT is pegging either way that's often a sign of issues somewhere in the system (vanes, VGT solenoid, wiring, etc).

 

So your ICP sensor is on the passenger side valve cover?
Are you tuned?

 

I just put a front cover gasket in the truck and since it was warm in my shop it didn't have the symptom so I'll need to try again in the morning and look at the readings.

I don't see the ICP sensor on the passenger side valve cover. The truck is an '04 but the valve cover says its an '03 motor so it must be under the turbo. What is our theory how could this issue be related to this sensor? The guy I bought the truck for said it was tuned but I don't know what the tune was. I just test drove a stock 6.0 and this truck is way faster, also I just bought a 6.7 and this 6.0 would hang with it.

 

The ICP sensor location tells us which engine you have. On the '03 engine, it is HIGHLY likely that a stock engine does not use the EBP sensor signal in turbo control. Now that you say it is tuned, then it will be impossible to say if it does or doesn't use that sensor. One knowledgeable person in the turbo field says most tune writers like to use that sensor output in their tunes.

I highly recommend that you get ForScan and the first thing to do with it is scan for codes. The ScanGauge is not very good at code reading.

 

I just drove the truck this morning and was able to reproduce the symptom. As soon as I started the truck my VGT on my ScanGauge II was reading 14. It stayed stuck at 14 no matter the throttle position/rpm/load with light driving getting out of my neighborhood with my BST reading hitting 20+ psi and EBP would hitting 52psi but the truck was lacking power. My EBP and BST read 12.1-12.2 KOEO (I'm at 5,000 ft altitude). I turned the key off and restarted the engine and my VGT moves around as would be expected and the truck runs as it should. I do not have a CEL and no code come up on my ScanGauge (for years now).

I ordered the vLinker adapter to use Forscan and will see if it pulls up any codes.