Hopefully you all can give me a little hope. <!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o></o>
I have an 04 (Aug 03 build date) 350 that I have been having on and off issues with and after this last weekend's short tow of a little over a hundred miles, and going through 20 gallons of fuel I know something is going on.
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Here is what I have:
46,000 miles
EGR Cooler replaced at 43000 under warranty. Will do an EGR delete soon.
VGT turbo was chewed up at 43000 when the EGR cooler went out. Replaced the VGT with a 64mm ball bearing Non-VGT turbo from River City diesel. (LOVE IT)
Ever since the EGR cooler went, it has been puking coolant when I tow, no mater how gingerly I treat it, it still manages to puke some. If I drive it normal when towing, it pukes ALOT.
I have a SCT tuner running a torque tow or economy tunes from Elite Diesel.
I want to believe (I swear its not denial) that it might be something other than HGs.
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This past weekend even when I was pulling a 3 mile 7% grade, EGTs never went above 1100. Coolant temp stayed under 210. The only two major symptoms are HORRIBLE mileage when towing and that sweet coolant smell in the engine compartment.
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No white or egregious black smoke. No signs of coolant in the oil. Just puking and poor mileage when towing. ( 13-16 mpg when not towing)
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Here is what I have planned for mods:
1) EGR Cooler delete
2) Coolant Filter
3) Re-gear to 4.10 or 4.33
4) Replace "toilet seat" intake with later 04 horseshoe
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The primary reason I own the truck is to pull our 34' fifth wheel to the dunes. Dunes season is upon us, and I hope not to have too much down time with major issues. HELP! What am I looking at?
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Thanks in advance.







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headgaskets, headstuds, and do the egr delete at the same time. It is possible the egr cooler crapped out again. I have seen bad ones out of the box. Also, the dealer should have changed the oil cooler at the same time as the other work. A plugged oil cooler often causes the egr cooler to fail.

 

Its time for head gaskets and studs man. Check out the kit First Coast Diesel has they have a special for $675 for ARP studs and better gaskets.

http://firstcoastdiesel.com/

 

I asked about the oil cooler when the dealer had it. They claimed it was fine and that they could not replace it under warranty, is there any other parts that I should take care of while in there?

The other issue for me is I have no reputable Diesel shops anywhere near me. If anyone has a recommendation on a shop anywhere in the Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara or Kern county areas of Southern California, I am all ears.

I noticed on ARP studs a choice between 18mm and 20mm dowels, is there a way to tell which one is needed before you get in there?

 

I know you didn't mention Orange or Riverside counties, but Bud at OC Diesel Shop in Mission Viejo http://www.ocdieselshop.com/ and Loren at Diesel Tech in San Jacinto http://www.dieseltech1.com/ are both top notch techs with the Power Stroke engines. You can't go wrong with either of them.

 

im in the as we speak of doin head gaskets and studs, egr cooler delete, oil cooler, ccv mod, glow plugs and turbo. i had to wait before i ordered my head gaskets because i found out that if built before 9-12-03 it could have either 18 or 20mm dowels. only way to tell is when you tear it apart. my head gaskets werent bad, but i decided to do them anyways since i was doin the egr and oil cooler. at least ill know ill never have to tear it down that far again. kind of a preventative maintenence thing.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. I called OC Diesel, they quoted ~$3600 for studs and head gaskets. Seems steep, but then again, I am just a cheap *******.

 

Yeah, it ain't cheap....but knowing that nothing will be overlooked and the job will be done properly makes it a little easier to fork over the dough, IMO.

 

Ok I am no longer in denial and I know that i need head gaskets and studs, after recommendations from Steve and doing some other research and calling around, OC Diesel Shop got my business.
Drove 2 hrs down to see them on Friday and talked with Bud. Great guys, real professional, they got my business.

ARP Studs and head gaskets with oil cooler replacement ~$3800. They are also installing the EGR delete that I have coming from RCD for nothing extra.

While they are in there and everything is accessible, is there anything else I should do?
Fluidampnr?
What about injectors? I am not made of money, but I really only like paying for stuff once.
Thanks,

 

It's never easy to spend that kind of money, but I think you made a good choice in going to Bud.

(BTW - off topic, but you're now a member of the SoCal chapter - here's your intro thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...e-chapter.html stop in and say hello)

As far as the injectors go, I can't see changing them just because.

 

Got an update?

 

Have not got it back yet, I was out of town all week and could not make it down last night to pick it up. Talked to Bud on the phone and oil cooler was bad as well so it was replaced. I guess they had a crew from Diesel Power in there this week doing an article on something. (not my truck)
Work and Damages to date.
Egr Delete
Fluidampr
Air Dog
Oil Cooler
HG and Studs
Total ~$4600

I have been really impressed working with Bud and his guys at OC Diesel Shop, can't wait to pick it up and drive it again!

 

I live in St. Petersburg, FL. I'm getting a high pitched squeal just accellerating from a light. Not puking but somehow the reservoir is getting pressurized.

My question on the original post is with 46k miles is the job not covered under warranty? Maybe its 5 years 100k miles and the 5 years is up...

I have 74k miles on my 06. Never towed more than about 7k pounds. No mods other than an SCT Livewire with a custom program that I specifically asked would NOT stretch my studs or blow my HGs.

I am taking it to Walker Ford in Clearwater unless someone can recommend somewhere better in Tampa Bay.

Hoping just EGR cooler or something and job will be under warranty. $4k would ruin Christmas!!!

 

I have a 04 with the 03 engine. 5 months ago on a return trip from Hatteras NC pulling the boat it started running the cooling fan all the time and puking from the bottle. Comp check showed a big difference between the oil and coolant temp. I had the oil cooler and egr cooler replaced (egr cooler pressure checked ok but put a new one in anyway just to be sure) Egr cooler now has a stainless plug in the exhaust input side. Oil cooler was completely blocked with casting sand. Other than a cooling system filter there are no mods on the truck. A bit over 3500 miles since and still running a pulling perfectly and that fan almost never engages. Total cost of repair $2500.

 

Took my truck to Walker Ford in Clearwater, FL.

Symptoms in my previous thread.

Was not HG's. They replaced the EGR cooler, installed some filtration unit that never needs replacing, the reservoir, cleaned the oil cooler, etc. Also found some fuel pressure regulator leaking and replaced that.

All done under warranty. I had the heated tranny flush done. Very happy with the service. Never even mention or question about ever running a tuner.

All under warranty. They told me they have done about 15 of these EGR replacements this year and have never done head gaskets on a 2006.

Merry Christmas! Got out for $351...