Have a 05 F350 PSD (got it used as a CPO in July) and now it has 67K miles, only mods are an AirRaid intake and a magnaflow exhaust: recently it started putting out white smoke (not dense or smelly) when i first start it up and it seems like the amount gradually decreases with time and eventually everything is back to normal after a few minutes of operations.

This is how everything started:

On Sunday we went snowboarding (temp mid 30s) and on the way back i almost ran out of gas (0 miles left to go and it was sputtering a little bit ) and got some diesel at some random station (around 5 gallons at $2.69!). After 50miles (all downhill so not much fuel consuption...i was getting 35mpg) I got diesel (22 gal 2.19 this time) at a Shell station (brand i usually get along with chevron).
On Sunday i didn't notice anything, but prob i was too tired and it was dark and rainy. Yesterday it smoked in going to work, coming back and again today (everytime less noticeable).

Should i be concerned?

Temps here are in the 50-60s so that shouldn't be a probelem

 

adbscu....same thing is happening with me now. Friday was running low on fuel "Low Fuel" indicator came on. Stopped and filled her up. Got in and cranked, but no start. Cleaned driverside positive cable and she started up. Later I learned on Saturday the driverside battery was dead. Only after it started Saturday morning then after stopping and shutting the engine off it would not start again. Now I'm having this heavy white smoke for about 3-5 seconds then it goes away. What do you think it is? Have you found a remedy for your symptoms? Appreciate anything you could share.

 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention...I too have an 05 PSD, with 68k Miles. I also have some major sucking going on at the intake...never heard it this loud before....like its gasping for air.

 

keep an eye on the water level in the degas bottle. both sound like egr coolers going out.ive also heard running low on fuel isnt a good thing either, the injectors dont like being starved for fuel. moyock also check your pass. side battery. i had the feed wire to the gpcm and the alt come loose and when i went to start my truck it smoked white/grey because the glow plugs werent working.explain the "sucking" noise a little better. does it do it under load?.

 

Steelhead...thanks, I'll check the wire between Alt and battery...what is the gpcm? I have been monitoring the De-gas bottle for levels...since putting on a Coolant by-pass filter approx 700 miles back (this couldn't be the problem, ciuld it?...I mean I've not heard of anyone who has installed one claim that it caused any damage or concern?) The sucking is only noticable at idle, or when I'm standing in front of the truck while at idle. It could be while under load as well...since I have been hearing a hissing or vacuum whining from the engine compartment while driving. What do you think it could be?

 

has got to be a loose turbo boot or a loose intercooler boot. have you checked them yet? check good in the creases of the boots for rips too. ive seen them tear there before. also check the air cleaner connection to the adapter that goes to the turbo. if you recently changed your air cleaner maybe the air cleaner didnt sit on it right and its sucking air around the air cleaner. glow plug control module (gpcm), without it the truck dont wanna start very well.

 

You know...when I was installing the Coolant bypass, I thought it would be easier if I removed the CAC tube, so I loosened it up, only realize that it wasn't the best method to tackle the heater/coolant hose directly under it on the paasenger side. So I tightned it back up...but wasn't sure what the torque specs were since I didn't count how many turns I made loosening the bolt. Do you know where I can find the torque specs for the CAC tube hose clamps? This could be the problem. Just one more thing to check.

 

9 ft. lbs. I just changes both of the boots. Just to clarify, these specs are for the blue boot clamps on the passenger side.

 

The 6.0 will blow white smoke :
- EGR cooler problem - water/coolant gets in to the combustion chamber
- unburnt fuel
-injector related problem
I'm sure there are more possible issues, but let's concentrate on these 3 now.
My truck also gives a puff of white at start-up, and I know for a fact, that my white is either normal or it is related to glow plugs ( No EGR, brand new set of injectors ).

ADBSCU : running these 6.0s low on fuel is like kick the injectors in the a$$. Then you put in only 5 gallons and go downhill is just as bad. Just imagine the over 30 gallons of tank has a couple of inches of fuel on the bottom, so the pick up tube has some work to do to pick it up, and you also forced that small amount to the front going downhill, so it hardly had a chance to suck some fuel in to it. I personally wouldn't be surprised if your white smoking would be injector related.
It must be realized, that if you run low on fuel, but you try to get to the cheaper station - talking about saving what? 50cents a gallon? it is $15 what you save. A new set of injector costs close to $2k , and even under warranty you pay $ 100 bucks.
Not trying to be smarta$$, but I don't think it's worth it.

MOYOCKPOWERSTROKE: for that sucking noise - it is sucking before turbo, it blows after it. If you hear it even at idle, that would mean it is really loud under load if your CAC tube isn't tight, or it would just blow it off. If it is some kind of hissing noise, it could be also an exhaust leak, most commonly at the up pipes.

 

dcaddi2 - it is definately sucking hard prior to the turbo...sounds like the turbo is trying to pass a kidney. I think the extra sucking is a result of my no-start situations...I've has 5 in the last few days. After having driven for better than 10 miles, it will not re-start until it cools down. So I guess my no-starts are heat related...although my instrument panel gauge shows okay and my computer onboard display system check temps show okay???

 

One way to make sure it is sucking before turbo is start at the air cleaner, and follow the sound all the way to the turbo, and find the leak. There aren't too many possibilities...
but if it is a leak on the intake side and you can hear it sucking at idle, than I have to say that there is something wrong with your air cleaner. ( clogged or something )
Hard or no start at operating temp ( warm engine ) is most likely related to HPO ( high pressure oil ) system leak. Now that I'm thinking, your "sucking" noise could be the oil leak - the HPO pump builds greater than 500 psi oil pressure at idle , and this number actually 4 characters on higher rpm-s. I'm just shooting in dark, but I would not be surprised if you have an oil leak, and that's the "sucking" noise also.

 

how do you troubleshoot the egr cooler? my truck is a little hard to start and idles rough for the first 2 minutes while puffing some white smoke. Have not notced the water level dropping in the coolant tank.
after warm, runs fine, no issues as all. if temps outside are above 60, no problem....
maybe glow plugs?

 

It sounds more like your injectors would appreciate the latest heat flash from the dealer...