This is the first you've mentioned it... It makes it that much harder on us to try and help when we don't have all the information. You've probably got multiple issues at once. If it's fuel you smell out the exhaust, there is possibly issues with the FICM, the injectors, or even the batteries. Hopefully they don't ding you for a new FICM, because it's going to cost a small fortune and do the same thing it's doing now in a couple years, maybe longer, maybe not as long.

If you're losing coolant too, it could be going a few directions. Is there white residue around the coolant bottle? I'd delete the EGR system and be done with it myself.

 

Thanks, sorry I didn't mention the coolant issue too. I thought I wrote that in the original post. We brought it to ford because they just replaced the erg in May, so it's covered under warranty. Also I wanted to know if it was a head gasket. If it's not the problem and it's the FICM then we are bringing it somewhere else to have it fixed along with putting the delete kit in. I've heard the delete kit costs around $1000 to $1200 dollars. If the FICM is going out, what do you recommend, because I don't want to replaced it with the same faulty part and have issues again. Also both batteries were replaced about 1 year ago when a sensor went out for the fuel injection. I don't remember the name of the sensor.

 

I would go with a bullet proof egr cooler if you don't want to go the delete route.

 

I'm not sure what sensor would require battery replacement. Hmmm... there's not really any sensors on the fuel system either. Guess it doesn't matter.

Just get the FICM repaired if that's the case, a fraction of the cost of a new unit.

EGR deletes are under $200 all day long on ebay. You can of course check with the sponsors here. Sinister has a really nice kit with some good "bling" to it, for around the $300 mark. Not a hard job to put one in, but time consuming. $1200 is absurd.

 

My husband was driving and the truck started cutting out and then stalled. We have never owned a diesel before so he kept trying to start it and it killed the batteries. He said the IP sensor or injector pressure sensor went out. So when that was replaced we also replaced both batteries. We would have to bring it to someone for the delete kit cause we have no idea how to do it, and don't want to mess anything up. In your opinion besides the egr delete kit, what else needs to be replaced on this truck to make it more reliable? We tow a 16,000 lb gooseneck horse trailer. It doesn't need to be souped up, just want it to do it's job at a reasonable mpg. Also reasonably priced. So far I understand the the FICM needs to be replaced and an egr delete. Is there anything else you recommend? I just want the truck to run good without problems all the time. Thanks for you help!

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I'm not a gear head and I don't understand what all these abbreviations are, so can you define what "ECT/EOT" "EGT" mean?

 

I would add a coolant filter ASAP. They run about $130. Worth their weight in gold on these trucks. As for the FICM (fuel injection control module, located on the drivers side valve cover) I would only fix or replace if it's bad, don't do it unnecessarily. If the dealer tries to tell you it's bad, ask them specifically what the voltages are. It needs to read 48V under three conditions: Key on, engine off; cranking; running. If it falls at one of those three, it needs to be fixed, quite common now. Don't let them talk you into a new one, they tell you they've fixed them and they're better now, but they're not. I get some to repair with labels from 2010 on them that are already remanufactured and they're shot already.

Towing heavy all the time I would suggest getting a monitor/pod setup to watch your vitals. The gauges on the dash are all but useless with the exception of the tach and speedo. I'd recommend something like the Edge insight CTS, or even better and newly released, the SCT livewire TS. The SCT would also allow you to get custom tunes down the road IF you choose to. If you go with the EGR delete, you'll need the custom tune anyways to keep the check engine light off. If you dont' want power, you can at least get a "stock" tune written with the EGR function turned off. I would talk to Innovative Diesel about that. They can also write you a tune with better transmission shifting for your towing duties. They really make towing much more controllable and safer. It will utilize the turbo as a brake as well, which is really nice.

With your monitor you can start watching ECT/EOT. I'm going to explain what these are and why they're important.

ECT = engine coolant temperature
EOT = engine oil temperature

The oil coolers job is to regulate the temp between the oil and coolant. It's like a radiator stuck in an oil bath, but has coolant passing through it. It tries to maintain the same temp between the two. There's an entire debate about why this happens, but I wont get into it right now, but the oil coolers can and do clog on these trucks. Debris gets stopped up in the tiny passages of the oil cooler and causes a restriction. The coolant flow is restricted and it stops circulating and starts flash boiling in hot areas, like the heads and the EGR cooler. This is why EGR coolers rupture like they do, and also why headgaskets blow so commonly. This has not been very widely known until the last couple years. So, in order to catch this early, we watch EOT and ECT and compare them. Rule of thumb is once the truck is up to operating temp, the difference in temp between the two shouldn't exceed ~15*F. If your coolant is up in the 250* range and oil is at 200*, you've got problems and need to swap the oil cooler out. Being that you've already done that, I would just go ahead and add the coolant filter. Anyone who can turn a screw driver can install one... not hard at all. The idea here is it catches the debris in the coolant system and avoids clogging the oil cooler in the first place. See why it's a worthwhile investment? At $130 or so, it's probably the least expensive and best upgrade you'll ever make to a 6.0.

EGT is exhaust gas temp. Essentially it's the temperature of unburned fuel in the exhaust manifold (or where ever you measure this temp from). The idea with watching this is to prevent engine damage and turbo damage from high heat. Most of us also let our trucks idle and cool down before shutting down, and we usually do it under 400*F on the EGT gauge. The idea there is if you tow heavy and get it hot and shut it right down oil stops circulating and it will actually burn inside the turbo (turbos get hot towing all the time). This causes coking and sticking issues. So we let it cool down.

I know this is a ton of info to take in right now, but just be glad you found us. Stick around, read around in the 6.0 section and really learn what you can about this truck, it will make owning and running it much more enjoyable.

Other than that, stay on top of oil/oil filters/fuel filters. Use a good quality synthetic oil (5w-40) most of us use rotella T6, or Shaeffers, or Valvoline premium blue 5w-40 too. Only use motorcraft or international fuel and oil filters, NO EXCEPTIONS.

You can also go here: DTS Articles - Coffee Table Books and download the coffee table book for your truck, TONS of great info there!

Welcome to DB!

 

Thanks for all the info, it's very helpful. Just curious how much do you think this will cost? We will put in the coolant filter, but for the egr delete and monitor gauges installed, like I said we don't know enough to do it ourselves? Thanks also for the towing info and I will look into the tunes for towing, that would help out a lot. We live in IL don't know if that matters for estimated cost. By the way Ford called me today and said they can't find anything wrong.....I told the service manager that normally the truck doesn't eat 1 gallon of anti freeze, or blow out white smoke and black powder out the tailpipe. I guess my husband said when the truck is cold there is pressure in the coolant overflow. He said when he pulls the cap off, it hisses. I also told him that the exhaust fumes smell bad and burn your eyes. We will see what they say tomorrow, and go from there.

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One more question, if the FICM isn't working correctly do were get a new one or different one? Can they be fixed? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to be ready for when Ford calls me back and my plan of action to get this truck running good

 

For the SCT livewire TS I'd call Innovative Diesel up directly. They're pretty much the best tuners out there. If you buy the unit from them, they'll give you the tunes for free. Eric is the man. Looks like it lists for $599 on their site. They may be having a black friday sale too, so keep an eye out. LIVEWIRE TS - Performance Programmer & Monitor All-In-One!

The coolant filter is about $130, you can definitely put that on, really simple. EGR delete varies.

You're lucky, one of the best powerstroke places in the world is in your state: Hypermax -Ford Power Stroke Diesel Performance Ford Diesel Power, 5"exhaust, Mach 7, power chip, injectors, intercoolers, turbochargers

I'd bring it there before the dealer again. Not sure how far they are from you though. Call those guys up and see what they charge to do that work.

 

I called hypermax they are 2 hours from us. They only make the parts and referred me to someone they recommend to install. RT Repair, the guy there told me that they will check the headgasket to be sure it's not bad. He said if it is then they will put in a hypermax brand head gasket and oem head bolts. I questioned this because I thought your supposed to put in oem headgasket and upgraded bolts?? What's your opinion on this? The guy assured me these headgaskets are good and thats why you didn't need to upgrade bolts. I think I'm going to just go get the truck from Ford and go from there. The guy at RT repair quoted me around $4,400 for the new head gasket, egr delete kit, head bolts, the SCT 3015 hand held. Does that sound fair?

 

That price doesn't sound bad actually for all that work. I would check to make sure that covers the machine shop work on the heads (I bet it does, but it doesn't hurt to ask).

Now that you mention it I think hypermax does have some crazy headgasket design with crush rings that they say will work fine with standard head bolts. Honestly though... I'd probably still just buy the OEM gaskets and ARP studs. It's not that I don't trust those guys, because they definitely know their stuff, it's more that I just really don't know anyone using that setup and the ARP studs/OEM gaskets has already proven to be a working combo. It looks like their headgasket set is about $475 too... stock headgaskets are probably around $270, and ARP's are around $425 or so... your call.

I would certainly trust this RT repair if Hypermax recommended them. I'm kind of shocked they wont do the work themselves though.

Either way, Ford is typically the most expensive and in my experience the worst at diagnosing these things.