Another white smoke at idle question. - Diesel Forum

KR2005MIA · 03-10-2010, 09:52 PM

Hello all, I own a 2005 4X4 crew cab with 38k miles on it. Completely stock except for an aftermarket exhaust. No coolant loss, no hesitation and the truck seems to run perfectly. I've owned this truck since new and has hardly ever been used for work or towing. Until last month, I have never had any issues at all. One day it was sluggish and smoked under hard acceleration, which was diagnosed as a clogged EGR by the dealer. It was cleaned and serviced and I was on my way. 2 weeks later at an intersection, I noticed white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Its not a constant release of smoke, but rather it will blow out a cloud then again about every 10 seconds. Can't tell if it continues while accelerating. Took it back to the dealer and they changed an injector and re-flashed the computer, still smoked. Then they changed the turbo and did a manifold cleaning, still smoked. I have searched the site but can not find any solutions. Any suggestions? Thanks

ahurley · 03-10-2010, 10:01 PM

egr cooler. park it down hill front end down and pull egr, if intake is wet inside the cooler is leaking. if not it's just a little condensation in your fuel or intake.

KR2005MIA · 03-10-2010, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahurley

egr cooler. park it down hill front end down and pull egr, if intake is wet inside the cooler is leaking. if not it's just a little condensation in your fuel or intake.

Thanks for the quick reply. I will call the dealer tomorrow and mention it to them, since the truck is still there.

Ford is trying to convince me it's my aftermarket exhaust that's causing it!

joshr33 · 03-10-2010, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KR2005MIA

Ford is trying to convince me it's my aftermarket exhaust that's causing it!

What??? What??? An exhaust causing smoke, What???

Man go pick up your truck and run

Is this the service writer telling you this or the service manager? Just when you think you have heard it all...

JR

**mlwest** · 03-11-2010, 12:23 AM

That white smoke may actually be steam - if so your EGR cooler is leaking. Don't forget that if the EGR cooler has failed it's ALWAYS due to a clogged oil cooler which is why Ford demands that any time an EGR cooler is replaced that the oil cooler must also be replaced.

If the dealer still has the truck - request that they compare oil versus water temp readings and if oil temp > coolant + 14 degrees then clogged oil cooler is confirmed.

If this is indeed a failed EGR/oil cooler and it's still running well you might have caught it before more serious damage has occurred - hopefully.

Good luck.

KR2005MIA · 03-11-2010, 07:57 PM

Called dealer, according to them the EGR cooler was the first thing they checked and its not the problem. Also, they say its the smoke is oil, not coolant or diesel. Picked it up this afternoon and going to another dealer in the morning.

**mlwest** · 03-12-2010, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KR2005MIA

Called dealer, according to them the EGR cooler was the first thing they checked and its not the problem.

Unless they removed the EGR cooler (not easy) they can't possibly check it. It must be removed from the vehicle and bench/pressure tested before anyone can claim it's OK.

The test that needs to be run is to check the oil vs coolant temps while running or from historical data.

willingtonpaul · 03-12-2010, 07:17 AM

the 09-8-3 TBS specifies the sequence of procedures to determine the cause of white smoke from the tail pipe. the third step, after checking the degas cap and pressurizing the entire cooling system, is an "on vehicle" EGR cooler leak test. 20 inches of vacuum is applied to the cooling system to test the EGR cooler. it needs to hold steady for 15 mins. so that would be the only way they could say the EGR cooler is not suspect. so i would ask them what test they did and see what they say. if it does NOT hold steady for 15 mins, then they need to do an "off truck" EGR cooler test.

but i 100% agree with mlwest, you need to find out what is going on with oil temp / coolant temp.

joshr33 · 03-12-2010, 11:32 AM

Hey man, what part of Florida are you in? If you are close by Orlando I can throw the computer on her and take a look at your temps for you and check to see if your intake is wet

Also I see it's an 05, still under warranty or about to expire?

JR

KR2005MIA · 03-12-2010, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshr33

Hey man, what part of Florida are you in? If you are close by Orlando I can throw the computer on her and take a look at your temps for you and check to see if your intake is wet

Also I see it's an 05, still under warranty or about to expire?

JR

Thanks for the offer, I am in Ft Lauderdale so not too close.

I picked up the truck yesterday since I don't trust this place anymore, I took it there since it was supposedly a mod friendly shop(although, the only mod is the exhaust and wheels). From what I saw, they don't work on many trucks.

My factory warranty ended while the truck was in, but I bought the esp plan which is in effect already.

**mlwest** · 03-14-2010, 11:11 AM

Thanks for the update Willingtonpaul - the problem I have with the Ford approach is that the on-vehicle test will show if the entire cooling system is "air-tight" which would, of course, include the EGR cooler. But if it fails it only tells you that it might be the source of the problem along with any other of the many parts of the complex cooling system.

Guess that's why my Ford diesel tech buddy doesn't place much value in the test.

Southern Style · 03-15-2010, 12:34 AM

WHITE SMOKE AT STARTUP and periodically.

My truck is not under WAR. but I had the same problem as you on my 04 6.0.
My father has an 06 6.0 going through the same thing with the dealer as you.

willingtonpaul · 03-15-2010, 09:16 AM

mlwest, i agree with you on the vacuum test. i imagine that ford is looking to save $$$ on labor with the on truck test. the main reason i put the post up was to make sure it was clear that the dealership could have some leg to stand on with a claim that the EGR cooler was ok without taking it off.

Ipolute · 03-15-2010, 02:02 PM

if your in ft. Lauderdale i would take a drive south to GAW and have them look at it... they know what their talking about ... its a diesel specialist shop... i live down in homestead and thats where i take my baby.... or you can just give them a call youll either talk to Ricky or Gaby... they both know their stuff 305-477-5433.

KR2005MIA · 03-15-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ipolute

if your in ft. Lauderdale i would take a drive south to GAW and have them look at it... they know what their talking about ... its a diesel specialist shop... i live down in homestead and thats where i take my baby.... or you can just give them a call youll either talk to Ricky or Gaby... they both know their stuff 305-477-5433.

I used to take my mustang to them about 12 years ago and my 2000 7.3 has also been worked on there. They definitely know these trucks and built up a good reputation. I wanted to get the truck fixed by the dealer since I still have the warranty and would not have to pay. I am going to try another dealer in Miami first, but if it doesn't work out, its going to gabbys.