06 6.0 Problems running hot and no heat

[lanceparker]

Hey guys, hopefully y'all will be able to help me out. I am a new comer to Fords, mostly been in Chevy's. I just bought a 2006 F-350 SRW 4x4 about 3 weeks ago. Everything has been going fine with the truck besides that I can't get over 15 mpg on a tank of fuel yet and I am on 5th tank of fuel since I bought the truck. Back to my problems though, yesterday my truck started running hot and it is still doing it, the temp will get high enough for "check engine tempurate" message to appear and then after a few seconds the temp will drop back down and then slowly creep back up.
Also, if I didn't have heated seats I would freeze inside the cab. I have the auto climate controls and even if I manually turn the A/C off and crank the temp to 90 degrees and put the fan full on and no matter how long I drive or what I do it always blows out cool air. Any ideas?
Thanks.

 

[bushpilot]

have you checked the level in the COOLANT Degas bottle (mounted
on the drivers side firewall) ??? If i had to bet, im guessing your LOW
or COMPLETELY out of coolant !

REFILL only w/ G05 (gold coolant)...when the truck is COLD...you may
mix to a 70% stength (for maximum protection against boiling & freezing).

use DISTILLED water (do not use tap water...if you can help it) to reduce
the strength.

zerex makes a compatable G05 (available @ autozone).

G-05® Antifreeze/ Coolant

 

[keanoknick]

I agree with what Bush said, also make sure you DO NOT overfill the coolant system, it can cause it to "puke" coolant out of the degas bottle.

 

[melmount]

also assuming that fixes it, figure out where the original coolant went?

 

[Kleetus]

How many miles are on the truck?

 

[BamaSixGun]

Make sure the coolant bottle has no cracks, had to replace mine not to long ago.

 

[bushpilot]

hate to be the barer of bad news but...if its been hot enough
to turn on the CEL/MIL (check engine/malfunction indicator light)
and continued to be driven or run and there WASNT a reason
for the coolant loss there will be a reason now ! (can you say head gaskets or worse)...

check for signs of oil in the coolant & coolant in the oil !

 

[01platinum]

sounds like a broken t-stat, I've seen several partially break and stick 1/2 way open(Restriction) still flows coolant but not enough to keep the engine temp down, and the slow coolant flow through the heater core will not provide in cab heat.

 

[lanceparker]

Thanks guys, I was definitely low on coolant, ended up putting in about 6 quarts. We took the truck into town last night to get some supper and everything is back working like it is supposed to. My heater is actually blowing out hot air and the engine is staying where it is supposed to be. I will be due up for an oil change in about 300 miles, which means the end of this upcoming week, so I am going to continuously monitor the truck and then check everything good when it gets time for service. If I am low on coolant when it get time for the oil change then I will have to find out where in the world the coolant is going.

 

[bushpilot]

remember the RE-FILL on the oil is no more than 14quarts (not 15 like
the book says).

personally i wouldnt let anyone change the oil...and it might be worth it
for you to change the oil and send a sample of it to Blackstone Laboratories - Diesel Engines
to confirm theres no coolant IN the oil.

look at your coolant bottle & around it....you got a bunch of white
crusty deposits ? if you do the coolant level was either over filled or
you COULD have a head gasket issue.

dont fill that coolant bottle past the mid point...theres a TSB on the
fill point --> Recall In Review - 05B32 COOLANT LEVEL MARKINGS