white steam!!
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New User
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Kansas
white steam!!
2004 F350, CC LB, 6.0L
I started my truck this morning and went down the road and white steam was coming out at idle and when boosted. I mean ALOT of steam under boost!, no loss of power was noticed. Truck was warmed up too.
Have been losing a little coolant over time but nothing major. THis is the first time it has belched white "sweet" smelling steam. I do have a little bit of white crusty under my cap on bottle. But truck has been running fine.
EGR cooler or Head gaskets?
Whats the best way to determine what it is? What best course of action if EGR? Delete Kit or new cooler?
Thanks
I started my truck this morning and went down the road and white steam was coming out at idle and when boosted. I mean ALOT of steam under boost!, no loss of power was noticed. Truck was warmed up too.
Have been losing a little coolant over time but nothing major. THis is the first time it has belched white "sweet" smelling steam. I do have a little bit of white crusty under my cap on bottle. But truck has been running fine.
EGR cooler or Head gaskets?
Whats the best way to determine what it is? What best course of action if EGR? Delete Kit or new cooler?
Thanks
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
Likes: 4
From: Claremore, OK
Going off what I've learned on this forum over the last year....put the rear of the truck on higher ground than the front and pull the EGR. If there is coolant visible then it's the EGR cooler. If there isn't any water/coolant showing it's head gaskets. With an '04, the original warranty is close to running out (5 yr/100k miles). Hopefully one of the grurus will chime in, I think I've got the above details right...but I'd like a secound opinion to make sure I've been paying attention.
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New User
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Kansas
Warranty is out on it, I'm at 140 K....bummer
I jacked it up as far as I could (with my jack maybe 10" or so) and looked in egr valve opening and NO wetness at all.
I had a local diesel shop tell me that it will not always be visible in there unless it was a major failure. True/False???
SO I guess I'm really hoping its the cooler still....Anyone know how bad it is to replace EGR cooler myself??
I jacked it up as far as I could (with my jack maybe 10" or so) and looked in egr valve opening and NO wetness at all.
I had a local diesel shop tell me that it will not always be visible in there unless it was a major failure. True/False???
SO I guess I'm really hoping its the cooler still....Anyone know how bad it is to replace EGR cooler myself??
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 724
Likes: 2
From: Sarasota, fl
It is actually a big work to replace it or delete it, but doable. Keep your eyes open, learn as much as you can here.
Now my opinion, or experience what I've learned so far here on FTE.
Head gasket issues symptom is usually puking at the de-gas bottle - you mentioned that you might have that. In normal operating conditions, the pressure in the combustion chamber is way higher than the pressure in your coolant system, your coolant system gets pressurized by this if you have blown HG, and that's why the de-gas bottle overflows. This does not work the opposite way, so HG issue not shows white smoke through the exhaust at operating temp with a running truck. Now you said it did it when you started up, that would be a different story, since the coolant can sneak in to the combustion chamber overnight, and it could cause the white smoke, but it also would cause rough running for a while, and it should clear up relatively quickly.
So I have high believes that your smoking problem not HG. But the white residue point to that also...
Now white smoke could caused by injector issue - unburnt fuel, but if it does smell sweet, I would put my vote to EGR cooler issue...
Now my opinion, or experience what I've learned so far here on FTE.
Head gasket issues symptom is usually puking at the de-gas bottle - you mentioned that you might have that. In normal operating conditions, the pressure in the combustion chamber is way higher than the pressure in your coolant system, your coolant system gets pressurized by this if you have blown HG, and that's why the de-gas bottle overflows. This does not work the opposite way, so HG issue not shows white smoke through the exhaust at operating temp with a running truck. Now you said it did it when you started up, that would be a different story, since the coolant can sneak in to the combustion chamber overnight, and it could cause the white smoke, but it also would cause rough running for a while, and it should clear up relatively quickly.
So I have high believes that your smoking problem not HG. But the white residue point to that also...
Now white smoke could caused by injector issue - unburnt fuel, but if it does smell sweet, I would put my vote to EGR cooler issue...
Senior User
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 311
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From: Clearwater
Diesel tech here, trucker33 your egr cooler has blown severly, if you let it get bad enough then when you shut it off you are going to end up with a hydro-locked truck. Even when head gaskets are bad you don't get anywhere near that much white smoke, it just vents out of your reservoir cap when loaded and it will slowly eat your coolant. If you are belching that much white smoke then you need a cooler or you need to delete it. You might want to change your oil cooler as well if it has never been done.
Logistics Pro
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 724
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From: Sarasota, fl
There is a big difference, the hydro lock would be the not turning over.
Hydro-lock the engine means you have a serious amount of water/coolant in one or more cylinder, and when the piston moves up it can not compress the liquid, therefor the crankshaft can't turn over.
If it does turn over, it's not hydro-locked.
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Brett Foote
Senior User
Joined: May 2009
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From: Clearwater
Trucker33,
I've seen it before, its hydro-locked like I said. When they are that bad, when you shut it off all that coolant leaks into the exhaust and back into the cylinders and you are stuck. When you crank it, it goes clunk!! Glowplugs will have to be removed to evacuate the fluid. I hope you have a warranty or be prepared to shell out several grand at the dealership.
I've seen it before, its hydro-locked like I said. When they are that bad, when you shut it off all that coolant leaks into the exhaust and back into the cylinders and you are stuck. When you crank it, it goes clunk!! Glowplugs will have to be removed to evacuate the fluid. I hope you have a warranty or be prepared to shell out several grand at the dealership.
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New User
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Kansas
UPDATE****
Yup she was hydro locked!! dut to an extreme EGR cooloer failure caused by a head gasket failure....
They are replacing the EGR cooler, oil cooler, degass bottle, and Head gaskets
Have to take out a personel loan to pay for it. I even asked what they would give me for trade in....LMAO..the told me 2000.00 bucks for a 04 F350 CC LB truck...thats in great shape, except engine.
Yup she was hydro locked!! dut to an extreme EGR cooloer failure caused by a head gasket failure....
They are replacing the EGR cooler, oil cooler, degass bottle, and Head gaskets
Have to take out a personel loan to pay for it. I even asked what they would give me for trade in....LMAO..the told me 2000.00 bucks for a 04 F350 CC LB truck...thats in great shape, except engine.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,990
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From: Middleburg, FL
More than likely it was the EGR cooler failure that caused the HG failure. Splitting hairs, but sorry to hear of your woes. Hope they get it fixed. By the way, I'd take advantage of the opportunity to have them install head studs while they're in there and you won't have to worry about HG issues again.