Strange odor under load
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Strange odor under load
I have a 2003 f350 with a 6.0 and when I am pulling a load or driving up a hill when the truck is working harder, I get a strange smell. 
It only lasts as long as it is under load and goes away quickly. All gauges look good with no over heating in the motor or trans. Can't really describe the smell, maybe antifreeze? but my son said it smelled like bad fish. And no I haven't been fishing lately.
Any help would be appriciated.
It only lasts as long as it is under load and goes away quickly. All gauges look good with no over heating in the motor or trans. Can't really describe the smell, maybe antifreeze? but my son said it smelled like bad fish. And no I haven't been fishing lately. Any help would be appriciated.
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From: Kansas City/Breckenridge
Most definitely coolant. Pop your hood and look at your overflow bottle there will most likely be white chalk all around it with stains running down it.
Try swapping out to the new cap. If that doesn't fix it your looking at expensive problems. EGR Cooler and/or headgaskets
Also you should flush your coolant after you get the new cap.
Try swapping out to the new cap. If that doesn't fix it your looking at expensive problems. EGR Cooler and/or headgaskets
Also you should flush your coolant after you get the new cap.
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One other question. If there is white chalky substance under and around the cap and bottle, does that mean that is more likely the cap and if no chalky stuff is found it is the cooler or head gaskets?
Thanks
Thanks
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From: Kansas City/Breckenridge
If you find the white chaulky residue then your are blowing coolant out of your degass bottle. A egr cooler and/or headgaskets can cause this along with the bad cap. It is quite a bit cheaper to see if the cap fixes the problem rather than replacing half your major engine components. Plus you need the new cap anyways.
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From: Stevens County, WA
I had that problem once about 2 years ago. There was no residue around the degas bottle cap either. It turned out to be a cracked degas bottle. The bottle was replaced and no issues since. I think my situation is pretty rare though because I can't recall any threads on here with cracked degas bottles except for mine.
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Well here is what I have done. Removed the cap and cleaned it up a little. Removed the EGR valve and inspected. Only found black soot, no wet areas or odor of anitfreeze. I had the back end of the truck up higher to see if there was any fluid in the intake. Found nothing. Inspected the rest of the motor area for white residue and found none. Put the EGR back in and test drove and can't smell any anti-freeze burning now. No white smoke out the exhaust at all (never was) . So I am not sure what to think. There definately an odor before. Could the have caused the smell?
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From: Kansas City/Breckenridge
There was coolant coming out of something under the hood. I had the odor only under heavy load and was slightly puking. Replaced the cap and all was well. Even though you may not have EGR cooler problems you could still have a bad cap or shot headgaskets. It will most likely get worse and you will be able to smell it under hard acceleration. Just go to the dealer and spend $8 on the updated cap then flush your coolant (if it hasn't been done by now it needs to be done anyways) and have the peace of mind.
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