smell

[Jay D]

Hello everyone
I have a 05 f250 w/6.0 69156 miles. On wed. I used the truck to go to the store when I got there I could smell antifreeze. I checked the level fine no leaks nothing. So I thought It was the guy next to me. Today family and I went out for the 1st time this season. About. 1/2 way from the campground maybe 30 min. Into the trip I could smell it again. I pulled into a safe place checked everything and nothing again. The smell would come and go. No one in front or behind me. I'm worried cause I've heard horrible story's about some the 6.0s. Any thoughts? Truck is stock no mods/add in's.

[poochy]

could be heater core pretty common to smell antifreeze first then start fogging windsheild also check under passenger carpet sometimes runs down inside fire wall underneath good luck happy camping

[SAD]

Originally Posted by Jay D

...Any thoughts?...

Yes. You have a leak.

I'd be looking for any pooling, puddling, or scale - not on the ground, but any place the hoses route and around the thermostat. You could easily have a hose pinhole or seepage around a gasket.

Oh and BTW... Your truck is 7 years old.... If they are the original hoses, they're due anyway.

[Jay D]

Thanks guys. I'll check those item's my fluid level is still the same?

[SAD]

Originally Posted by Jay D

Thanks guys. I'll check those item's my fluid level is still the same?

If you have seepage or a pinhole, you can smell it sooner than you would detect much of a fluid level drop. That pungent smell is good for at least one thing lol.

[hoffbrew]

welcome to the 6.0!!! are you blowing a puff of white smoke when cold start? Watch through your side mirror in the a.m. and let me know.

[Jay D]

White smoke = egr cooler? I didn't notice anything this am and it was about 38.

[35mastr]

It be the heater core. But check everything where it comes throught the cab for any leaks.

[Ruffus]

Jay D, just got my 2006 6.0 back from Ford yesterday. I have been fighting the same problem as you for 1-1/2 years and it kept getting worse. Finally found out several months ago that the antifreeze was being forced out of the fill cap and hitting the hot engine and drying before it hit the ground. You will see a white film which looks like hard water spots around the fill cap if this is where it's coming from. I took my truck to three dealers and got three different diagnoious until I went to a dealership in a farm community, Metter Georgia, and found a mechanic who knew Ford Diesels. Come to find out that the Ford Gold antifreeze has a way of turning to silican and clogs the oil cooler if the EGR Valve gets dirty and over heated. This causes other problems internally if it's not fixed early. Ford has changed the reguirements on the Gold antifreeze and has gone back to a green glyco based. No recall but a dealer memo. How many miles do you have on your truck? It should be warrantied for 100K for some of the problems.

[Jay D]

Ruffus I have just over 69k. I will check the cap in the am. I did read before that the ford coolant wasn't that good for internals after a while. I didn't buy the truck new and it was 5 years old when I bought it from a private party. It only had 22k on it when i picked it up. Would there still be some kind of warranty ?

[Jay D]

I checked the front floor nothing, when I started it no white smoke, a little bit of white crust around the threads on tank cap.

[RCrawler]

I think the warranty is 5yr/100k, so you are likely out of it.

Need to have the cooling system pressure tested, as well as the cap.

Jason

[Ruffus]

Jay D the pressure check should run about $170. Also see the private message I sent you about my truck. Hope it helps.

[Hansel]

If your smelling coolant, and the coolant has never been changed I'd start by looking at all the hoses, and cap. Then I'd do a complete system flush, and replace the coolant, you don't want your EGR to get clogged or your in deep you know what!!! If your pushing coolant out the cap you have a problem, go to Powerstroke Help. com or over to Youtube and do a search for him there, tons of info. The 6.0L is a good engine but the coolant and the EGR system are know to be headache's.

Good Luck and let us know what you find out.

[Jay D]

I'm going to order the EGR delete kit, flush everything out and cross my fingers. Thanks everyone for the replies, very helpful. Jay

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Glad this topic came up. Went outside this morning and checked the lid for the coolant, white flakes. Level was low and there has been some white smoke on first start in the am's... Goes in the shop Wed. am for flush, hoses,' snake belt & EGR check/ replace if not good. Going with the good ole' coolent with distilled water..
Have 91k and small change on mine and have been (I reckon), lucky so far...
Trying to get ready for the migration back to central Utah at the end of the month.

Thanks again for bringing this to our (the forum's), attention.

hankaye

[bartletts]

For those chasing frustrating leaks, may I recommend this kit:
http://www.amazon.com/Tracerline-TRA...4687328&sr=8-1

You put a bit of the dye into the cooling system (they make dyes for that, oil, trans fluid, and AC systems), run it for a while, wait until night time, then shine the included UV flashlight around. The leak lights up CSI-style. It's neat stuff.

[Diesel Dude]

Could be a few things. A simple leak in one of the hoses, egr cooler failure, oil cooler clogged, or head gaskets.

Checking the degas cap is a good start. Also remove your egr valve and check the valve and intake for wetness. If it is damp at all it's your egr cooler (super common). Let me know if you have any other questions. 6.0's are one of our specialities.

[Jay D]

I found out that the egr cooler was bad, I got a price of $1500 for part/labor. Then was told if you change out the egr cooler u should also do the oil cooler seeing it's all ready apart. I was going to have both of them done next week, when this past weekend the check engine light came on. Truck running rough with some smoke out the back. The scanner test showed 4 of the injectors came up with low voltage. So I decided to send it on it's way. Picked up a 2010 F250.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Had a local Garage do the job, drain (orange), flush cooling system, replaced upper and lower radiator hoses, check heater hoses (for age cracking, checking), checked EGR valve (checked good), and replace Serpentine belt (check all pullies & tensioner). Replace coolant with green and distilled water
Took a day and $500.00. Peace of mind ..... priceless

hankaye