F-250 6.0 2004 PSD 86,000 miles

I had the white smoke, but got it back to the house before losing all coolant without overheating.

13000 miles ago, I had a new EGR cooler put in after it failed. They did not replace the oil cooler, because they said nothing was wrong with it.

Now that it has happened again, and I'm past the warranty, I want to do this repair myself.

How can I determine if I have blown head gaskets? I see no coolant in my oil, and no oil in my coolant. (I just examined the dipstick and stuck my nose in the degasse bottle).

Also, can any of you gurus point me in the right direction so I can brush up on the procedure for finding the actual problem?

I'm assuming I will need to drains my cylinders to prevent hydro-lock, correct?

And...I'm planning on buying the "bombproof" egr cooler. Should I also change the oil cooler as a matter of course?

I know, I know....a lot of questions.

 

check out this link

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ad-gasket.html

 

What is the warranty coverage periodicty for replaced OEM parts that are emmissions related? Seems to me that any Emmissions related failure should be covered under a different set of rules....but when an OEM part is replaced under warranty...isn't that particular part now given additional coverage time limits? Can anyone answer this?

 

i would change the oil cooler if your already inside. mine tested out to be fine but the mechanic said that if I could afford to do it this would be the best time, so now i my used in a box as a spare.
not always do the head gaskets blow, egr cooler blows, and oil cooler goes out too but it can happen, i know first hand.

 

Most times it 12 month or 12K miles. He's gone 13k so depending on his relationship with the dealer they may or may not help him out. As far as emissions components one you hit 5yr/100k your warranty is gone.

Sarge

 

FWIW, We've all agreed many times over that Ford/IH would design a heavy duty powerplant with three such built-in low hours/miles critical failure parts is inexcusable. The only good news is cooler failure is much more common than head gasket. On most vehicles, combustion pressure/exhaust gas in the coolant and white smoke out the tailpipe is guaranteed to be a head gasket failure. However, on the 6.0 with the integrated EGR and oil coolers, it may be any of these one, two or three failures. Admit I don't know a sure, quick driveway test to determine which or how many problems you have.

While you are in there, check the belt tensioner pulley. They usually start going away toward 100kmi.

thnx, jack vines

 

Thanks for the reply, last time this happened they replaced my EGR cooler. They told me nothing was wrong with my head gaskets. Boy I wish someone out there knew a good driveway test to determine whether the head gaskets need repair.

 

Blown head gasket and EGR cooler failure both can show "puking" at the de-gas bottle, but in MOST cases, with a running engine in operating temperature - a blown head gasket won't show white smoke out of the tail pipe, because the combustion pressure always higher than the pressure in the coolant system, and that won't allow the coolant get in to the combustion chamber, but it will elevate the pressure in the coolant system - puking.

EGR cooler failure: a cracked EGR cooler will allow the exhaust gas pressurize the coolant system temporarily - puking,
but as soon as the exhaust pressure is lower than the coolant pressure - it will let the coolant sneak back to the intake manifold - through the EGR cooler and the EGR valve, and it will make it's way to the combustion chamber - white smoke out the tail pipe.
So I'd say that there is a driveway test - I know someone will throw a rock on me for this.
Running engine - operating temperature - and white smoke out the tail pipe is EGR cooler failure - if it's also puking.
No white smoke at all but puking under load is head gasket failure.

 

As stated above, if you have white smoke out the tail pipe and you are building too much pressure in the cap then you have an egr cooler leak. Buy or obtain a cooling system pressure tester kit and pressurize the system with the key off. If the pressure won't hold and there are no external leaks then you have a egr cooler leak. After egr cooler replacement, drive vehicle until warm. Vent pressure from cap then reinstall cooling system pressure tester, at idle peg the gas and see if the pressure climbs excessively. Also brake torque the truck several times, if the pressure starts climbing above the cap release pressure(16 psi), then the headgaskets are bad. Also, 2004 engines were the worst for headgasket failures.

 

Just trying to learn something about 6.0s here, so I have to ask questions. I'm not a 6.0 expert, but on other engines, it is possible to have the head gasket blown between a cylinder and a coolant passage, so pressurized coolant could be going into a cylinder and not being visible externally.

Does the 6.0 intake stroke always operate at more than 16# boost? If so, then it is different than other engines in my experience. On the intake stroke of other turbocharged engines at idle and low RPMs, until turbo boost exceeds the coolant system pressure, the cylinder vacuum is lower than coolant system pressure. On other turbo engines with blown head gaskets, at idle and low RPMs, I've seen coolant sucked into cylinders and burned out the exhaust as white smoke.

thnx, jack vines

 

The boost pressure could be anywhere between 0-28 psi at anygiven time depending on certain variables. So to say the the boost is 16psi all the time on the intake stroke would never happen consistantly...unless you are trying to do it. The cooling system is under pressure, that pressure is determined by the setting on the cap. A cooling system pressure tester is just a guage that is attached to a hand pump and is normally used to pump the system up to a given pressure, noted by the marking on the cap. It can however be used the other way around to see if combustion pressure is entering the cooling system, via HG failure, by reading the presure on the guage...hope that hels explain it a little.

Sarge

 

"I'm not a 6.0 expert, but on other engines, it is possible to have the head gasket blown between a cylinder and a coolant passage, so pressurized coolant could be going into a cylinder and not being visible externally."

On a diesel it is not, the compression from the cylinders is too strong to allow pressurized cooling system to enter the cylinder in such large amounts to produce white smoke. If it were that severe, you would be suffering from a cracked head or something else equally severe.

"Does the 6.0 intake stroke always operate at more than 16# boost? If so, then it is different than other engines in my experience. On the intake stroke of other turbocharged engines at idle and low RPMs, until turbo boost exceeds the coolant system pressure, the cylinder vacuum is lower than coolant system pressure. On other turbo engines with blown head gaskets, at idle and low RPMs, I've seen coolant sucked into cylinders and burned out the exhaust as white smoke."

Diesel engines do not create vacuum thus the vacuum pump that f-series have to provide vacuum for blend door actuation in the a/c system. They do not have throttle plates to restrict the incoming air and create vacuum. Even those early 6.0's that did have a throttle plate, the plate was never closed enough at idle to create vacuum. The only time the plate partially closed was during egr operation to create a restriction to draw exhaust gases into the intake. Late models simply used a exhaust scoop in the turbo supply pipes.

 

Agree diesels do not create a vacuum in the intake manifold, but they must create a low pressure area in the cylinder, else air would not be drawn in at idle. Guarantee diesels can and do leak coolant into cylinders and white smoke out the exhausts. Doesn't take much coolant to cause white smoke - Been there, seen that.

thnx, jack vines

 

Jack up the rear of the truck, and pull the egr valve. Got moisture in the intake? Cracked egr cooler is the culprit. And the oil cooler should always be replaced along with the egr cooler. The oil cooler gets plugged with casting sand, limits the coolant to the egr cooler, and CRACK goes the egr cooler. And put a coolant filter on the truck. I would delete the egr cooler if I was you. And if you are seeing your boost at 16 lbs at idle you have a stuck unison ring in the turbo.