Hi all! I have a good bit of mechanical experience, but no deisel experience to speak of. I recently purchased a bone stock 04 F-350 4x4 SC Dually with the 6.0 to tow my 11,000 pound fith wheel. I drove it for two months with no problems even towing a couple of 5-6000 lb loads. The problem started when I towed the fith wheel up thru the mountains and started smelling anti-freeze. Coolant puking out the degas tank. I thought it might be a bad cap so I replaced. No luck! Started reading up on problems with the 6.0 and found out about the head bolt issue. So truck is going in the shop.(first thing they asked was wether I had a tuner!! )The previous owner told me the truck had never had a tuner on it and I believe him.( mostly because he is very **** about using OEM parts and service.) I would like to use the ARP studs but I do not want it to become a warranty problem. The truck only has 44,000 miles on it and I mostly only drive it around town, to work and to tow the camper.
As much as I like more power, I dont have any plans to add mods ( except for guages) until after the warranty runs out. As I stated earlier, this is bone stock and has only been in the shop once for a turbo replacement at about 6,000 miles except for normal maintenance.
I guess what I am getting at is wether I should just see if I can find a dealer who will use ther ARP studs and void my warranty or should I try to let them use stock components only to have this problem again the next time I tow my camper ? Will MATT's tunes address this problem after stock components replaced by limiting over boost without voiding my warranty??( or at least not be obvious that I used a tuner) What other problems like EGR cooler, EGR valv sticking and turbo vane sticking can be resolved without voiding warranty?? Any body know a good dealership near South Boston VA ??
Any advice you guys might have will be greatly appreaciated!!

 

I would at least talk to the dealer and see what they say about the ARP studs. Just tell them that you are concerned that if you put the factory bolts back in you may have the issue again later, possibly after the warranty is out. Some dealers say the wont touch the studs, some say studs void the engine warranty, and some have no problem doing it at all and wont' void the warranty. It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

Thanks Beerstalker !I talked to my local dealer who acted like he really didn't want to work on the truck and wasnt much help at all.(I've never heard anything but bad about their service dept and they only have 1 deisel mech.) He also stated that if I paid for the studs they would install but it would void my warranty. I plan on asking a few other area dealers first before I decide what to do. Like you suggested, it never hurts to ask !!

 

yeah i would find a dealer that will put the studs in for you

 

Is your coolant level correct? Ford came out with a new coolant level sticker to correct the OEM coolant tank markings. The new coolant MAX level for all 6ohs is very close to the OEM coolant tank MIN mark. If it is filled to the old MAX mark, it will puke under heavy load because when all of that coolant is heated it has to expand and go some where. The old coolant MAX level left very little room for expansion, thus puking. Under normal load and every day driving it may or may not puke when filled to the OEM MAX mark.

DSMMH

 

I know one in Winston-Salem that will do them for you. I know it's 100+ miles, but would definitely be worth the trip. He does lots of HG's and does quality work.

 

Thanks DSMMH! When I bought the truck the coolant level was at the max fill line. When it started puking, it went a well below minimum mark. I read on this forum about the remarked max level line so when I refilled again I only filled to a little above the minimum line. It still puked under heavy loads and hard acceleration. When I take the truck back in I plan on asking about the remarked tank. My local dealer doesnt seem to have a clue about these 6.0's or he just really doesnt want to deal with it so he keeps putting me off.

 

Hey NPCCPARTSMAN! 100 plus miles isnt to far if I can get the job done right. I was plannning on taking it to Universal Ford's truck center in Richmond where they work on them every day if I didn't hear from anyone with a better option. I just dont think my local dealer will fix it right if at all. THANKS!!

 

Your'e welcome! I have thought about tapping into the small line that runs to the coolant tank and installing a pressure gage to see how much the pressure fluctuates. If the HGs are good I would assume the pressure would remain fairly constant under all load conditions. If the HGs are bad then I would think the pressure would rise, especially, under a heavy load. Maybe take a pressure cap and mount a pressure gage on it to get some baseline data. Could be a future science project, as if I need another one.

DSMMH