Well, I guess I'm the newest victim. Popped the hood today to discover coolant everywhere. Cleaned it all off, drove the truck easy for about 10 miles, and it still managed to burp out several drops.

The truck is a 2005 F350 CC SB PSD 4x4. 31,750 on the clock, 725 hours, never chipped/tuned/tweaked/messed with (well, as far as the powertrain is concerned.)

Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll just be a bad pressure cap. Knowing my luck, I've probably blown a head gasket.

Anything to keep in mind at the dealer? They treat me quite well, so I'm not concerned about the work/etc. If it is a head gasket failure, is it worth spending the money for the ARP head studs if they'll do the install? Any hints/tips/suggestions would be appreciated.

Color me bummed.

 

Make sure the coolant level is correct (Max at the Min level) Any higher than the minimum level, it will puke.

 

Yeah, it is (err, was.) With the volume it's puked, there's barely any left in the bottle.

 

My dealer (small) has one 05 in for the EGR & oil cooler leaking. My suspicion was a tuner truck, the owner was in his late 70's....

 

Not that it matters much, however I have twice had my coolant cap back off from being tight.....are you sure this is not happening?

BTW I did (both times) know for sure the cap was as tight as that horrible system can allow to be tightened.

 

I would do the studs if the dealer is cool about it. I think the stock headgaskets are more than adequate for your particular application. Actually I'm quite mystified why you would be puking coolant unless it's just running warmer than normal from something else. I don't know what you use your truck for, so it's hard for me to say, but is perhaps the radiator clogged making it run warm--the dash gauge is absolutely worthless, by the time it moves your truck is already boiling. I'd check that before I went headgaskets--they are a pretty good design. And Tim is right about the worthless Degass bottle cap.

 

Yep, the cap is, as you said, as tight as it can be made. Still, drops bubble out (under heavy throttle/high boost conditions only).

The truck is mainly a city driver. I'm a volunteer FF, so it does get run hard at times, but no harder than the 6.0-powered F350s/550s we've got all over the county. In day-to-day configuration, it's got a fair amount of extra electrical load from the communications equipment and additional weight from replacement front and rear Ranch Hand bumpers and a Knapheide Knap Kap on the back, but an F350 should be able to handle that without blinking. I pull trailers (either a 16' flatbed or a 16x7 toy hauler) maybe 10% of the time.

The dash gauge has never budged from the spot it's been in since I took possession of the truck. Do you have any suggestions for checking the rad?

At least it's still completely under warranty. Hopefully it'll just be a bad pressure cap... if not, hopefully the dealer will hook me up with another truck to drive.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

the truck may not run hot whenever it pukes coolant if you still have plenty of coolant left. the truck usually runs hot after it drops bout a gallon or 2

 

It hasn't dropped that far. The lowest it's been allowed to go (yesterday) was where only a 1/2" or so was left in the degas bottle. Took about 1/2gal. 50/50 mix to bring it back up to the minimum cold fill line.

 

Well, official word from the dealership came today. Turbo problem led to overboosting, roasting the head gaskets. They're pulling the cab and planning to replace the turbo, heads, and head gaskets at a minimum. They've already ordered these parts (including the newly-revised head gaskets).

Color me pissed.

 

They're pulling the cab ....that is the worst part of the deal.

However good to hear you are on your way to getting it back.

 

You're telling me. My truck is full of communications equipment, emergency lighting, etc. I've got a 2" diameter bundle running from hood-->cab and a 4" diameter bundle from cab-->bed (under the topper)... well, I had anyway. I spent 16 hours yesterday tearing all of it out. It'll take weeks to put back together...

And, for the record, Ford engineering asked multiple times about any sort of tuner, and one of their regional people apparently did come out and plug into the computer and do some analysis. They were looking for an excuse to void the warranty.

 

Well, it's home... though I've yet to reinstall anything. Got my weekend cut out for me, and then some.

Root cause was sticking turbo vanes which led to an overboost condition, roasting the head gaskets. I rarely short trip (at a minimum of 10mi. every trip, usually 20-30), use PowerService in every tank, use synthetic oil, don't idle without going into charge-protect to bring the engine RPM up, and never run a chip/tuner (though I do drive hard... but that's supposed to be good for these motors!) Guess I was just unlucky.

They ended up replacing the turbo (with the revised version), heads, and head gaskets (also revised).

So far, the truck seems to drive like it used to. No additional noise/rattles (except that I've got the rear seats folded down and the rear fabric "dampening" removed... which causes a bit of racket) and similar performance, although I notice less boost at lower RPMs and a much faster slew rate on the built-in turbo pressure gauge.

All in all, I gave the truck to them Friday morning, and they had it ready late Tuesday afternoon (couldn't pick it up till Wednesday morning). Apparently, the tech worked most of the weekend on it. Not bad for turnaround... here's hoping he didn't take any shortcuts.

I even got a free oil change out of the deal. Although, I may dump that stuff out and fill it back up with Delvac 1, as the motor is accustomed to.

 

Glad to hear you got your truck back.

 

sorry to hear about your troubles. did you notice the overboost on the factory gauge. lots of '05's with sticking turbos.