just bought a 6.0...advice?

[93fordturbo]

2003 cc 250 with a six speed. Very good condition. Just got oil changed motorcraft filter and oil.Ford did it. Seems to run good. Coolant was half inch below the "min" when cold when I bought it. Drove it home 70 miles and checked again. Its in same place. Added to the max line and drove it 20 miles, and it went back down to a half inch below min, just like when I bought it. Added again to midway between min and max and has stayed there for about 75 miles. Coolant looks clean in degas res, bottle is clean. Oil looks good to. Smokes on start up whether warm or cold. But only smokes for a couple seconds. Sometimes more when its cold.white smoke. Its cold out tho... 30s or colder. Truck runs great and steps out nicely. Completely stock

 

[FordGuy100]

It's been said that they will only take so much coolant, then the rest will get burped out or something along those lines.

First thing, get gauges! No joke, order some today. Your main concern right now is oil and coolant temp, which will tell you the earth of your oil cooler. Bad oil cooler (big difference between these two temps) will lead to blown erg cooler which leads to blown head gaskets. Edge CS or CTS is a good but expensive route to go. I got the CTS.

 

[FordGuy100]

White smoke? Is it rough running or smooth? Rough running could be bad glow plug or injector. If it runs smooth, order a EGR delete today and stop driving it until you address that.

 

[FordGuy100]

If it white smokes when warm it rules out glow plugs and almost rules out injectors. Get an EGR delete and put it on, I would stop driving it to be safe.

I would...

Get gauges
EGR delete
Oil cooler kit

If it's burning coolant like I think it is, I would seriously consider not driving it until you get it fixed. You could still save your headgaskets.

 

[93fordturbo]

It really doesn't smoke much and runs great. Isn't using coolant now, starts great and oil is changed. What an I looking at for a price if I get egr delete, gauges and oil cooler kit

 

[FordGuy100]

$750-1000.

Mine ran great when the EGR cooler failed as well. What happens is when it sits coolant leaks into the intake manifold, and when you start it you get the white smoke. I would just be extra cautious. How many miles are on it?

 

[93fordturbo]

139k on it. No signs of a tuner being on it. Started it this morning in 25 degrees, took two cycles of plugs and started. The only smoke coming out looked exactly like cold exhaust when you start you're car in the cold. After 3 minutes, no smoke. Coolant started out at just above the minimum line when it was cold. Now, fully warmed up, its at the Max line. I guess it seems to me its running good. But I don't wasn't to be to confident either. I was going to haul a four horse horse trailer tomorrow about 450 miles total to move my belongings out to a different place. Half ride would be empty horse trailer, other half would be full of clothes furniture etc. shouldn't be to heavy. Its an aluminum horse trailer. Think I should be able to do it?

 

[Desertrig]

The oil cooler is prone to the same failure as the egr cooler. I read quite a bit on a shop's site in the OR WA area. He said the head gaskets tend to go when they've been running hard for a while with the egr or oil cooler blown and to go back with arp studs if you have to go that far. They also sold a lifetime egr cooler and an air/oil cooler swap. The parts were too pricey (~1500 each before gasket and studs) to risk on a truck with maybe a high pressure oil pump issue even at 2000 for the truck - disassembled with rat nests made of choyo in the valley of the motor - 90 miles away in the middle of the desert.... On the upside, once the parts are in there, they're supposed to be every bit as good as a 7.3 psd except for resale value.... I watched the boss do an OEM egr and oil cooler R&R - make sure you don't have any o rings left over

 

[FordGuy100]

I hope. If the white smoke isn't lingering around and looks more like steam you might be alright.

 

[93fordturbo]

Its warmed up now, and when I get on it, white smoke comes out, but it looks like cold exhaust still, almost whitish clear. Doesn't look like solid white smoke. I also have a code that says "injector control pressure sensor circuit low" (p2285). But goes off after a couple hours of driving

 

[Agnem]

Best advice I know is change your oil FREQUENTLY. More often than the manual calls for. Dirty oil will eventually cost you injectors, due to the spool valves having real issues with stiction. Best way to avoid it is clean oil. I'd consider adding a bypass filter like an FS-2500 to it as well. I do sell EGR deletes. PM me.

 

[FordGuy100]

ICP problems it sounds like. ICP on 03 trucks is underneath the turbo unfortunately. This could also cause the white smoke (unburnt fuel) if injection pressures are low from low oil pressure.

 

[FordGuy100]

"Typically with 2003 model years, an ICP sensor (Ford part number 3C3Z-9F838-EA) and pigtail connector (Ford part number 5C3Z-12224-A) fixes the issue. Oil usually leaks through the sensor itself and damages the connector. An oil leak would also appear at the bottom between the engine and transmission bellhousing."

 

[93fordturbo]

By fixing this, the white smoke could be fixed? How hard is it to replace?

 

[FordGuy100]

I haven't seen any correlation between the ICP sensor and white smoke.