Coolant Leak?????

[emh3090]

I just noticed my 6.0 has a slight coolant leak. The truck has been parked for almost 24 hours and has been leaking coolant very slowly. I had noticed this leak until yesterday after a 1 hour trip back and forth to the boat ramp. I looked up from underneath and it appeared to be coming from the passenger side near the back of the engine. I looks like it is dripping off of the starter. I am no gear head by far, but I am learning about these engine along the way. I bought the truck about 2 weeks ago, 2005 6.0 power-stroke with 48,000 miles. It looks like the leak is coming from just on top of the starter around where a wire that has orange insulation around it connects the rear part of the engine. I am headed to my local dealer to fix other minor issues tomorrow and I would like to be a little educated and not sound like a total idiot when I tell them about the problem. Any help would be great!!!! Thanks.

 

[DaveBen]

I would say it is coming from the top rear of the engine. I can't think of anything that is tied to the coolant system except the coolant fill bottle. Check it for a loose hose clamp or broken hose.

Dave

 

[emh3090]

Thanks again Dave. Another question.... As I read more and more I find more things to check out. I noticed a small amount of a white crusty substance on the outside of my coolant de-gas bottle. I read an article about replacing the factory de-gas bottle cap with an aftermarket one from advanced auto parts. I read the factory lid has a weak spring that fails and will not hold pressure in the de-gas bottle. Any thoughts on that? I also noticed a small amount of a black , almost sludge like substance around the outside base of the EGR valve. I have not noticed any performance issues and the truck seems to be running great. Should the "sludge" concern me that I am about to spend a bunch of money for repairs due to a failing EGR???

Thanks, eric

 

[WD40]

( I read an article about replacing the factory de-gas bottle cap with an aftermarket one from advanced auto)

I may have read the same thing that you did, I went and got two new one for both of my Fords, car and diesel truck are the same number.
It for sure can't hurt anything.
Doug

 

[Dogman]

Start up your truck and look and see if you have bubble coming up in the bottle with the motor running. If you do you need to have it checked out by a pro. This could be the first signs of a blown head gasket or a oil cooler problem.

 

[emh3090]

I had the truck checked by a certified 6.0 tech today and he found two codes coming up..P0299 (low turbo boost) and P0404 (EGR performance). He thinks the turbo boost might be related to a bad sensor in the turbo that controls the blades or it might just be dirty, the EGR problem is the usual and needs to be replaced. The coolant drip he thinks might be from the oil cooler as mentioned above, but is hard for him to tell unless he tears into the engine a little more. I just asked him to do a quick once over. With all this being said, I am now thinking about either an EGR delete or upgrading the EGR cooler tube. He said either one is a good upgrade and will avoid a lot of issues down the road and he would charge about the same for both (around $700 for parts and the install). Any input on which one is better than the other??

 

[jherman]

thats a great price, i just did an EGR delete, 340.00 EGR delete kit, oil cooler replacement 370.00, DP tuner tune 50.00 to shut off the CEL and add 40 HP and about 160.00 in other supplies to do the job. I did all the labor myself so you got a good deal going on there.
The inside of my intake manifold was full of gooey black soot because the EGR cooler had failed and i had such small coolant loss i did not know the EGR cooler had failed. The oil cooler looked okay but i had Deltas in excess of 25* so i know it was plugged

 

[emh3090]

Jherman, Thanks for the reply and info. Everything is now on hold due to another issue that reared its ugly head again today. I was sitting at a stop light and went to take off and no throttle response at all. The truck would barely idle me through the intersection. I pulled to the side of the road, shut the engine down and took off. At the next red light, same thing and this time I was barely able to idle into a parking lot, no throttle at all. The engine spit and sputtered and then I was able to drive it straight to the dealer. They will be trying to figure out the problem. I will probably get the standard response , " we can't duplicate the problem so everything is ok." That will be the wrong answer as I just bought this truck less than 2 weeks ago. Once this issue is fixed, i will be going straight to have the delete done to save alot of headache later. I am enjoying this truck so far but getting very frustrated at the same time.

 

[WD40]

I think the low turbo boost is from the truck setting around to much and not enough driving, the 6.0 likes to run and needs to be opened up
on the highway once or twice a week. My truck set for 60 days once when I had a knee replacement and it rained and was damp for most of
that time. When I started it up it took 3 or 4 min for the black smoke to stop rolling and the turbo kicked in. It must of had a little rust on
the blades. Good Luck.
Doug