hey guys I'm new to the website, but ive been lurking for a while. just need to vent a little bit and get some of your guys advise in the process. well i went from my first diesel which was a 2000 f250 with the 7.3 and i traded that in for a 2003 6.0. I LOVED it. it had 67000 miles on it, i know have 97000 and i'm ready to rip my hair out!!!! ive had it in to the dealer so many times for the same issues that everyone sees on this site. loss of power, hiccups, surges, smokes, ( black the whole time, white smoke at startup).

so after a couple of trips in, a couple of hundred dollars later and a week and a half of not having my truck for work( and im self employed in the finish work buisness) the ford mechanics cuoldnt get a code to come up untill the last trip and finally an egr code popped up. he put a new one in and re- programed the computer and told me it was taken care of and that the truck would act funny for a while while the comp re-learned itself......... a month later i tried a different ford shop. Same problem that dosent go away, PLUS now in a month and a half ive lost a gallon and a half of antifreez!!! another week and a half and they just told me that the turbo vanes were disinigrated and i get a new turbo,BUT..... the diesel mechanic told me ford told him not to do anything basically about the antifreez. Now i know all about fords probs with these trucks and i am VERY dedicated at changing oil, fuel filters and stuff. and i know for sure that the antifreez is not boiling over, and even the mechanic agrees that its not leaking anywhere, and its not going in the oil either. plus the white smoke at cold startups is getting worse. /.....

Anyone that reads in this forum want to take an educated guess at whats wrong? so heres my thought, im getting very tired(not to mention poor) of such a high maintenece vehicle. the way i look at it,(and dont get me wrong im a ford man and always will be) if ford put out such a problem child and they can't even train there certified techs to properly take care of their problem, why dose that end up being my problem??

Im apologize to the diesel techs that are on this forum because i know there are alot of you that are very very good at what you do and you are on this site to help people like me so i don't mean to bunch you all togeather in the same barrel. but is there any recourse that i can take? the truck is still under ford warrenty and they don't seem to want to take care of it, so wtf, am i screwed?? I would really appreciate any thoughts on this because i don't have the funds or the mentality to want to keep this truck. the dealership just shrugs their sholders and offers to trade it in(for a lesser amount of course and for another truck that would be worth more. and if i do then what? Im seriously thinking about the v10, is there anyone that has owned both that can put the bs about diesels being a real mans truck and just let me know what they honestly think about the differences between the two? like i said i really apologize if i offended anyone because i really didn't mean to, im just a little upset right now and venting. and i would really appreciate any input you guys could give me, this really is an awsome site that ive learned alot about these trucks. Thanks!!

 

oh by the way the truck has never seen a tuner of any kind and is completly stock besides just throwing on duel exhaust which is no muffler and a stock cat, Thanks!

 

First, welcome to FTE! You will find that this is an excellent source of information and help.

Next, I didn't read the entire first post but I would suggest you make an attempt to use proper grammar when making a long winded post. Without it broken down into paragraphs it's easy to get lost and confused in your post.

 

I think you need to re-write this in to a format that is easier to read (paragraphs).
I also think you should approach your dealer and sit down with a service writer and have a good talk about the antifreeze consumption.
If you have head gasket or any other issues why would Ford tell the tech not to fix it?
I don't think Ford wants to replace an entire engine when they can replace a headgasket.
Has your truck had the warranty flagged by somehting the previous owner did?

 

Coolant loss, white smoke, did someone say EGR cooler? You need to find another dealer to work on your ride. The 2 you have visited are not gettig the issue resolved. This is a relatively easy fix for a trained tech. You might run your vin in the oasis thread on top of the page 1st post, and someone can explain what has been checked and done or not done.

 

Sorry about the bad grammer, I was just frustrated and wasn't thinking at the time. Is there a way short of tearing everything apart that i can tell if it is the cooler compared to the hg?
The dealer did a smoke test, but he didn't say where he did it, Im not quite sure what that dose, but he said there was no leaks from that.
Cost wise what are the damages i can run into if it is the cooler if i keep driving it untill i can afford costs? And has anyone had to pay out of pocket to do it on their own that could tell me how much it ended up to be? Thanks for the help!

 

The short answer to your question is yes, what needs to be done is an EGR cooler leak test. Basically what is done (from my understanding) is the coolant system is pressurized for a period of time with the rear onf the truck jacked up, then you pull the EGR valve and look for any signs of fresh coolant inside the cooler/manifold.

 

is there a way i can pressurize it myself, or is it just rigging a tee with a one way valve to the cooler line and adding air? If so what psi should i use?

 

Ford has a fancy cap they use but you could do it, the system is rated at 16psi so 14 or 15 would be plenty.

 

what goes wrong with the coolers? Do they crack or is there a gasket that goes bad?

 

Overpressuring the EGR cooler (stuck turbo, causing overboost) can bust them. Many here seem to think that the casting sand left in the coolant is wearing them thin. If you would have seen all the sand that Jeff Cook got out of his first coolant bypass filter, it would be obvious that it could happen. (alot more sand than I would have ever imagined with todays better casting technology)

 

sweet, thanks alot guys, I really appreciate it, how big of a job is it to replace the cooler if i did it myself? ( or how many cases im i going to go through)?

 

This has me thinking now. I noticed my truck was down about a gallon of coolant yesterday. (What triggered the inspection was the engine fan coming on a lot more frequently.) What are some other symptons one might see from a failing EGR cooler?

 

The engine fan has been kicking on more often on my truck too. And it was on cooler days than it came on when i worked it on hotter days with bigger loads.

 

I dont want to create a fracas over this, but dont go the V10 route. Obvioulsy many, many happy people own them and love them, but if you like the diesel (aside from your problems - which should have been resolved loooong before now) you wont be happy with the V10. And yes, I have owned both gas and diesel. The other factor to consider is that the 6.0 can be turned into a very, very bullet proof motor in an already very stout truck if that need arises, which is something else to consider.