What's Going On Under The Hood???

[sammyslab]

I need help. I rarely pull a trailer with my truck. It is used just as transportation 99% of the time. This week, I pulled a single axle 6 X 12 utility trailer with about 2000 pounds on it. I was going around Cave Run Lake (Eastern KY) and started up a heavy grade. I had been running at a steady 50 - 55 mph until I reached the bottom of the hill. I picked up a little speed to help get over the grade. Towards the top, the truck started pulling very hard and then started popping like it was backfiring. I released the accelerator and it quit.
I never abuse the truck and it is completely stock. I have never heard this before. I thought it had blown a head gasket but ,, it runs great.
Got any ideas? Thanks for your input,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron
BTW - the truck is a 2005 F250 w/6.0 Litre 15,200 miles as of today...

 

[bushpilot]

id bet my pay check youve got an egr issue...your symptoms are
exactly like what i experianced when my egr valve went.

boost became erratic, even at steady throttle on a flat road...i didnt
experiance this when i dropped the trailer...only when i had my trailer
and and towing a car.

i SUSPECT youve got EGR Codes set...and from what i can tell youre
probably still under warranty....the 3/36 will cover this repair w/out any
cost outta your pocket.

to test what im saying you COULD (while the truck is turned off) disconnect
your egr valve and then start the truck and drive it...

 

[sammyslab]

Thanks Bushpilot. I'll try that. My neigbor is the salesman. I've been trying to catch him to get an appointment set up to check it out.
I really never put the truck under a strain. It is driven daily (if it doesn't rain) but rarely do I pull a trailer. I took a small load to my son in Nashville last year with absolutely no problems, but I didn't encounter any grade like the one around the lake. It's very steep and difficult to manuever with a load. I may have tried to push it too hard although I wasn't going fast at all.
There were a few cars behind me and I was trying not to hold them back too much. I had my mechanic (warehouse maintenance) in the truck with me at the time. He was bumfuzzulled too. He thought it backfired but I wasn';t sure that a diesel could do that. Then it occurred that a head gasket might have let loose but it ran too good for that. It was puzzeling at best.
Thanks for your feedback,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

 

[bushpilot]

its the egr valve...im completely confident of that...if you like ill
send you my mailing address of where to send the beer

and ill go on to say that these trucks (and diesels in general)
like to run...they dont do well when theyre babied or lugged...
drive it <like you stole it, as they say> get it warm...itll blow
the carbon outta it and it will reduce the potential for clogging
the egr valve (w/ soot) and itll keep the vgt turbo vanes clean of
soot & rust.

w/ the egr valve acting up like it is your also increasing the exhaust
gas temps (egt).

add a set of gauges...i know your 05 has a boost gauge...but all the
other dash gauges (specifically the oil & trans) are nothing more than
idiot lights w/ a pointer.

the oil gauges registers when theres as little as 6psi...and the reality
is that the injectors need a minimum of 500psi for the truck to even
START. The temp gauge isnt much better...

and heres some visual proof the trans gauge is worthless (and operates
the same as the other) --> click HERE to SEE what im talking about...

and btw you WILL have engine fault codes set <even though their is no
dash light indications>

 

[Maxtor]

It amazes me to see how all of us use our trucks. Sammyslab uses his for transportation and not pulling, I use mine only for pulling the 5th wheel and race car trailer, and others use theirs for everything, including mud bogging.
As they say, different strokes for different folks, and all is good.

 

[sammyslab]

Well guys - I took it to my dealer and they found nothing. They said that there was no code so there was nothing they could do. They checked it out under the hood. They thought it might have been the fan kicking in and out. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
It still runs great. I've been a little more aggressive during driving periods. I thought it might help to get the RPM's up over a couple of thousand and blow the soot out.
Thanks for your replies and have a good one,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

 

[Flopster843]

the oil gauges registers when theres as little as 6psi...and the reality
is that the injectors need a minimum of 500psi for the truck to even
START. The temp gauge isnt much better...>

You're talking about 2 different oil systems BTW. You'll never see 500 psi out of the low pressure system.

And I agree 100% about the egr issue. Why don't you pull the EGR and clean it? It's super easy to do. Remove the 2 bolts and pull it out. And as far as leaving it unplugged, my 03 didn't throw a code. But I do believe that late model 04 and up trucks will illuminate the check engine light. Not positive but I believe the truck "de-tunes" itself a little whenever the CEL lights up. So if you get the light and notice a little less power, it's normal.

 

[bushpilot]

i agree w/ flopster....but at the same time 6psi is NOT sufficient
oil pressure to run any engine.

the HPOP pressure minimum is 500psi and it reaches well over 3000psi.

read this about cleaning the egr valve (make sure you replace the o rings
and the graphite BASE gasket) FDDTS - 6.0L EGR Valve Cleaning

read this to better understand about the operation of the EGR
FDDTS - EGR Servicing

read these for identification / location of the egr
Page 13: Component Locations
Page 37: Air Management System