Hello Diesel Enthusiasts,

I have a "white smoke" issue with my truck, I will try to give as much detail as i can. First...some history on the truck... I am the 3dr owner of a 2005 F250 crew cab long bed with 60kmiles. I am not sure what the first owner used the truck for, but the guy I bought it from used it for his painting business and didn't tow anything. I bought the truck with this issue... mistake?... perhaps, but the truck was in near excellent condition... other than the smoke. The registration was due, pending a smog check (California) and the owner did not want to spend money to fix it. I took my OBD2 scanner with me and no active codes were listed(check engine light), and there was no smoke on the "snap test"(in park-revving the engine up) so I was confident it would pass a smog check.
Also, I did some research on the 6.0, to see what sort of potental mess I was getting into. Including reading the threads on Diesel Bombers here (priceless info!) and I suspected that the issue could be injectors-FICM-EGR cooler/valve - oil cooler. I have lots of mechanical experience with all types of engines & vehicles with gasoline,diesel,NG,rotary,2stroke/4stroke,turbine... but no experience with the 6.0. After inspecting the truck and test driving I felt confident enough that I could fix the issue.

Symptoms::
White smoke from exhaust(definitely diesel smell) when engine is under load(only when the engine is warm), and then it clears up. Example-> taking off from a stoplight/stop sign a puff of smoke comes out. The truck runs good other than this issue.
Mods on the truck: 5” turbo back exhaust, no DPF, and Air Raid intake/filter.
What I have done to the truck:
*change oil & filters(not aftermarket filters), flush trans fluid(at ford) and changed both filters(one in trans and the outer bypass filter)... engine oil was definitely past due, and fuel filters looked very clean.
*cleaned EGR valve.
*Truck had 2 different types of batteries installed; one was bad, the other barley held 12v so i replaced them both.
* Load tested the alternator, was good
*Bought auto enginuity domestic bundle-figured it would save me in the long run to diagnose this beast. AE showed low circuit voltage on all passenger side injectors. Also while running in live mode it displayed my FICM at 47vdc at idle... but anything past 2000rpm it would quickly drop to 40vdc, maybe lower... AE only goes to 40vdc.
*I bought a new FICM (2011 sticker on it & preprogrammed from ford) off ebay for $250 I think this was a great deal, my local dealer wanted about $900 for one.
*dismantled old FICM now that i had a backup unit, and resoldered all caps on the circuit board... and surprisingly 2 surface mount resistors had come completely off the board!! Old FICM now checks good, 48.5vdc.
**Truck still has white smoke with the new FICM installed**
*Run injector buzz test several times on cold mornings, injectors 5&7 fail to click on multiple tests.
*bought 2 reman-injectors, & replaced #5 and #7, replaced O-rings too. After reading on this site about all the EGR cooler problems... I thought that replacing the EGR cooler/oil cooler would be a good idea while I had most the top end of the motor off.
*flush coolant system 2 times with distilled water and then refilled with 50/50 mixture.
* installed Sinister EGR cooler, new oem oil cooler, Sinister coolant bypass filter. old egr cooler(wasn't leaking).
*installed new HPOP screen, (original nylon one was torn).
*flushed and changed oil & filters again after 500miles and installed oil bypass filter too, increased oil capacity to 6gal, using rotella fully synthetic 5-40.
*Turbo spins very smoothly; there is very little play in the bearing. It spools up very quickly so I did not tear it down to inspect. Exhaust blades were surprisingly clean with almost no suit on them.
*no blow by in the degas bottle, coolant level stays the same, does not burn any oil.
I have put about 5500 miles on the truck and it remains the same. It hasn't gotten any worse... yet it's not bad enough to where I can pinpoint what the fault is. Soo… after all this, I still have the white smoke issue... it seems to be a little less though. I have towed 3 times with it, about 10k payload 200miles each time and it does great… still the smoke when taking off. The exhaust is visually clear while moving, and I very rarely will I see any black smoke(only initially If I put my foot into it). It is getting about 18mpg freeway @70mph and 14-15 city driving. I am stumped on this now.
I kept my old injectors and welded up some crescent wrenches with 1/4” key stock so I could take the injectors apart. Injector #5 looked fine… maybe stuck spool valve? However, Injector #7 had an internal part that was cracked. (a flat plate with a small hole that a steel ball set into- was cracked at the hole). I have a suspicion that maybe I have another injector(s) cracked that is leaking fuel into the cylinder… I’m guessing on the exhaust stroke is where the white smoke comes out?
What I am looking for is a second opinion… or several second opinions from you 6.0 experts on here. What do you all think? What else should I check? It’s a lot of work getting the injectors out, and I’d rather not do it if it can be avoided.
Thanks in advance,
Jason

 

I had this same issue before, it would ONLY do it on stock tuning though which was weird, but it was injectors. It did it for a while and finally one day out of the blue the injector basically just stopped working all together. Drove it in on 7 cylinders and they replaced it under warranty, never did it again. I would guess it's an injector. You do the injector buzz test, but did you do a cylinder contribution test? Sounds like you've done a great job pinpointing issues and fixing them as needed thus far though, and I congratulate you on that!

Have you ever had an oasis run on the truck? It's basically the warranty history of the truck. Yours should have all the work done on it since it's probably still under warranty maybe? My 06 just ran out in August.

 

Thanks for the quick response! I have done the cylinder contribution test several times. I will do it again today and get some more conclusive info for you. Maybe there is a screen or setting I am not seeing. When I had the trans flushed at ford I asked the ford rep if there were any outstanding TSB's or recalls due against my truck's Vin #... I did not know but I guess this is the Oasis? He told me they had all been done... Wonder if i could request a copy?
Thanks, Jason

 

You can get your free oasis report here. http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forum...play.php?f=103
Just be patient. The guy who does this does it on his own free time. Took about a week to get mine.

 

powerstroketech87 from here can get it for you too, since he works at a Ford dealer. The Oasis would tell you any TSB's that have or have not been taken care of, but it would also tell you ANY warranty work done on the truck.