Is this just bad luck or can this engine not digest animals without suffering extensive damage? 2015 F-350 6.7 used as a work truck in agricultural area. Twice in the last nine months an animal going through the fan has taken out the radiator and caused the fan to fly apart damaging other parts of the truck. Why??? Every other truck we have had could churn through animals, most of the time with no damage and occasionally with just a belt off a pulley. Is the Super Duty engine compartment too tight to allow clearance of the carcass? Love the truck but never know when it will puke its guts in this common occurrence. I check under the hood before each start, but obviously visibility is limited in there.
Anyone else have the same experience, or have these been freak occurrences?

 

Yep been there done that not with the truck tractors on the farm lost a brand new John Deere radiator last year squirrel went flying through it. Nothing's built like it was years ago $1,600 worth of damage learn to check as best I could and put some cab fresh or anything with a heavy smell that usually chases the Little Critters away not much else you can do and you're right on the super duty it's hard to see in there probably more like nesting material in flying sticks and other debris they like Gathering sorry for your problems

 

I was raised and lived on a big farm with nothing but diesel engines Combines, tractors, semis, even the lawnmower until I got out of it. 50 years plus.. You may think I am nuts, but we used to spray, coyote **** around the belts of all of our engines, after they had cooled a bit, especially spring and fall. Most if not all of the Farmers in the area, did this. Kept most of the critters out except snakes. Farming near the Missouri River, the snakes would get up around the water pump. We never really found a remedy as the big Bull snakes would just kill and ruin belts when they got wrapped up. This was many years ago, but we would order the formula out of Wichita, KS. A quart would go a long way. Just a suggestion and thought.....

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Our dogs might go crazy smelling coyote urine in the engine but it would be worth it. The first time with this truck was probably a thick bodied snake at it was a hot afternoon on a hot engine - Not much else would want to go there and the only remains were long thin strips of meat.

 

Grill guard

 

A grill guard wouldn't be much use as the animals crawl up into the engine from beneath while parked.

 

Oh and I thought you meant as you were driving down the road. Haven't ran into that problem in quite some time, but had many cats use all 9 doing that in the past.

 

I use moth *****. I hang them in front of the radiator. Engine heat eats them. If the truck going to sit in a field I will put new ones in a holder. It works good.


ALSO CHEAP.


Donovan

 

The title of this thread is very misleading.

 

Not really misleading. The truck keeps sustaining major damage over normal occurrences that most others take in stride. My F-250 heavy with a 460 could eat animals all day. I realize it is just the tradeoff that comes with more plastic parts and a much tighter engine compartment.

 

So, using that logic, if you ran your truck into a tree and it sustained more damage than your old truck would have, you would consider that self destruction. I'm not trying to be a d**k but your thread title gives the impression that your truck keeps spontaneously destroying itself with no outside influence. That's misleading.

 

A more apt comparison would be my old truck could survive a pounding rainstorm while another doesn't. An animal through an engine is a common event that almost never causes damage in (previously more robust) trucks, unlike running into a tree. It simply cannot stand up under normal operating conditions in certain rural environments. I don't mean to cause trouble, I will see if I can change the title.

 

Unfortunately the solution for me is to open the hood and look before I start the truck. I only do it during the cold temps and the fifty million cats across the street that just keep getting fed and not fixed are trying to get warm.

 

Ever since the first incident I open the hood and inspect before each start up. Unfortunately there is no line of sight downwards and the critters are underneath where you cant see them. I pick it up tomorrow. This time it was the fan and the secondary radiator that ate it. Last time it was fan and main radiator. My insurance company is going to get tired paying for this. It hasn't happened at home, but out where I am working so I get a nice long walk out of it.

 

I think I had a cat ride about ten miles before falling out I didn't see it but there was a heck of a racket I guess as all the events were well behind the fan area. One time I had a 70 Nova with no rear speakers but the holes were there and a cat was in the trunk sticking his head through one of the holes