cold start problems
Fleet Owner
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 27,872
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Is it really that common to have white smoke with JUST a head gasket leak (ie when the EGR cooler is still intact)?
New User
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Yes. since a headgasket leak is coolant that would get into the cylinders it will burn white smoke like and egr cooler. an egr cooler leak though is going to have quite a bit of smoke coming out of it. I true sign of headgaskets is coolant coming out of the d-gas bottle (coolant bottle). since combustion gas pressures are alot higher than cooling system pressures, and there is a weak point between them with bad headgaskets, You will see wet around the base of the cap or white crusties on the top of your coolant bottle.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 27,872
Likes: 3,592
If the combustion gases are higher pressure than the coolant (which they are), why would a head gasket leak allow coolant to get into the cylinders? I have seen a TON of posts about puking out the degas bottle, WITHOUT smoke that turned out to be head gasket leaks.
New User
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 8
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Thats why you cant base condeming a headgasket off of smoke. But alot of times with smoke there are other issues. normally on a 6.0L unless you are running a ton of aftermarket parts, headgaskets dont just blow. Blown egr coolers, and blown headgaskets are most likely caused by a restricted egr cooler. Ford sells an Oil cooler service kit which allows you to rebuild your oil cooler, to not have to spend the money and a brand new cooler. So if you have blown headgaskets a majority of the time you also have a leaky egr cooler. you can test the egr cooler with the simple vacuum test, but the actual test is with the egr cooler off of the vehicle. if you were to replace just one of the failed components and not service the oil cooler, odds are that you with have similar issues shortly there after. But if the tailpipe smoke is not burning coolant for sure, then you may be just chasing your tail. injectors alot of time cause smoke and it can be a very light grey that is easily confused for coolant.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,460
Likes: 14
From: The Land Of Time
Sarge
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,460
Likes: 14
From: The Land Of Time
a stuck egr valve will cause lack of power and smoke issues. if you have an issue with a really dirty intake that will make your valve stick open. a fast simple test for that is when the issue is occuring pull the two 8mm bolts out of the egr valve and pull out your valve. smack it shut on a hard surface and reinstall it. if the problem goes away then you have pinpointed the issue. An egr flush is available from BG and I have actually found this flush very effective. Installing a new egr valve may fix the problem but if your intake is still full then it will effect your new valve very soon. If you suspect an egr cooler failure a fast simple way to test that, is to pull 20 inches of vacuum on the cooling system and monitor it. if it holds vacuum for at least 15 minutes then you cooler is fine. if the vacuum drops then you have a faulty cooler. white smoke is either going to be an egr cooler or headgaskets, but greyish smoke from injectors will sometimes be confused with white smoke. if you have a faulty injector sometimes instead of dropping out they can actually be overfueling. this will cause alot of smoke out of the tailgate, and also should not be ignored because this condition can melt down your cylinder causing need of a motor replacement.
The smoke is definately a blueish grey and smells just like raw diesel. The smoke clears up as soon as you pull away from a stop, and only occurs on first start up, with a few seconds of rough running, and when the truck is fully up to temp.
Sarge
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,392
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From: Green Lane, Pa.
05 6.0 125,000 been super lucky up till now. Never had not one problem with this motor, its been super dependable.
But the last few weeks on real cold days 15 degrees or so the motor barely starts ,when it does finally gets going after sputtering and running real rough with blue smoke,& black smoke. it clears up and runs good but not like it used to before all this crap.
I have been using amsoil 15-40 since new, but after this started to happen i tried rotella 5w-40 to assist with the cold condition.Also I never got a cord for the block heater, because did not have the need for it till now.
last night i had the block heater hooked up and made a difference , but not 100 %. The truck has AIRAID a/cleaner, sct tune, (put ot back to the stock setting for now) 4'' straight pipe w/ dual tail pipe splitter. Egr delete w/ plug only.
ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS, DON'T HAVE ANY GOOD DEPENDABLE FORD DIESEL TECHS IN MY AREA IN PHILADELPHIA
But the last few weeks on real cold days 15 degrees or so the motor barely starts ,when it does finally gets going after sputtering and running real rough with blue smoke,& black smoke. it clears up and runs good but not like it used to before all this crap.
I have been using amsoil 15-40 since new, but after this started to happen i tried rotella 5w-40 to assist with the cold condition.Also I never got a cord for the block heater, because did not have the need for it till now.
last night i had the block heater hooked up and made a difference , but not 100 %. The truck has AIRAID a/cleaner, sct tune, (put ot back to the stock setting for now) 4'' straight pipe w/ dual tail pipe splitter. Egr delete w/ plug only.
ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS, DON'T HAVE ANY GOOD DEPENDABLE FORD DIESEL TECHS IN MY AREA IN PHILADELPHIA
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: SC
Its only tuned when I tow. I havent installed a tune in it since Novemeber, so its been stock. I tried putting a tune in it when this started just to see what happened and it was way worse, so I pulled the tune out and have been running it stock since. The only tune it wouldnt smoke on was xtreme street, so I knew there was a problem and I didnt want to ruin anything on my truck so its just been stock.
Sarge
Sarge
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,460
Likes: 14
From: The Land Of Time
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 449
Likes: 0
From: Central Florida
Somewhat! I had the EGR Valve replaced not to long ago and the dealer 'said' they cleaned the intake!
How does one check if the oil cooler is clogged?? Is it a driveway project? Or should I just let a dealer look at it. I am out of Ford warranty, but have an aftermarket warranty.
How does one check if the oil cooler is clogged?? Is it a driveway project? Or should I just let a dealer look at it. I am out of Ford warranty, but have an aftermarket warranty.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 971
Likes: 1
From: IA MN SD
I believe Ford diagnoses a plugged oil cooler the same way we do.... based on ECT vs EOT.
So unless you have a scan tool or some other way to see these two parameters, you'll have to get your Ford tech to hook up his/her scan tool to your truck and go for a ride.
So unless you have a scan tool or some other way to see these two parameters, you'll have to get your Ford tech to hook up his/her scan tool to your truck and go for a ride.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 449
Likes: 0
From: Central Florida
I get some black to gray smoke out of the pipe on start, most of the time. And on hard accelerations, I get a nice stream of dark smoke out the tail. I don't get a no start, or a bad idle either, and I am not losing coolant. I am on an extended vacation and don't have my garage with me. I think I need to get another multi-meter and test the FICM to make sure it is functioning properly. A couple weeks ago, a dealer in Utah told me all systems were go, and that they could not find anything out of spec.
I mentioned in another thread that when I had the EGR Valve replaced, they flashed my FICM, PCM, and TCM to the latest and greatest. I left the next day on my vacation and have been noticing the smoke output ever since. Don't know if it is a product of a 'going' FICM, or if the flashes made my drivetrain act completely different. Two different dealers have given me the green light with respect to diagnosing a problem. I don't know. I guess I will just test the FICM.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,460
Likes: 14
From: The Land Of Time
Chances are if the oil cooler is plugged the EGR cooler is leaking. So the best way to go about diagnosing that would be to point the nose of the truck on a downaward slope, pull the egr valve and see if the intake is wet.
The intake cleaning was what they did with mine first, it lasted about 3 months before the choo choo train amounts of smoke came out the tail pipe.
Sarge
The intake cleaning was what they did with mine first, it lasted about 3 months before the choo choo train amounts of smoke came out the tail pipe.
Sarge