Uh-oh

[shhorn68]

I was pulling a trailer, with 5 round bales of hay on it, and while pulling up a hill I smelled some antifreeze. No overheating and no smoke. When I got home I checked the coolant bottle and noticed some residue on it and the level was a little low. I know the typical problem is likely the egr cooler or head gaskets. The truck suffers from no loss of power and there is no smoke. I am looking for some advice about the most likely culprit. I did a search and it sounds like the egr cooler is probably the problem.

BTW the only mod on the truck is 4" turboback exhaust (no cat, no muffler) and it has only been on the truck a month.

Thanks for any help.

 

[6.0PSD777]

egr cooler or the oil cooler could be plugged - Best place to start in my opinion

 

[atk]

what level do you usually keep your coolant level at?(in your coolant bottle)

 

[blood]

it may be fine and just a flash boil at the egr cooler.
if you start seeing white smoke out the tail pipe its a bad egr cooler most likely caused by a clogged oil cooler.

 

[shhorn68]

I typically keep the coolant level at the "minimum" mark on the coolant bottle. I hope the flash boil was the problem. I am on a job right now and will not be back for a week. I plan to pull the EGR valve asap and check things out. I am giving some serious consideration to doing an EGR delete but how do I unclog an oil cooler?

 

[6.0PSD777]

how do I unclog an oil cooler?

Replace it

 

[6.0PSD777]

Ford Power Stroke 6.0L Parts Upgrades from BulletProofDiesel.com

These guys make nice stuff

 

[shhorn68]

Thanks for the input. I have been on the BulletProof site a few times and have heard a lot of goog things about the products they have. I also found MKM Customs. They have similar products and look professionally made but I have not heard anything about them. I am trying to make my truck last as long as possible.

 

[rustinh1]

I would say it was a flash boil of coolant, but your checks will confirm or deny that.

As for the oil cooler, Ford has a redesigned unit out that will be going in my Harley truck on its next visit to the dealer. Dad's will be getting it as well along with head studs and the EGR delete from River City Diesel.

 

[shhorn68]

I have some days off coming up and I plan on doing a coolant flush and then pulling the EGR valve and giving it a good cleaning. I called the local Ford dealership and had them set aside a gasket and o-ring kit for the EGR and some VC9 for the flush. I did a coolant flush a little over a year ago but did not use the VC9 (I had not heard of it at the time). Hopefully this will help clear up the problem. I hope...because money is a little tight right now and I do not have a good place to work on the truck for much bigger projects.