Help Needed First Diesel - One Question

[The_Conservative]

I just picked up my first diesel truck. I lost my job (and a company truck with it) last month and needed something “affordable” as a stop-gap. I purchased it from a mutual friend.

I know it has been maintained with an open checkbook. The Turbo was replaced recently and the FICM was replaced at the same time. EGR has been deleted.

It runs great.... however, as I wrote the check, the seller says “just keep an eye on the temp guage, and keep a couple gallons of distilled water in the backseat.. it evaporates ever since the EGR delete”

I drove it 3 hours down the interstate right after I purchased it with no issues. I get to my destination; park, go inside and ask my wife to come outside to check it out. She instantly asks to take it around the block.

So she gets in and starts driving around the neighborhood (low speed) and we get a warning about the temperature. We get back to the house, I let it cool down and added 2 gallons of distilled water.

How often is this going to happen? This is going to be a pain in the ass if so.

What can I do to fix it so I don’t have to constantly add water?

 

[79jasper]

Firstly you should read up on some of the common 6.0 "issues."
You will have to figure out where the coolant is disappearing. You should be able to look all over the engine for traces of a coolant leak.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[troutwest66]

And obviously distilled water is not the right way "patch" the issue. Like was said the leak needs to be fixed. Might be some money up front but will be worth it if the truck will be right afterwards. Mine had some issues from neglect from the previous owner. Nothing critical but needed attention. Once that was addressed it has been awesome.

 

[dmcdow]

I just picked up my first diesel truck. I lost my job (and a company truck with it) last month and needed something “affordable” as a stop-gap. I purchased it from a mutual friend.

I know it has been maintained with an open checkbook. The Turbo was replaced recently and the FICM was replaced at the same time. EGR has been deleted.

It runs great.... however, as I wrote the check, the seller says “just keep an eye on the temp guage, and keep a couple gallons of distilled water in the backseat.. it evaporates ever since the EGR delete”

I drove it 3 hours down the interstate right after I purchased it with no issues. I get to my destination; park, go inside and ask my wife to come outside to check it out. She instantly asks to take it around the block.

So she gets in and starts driving around the neighborhood (low speed) and we get a warning about the temperature. We get back to the house, I let it cool down and added 2 gallons of distilled water.

How often is this going to happen? This is going to be a pain in the ass if so.

What can I do to fix it so I don’t have to constantly add water?

If I had to guess you have blown head gaskets. The coolant shouldn't go anywhere. Do this

If the coolant bottle is burping coolant (in your case distilled water), your head gaskets are blown. How do I know? I submit the following:

I bought my '05 new and have done:
CAC tube replacement - ~40k mi
Coolant bottle replacement - ~40K mi
Oiler cooler replacement - ~75k mi
EGR delete with tune - ~75k mi
Head gasket replacement (w/ fukn black diamond head gaskets) - ~75k mi
Fan clutch - 90k mi
Oil cooler replacement - ~190k mi
Head gasket replacement (w/ Ford gaskets) - ~190k mi
Blue Spring Upgrade - ~190k mi
Ball joints (replaced with moog) - ~190k mi
Other various "minor" things (nothing over $1k at a time)

I figured out the head gaskets were blown at ~190k mi using the video I posted above.
That's it. I bought the truck in 2005 for ~$35k
Work done at ~$75k mi - $6k
Work done at ~190k - $5.5k
So for ~15 years I'm out ~$50K total. You can't buy a truck for that amount today. At 190k mi I was faced with buying a new truck. No brainer. I'm at 210k mi and [knock wood] going strong. Her name is Bulldog Betsy. I love that truck.

I fukn hate the fact that International farmed out the upper end of this engine and didn't design it themselves. The lower end is solid. The bores on the cylinders both times the heads were pulled were perfect. The tranny is solid and the rest of the vehicle is too.