Need Help Fast - Diesel Forum

oldscuts · 07-11-2009, 05:56 PM

Moving across the country with the family and need information fast. I have an 03 6.0 Excursion pulling a 10k trailer. Around Memphis lost power and found fluid low and kept losing fluid. Stopped at a dealership and the EGR cooler was leaking which they replaced.
After leaving there coolant level remains the same but now after running for about 20 minutes the engine loses power to where I can only maintain 50 MPH WOT. After stopping and idling the power comes back for another 15 minutes or so.
Temp gauge has remained solid right in the middle.
The dealership only replaced the EGR cooler, oil, and service the coolant. Should they have done the oil cooler and other items? Is that required work when and EGR cooler leaks?
I am now near Oklahoma City its Satuday and I am stuck. The coolant looks really dark and on one of my cool downs I swear I saw it boiling. What should I do? Trade it in? Is there any course of action I can take against the previous dealer for not replacing the other parts? About how much money and time is head gaskets going to take?
This is what I get for not reading the diesel stop in a few years. Is there a recall or class action lawsuit against Ford for this cooler problem? Sorry for so many questions but your mind has time to race when stuck on the side of the road with the family in 90 degree plus temps.

PowerstrokeConverters · 07-11-2009, 06:05 PM

You really needed a code scan first, it should give you some clues instead of starting a guessing game. It might have nothing to do w/ the egr being replaced.
Turbo might be the culprit, 03 6.0 had egr and turbo vanes problems I Believe. EGR valve, has it been replaced??? it might be clogged up.
Go to powerstrokehelp.com and try to find a video about troubleshooting 6.0s.
Go to dieselpowermag.com
and try to find something there also.
have you done preventive maintenance lately, before this trip you should have done all filters and fluids and since egr was a problem from the beginning should have done that too before it gave out, the new ones should be more square instead of round.
Sorry to hear that your family is stuck as well, hang in there and o your research here, plenty of guys will start to reply. Grab a cold one and start troubleshooting piece by piece, fuel,oil,sensors,filters,etc...
Good luck man!

PowerstrokeConverters · 07-11-2009, 06:15 PM

hate to say this but......coolant looks dark......did you look at your oil? maybe a head gasket.......they are known for blowing it.....

oldscuts · 07-11-2009, 06:47 PM

I have been keeping a close eye on the fluids ever since the first hickup. Oil has always been clean.
Before the road trip I had the tranny flushed, I changed the oil/filter. I replaced both fuel filters and lubed all the points along with tightening up the steering box a tad.
If I was to run the Excusion from here back to CA without the trailer what are my chances of making it without any further problems? I have a guy there that can do the fix on the cheap.
Will the problem only expose itself under hard load? I will run only during the night to make things cooler if I have to. Anyone attempted this?

OT · 07-11-2009, 07:29 PM

Olds..lousey situation, sorry. You can at least check all the screw/clamps are tight on CAC tubes which can effect turbo. But..

I assume degas didnt overflow, but if u saw boiling (bubbles) in tank..that's indication h.g. is leaking combustion into cooling system = power loss. Dark color coolant VS yellow or even cloudy yellow is indication oil cooler maybe leaking? So..

What are your options? 2 most likely could be..continue your trip at slow pace, hoping eng. dosent crap out..your guess good as next? Find closest dealer..maybe not open till Mon.? Talk to svc. adviser & explain your situation. Then...when can new tec. look at your 6L. etc.? Good luck on outcome.

btw..Im not aware of any consumer/class actions against fmc & 6L PSD. But, Fmc/navistar(itec) certainly had their arguments etc.

oldscuts · 07-12-2009, 10:10 AM

Well I am going to take it to Joe Cooper Ford on Monday morning near Oklahoma City. If it needs the whole workup of head gaskets and oil cooler does anyone have an idea of how long that may take?
I know that is a tough question to answer because all dealerships and priority levels are different but I am thinking that it will be out all week and I might be able to get it late Friday or early next week.
Anyone have a dealership approximate price for doing a head gasket/oil cooler?

PowerstrokeConverters · 07-12-2009, 11:00 AM

Probably over 2 grand if at the dealership. Let them check it first, maybe oil cooler alone will do it. Did you look for diesel mechanics near your location? besides a Ford dealer of course.

oldscuts · 07-12-2009, 11:49 AM

I looks on line but that is about the same as throwing darts at the yellow pages. Joe Cooper Ford is the dealership around here and I see that they have an advertising link here on the diesel stop so I will probably go there. They have a dealership and a truck center here in Oklahoma City. My first guess would be the truck center would be better, but I just want it to get in somewhere fast so whichever can take it I will go that route.

PowerstrokeConverters · 07-12-2009, 12:34 PM

Good luck and try to make the best of it, keep us posted!

oldscuts · 07-13-2009, 11:57 AM

Excursion is in. The oil cooler is very restricted. This dealer seems to really know what they are doing. Tech drove it and found a 50 degree split in oil temp to water temp (as I remember) and the limit is 10 degrees. As per his words there is no way this should not have been caught at the last dealer and this is what caused the EGR cooler to blow. It is all in the Ford TSB. But now I get to pay for all the work done to be done again minus paying for the EGR cooler itself.
This dealer is taking the correct route and going to replace the cooler obviously, along with the EGR valve due to contamination from leaking cooler (should have been done before) then oil change and full cooling system flush.
I now have to see if the last dealer will step up and do the right thing. I will keep everyone informed as to the progress. Wish me luck.

OT · 07-13-2009, 08:46 PM

Olds..tks. for update. Certainly may help someone in future & me. Water temp. test is listed in tsb. & new tec. followed thru. If cooler is bad..yeah I'd be wondering about what last tec. did/didnt do? Fortunately egr cooler didnt blow again. Wouldn't hurt to ask previous dealer about $$, considering your oil/coolant etc. being changed again.

I know if me after repairs..I'd spend alittle extra time towing around town/hills ect. before heading out. Hopefully repairs are good & rest of your trip is smooth sailing.

PowerstrokeConverters · 07-13-2009, 09:08 PM

Glad to hear that someone knew what the heck they were doing, stay in good spirits about it, it helps.
Take care and drive safe!

rcgreg · 07-14-2009, 03:45 PM

Tech drove it and found a 50 degree split in oil temp to water temp (as I remember) and the limit is 10 degrees.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
SHould be 15 degrees - but 50 is WAAAAy over the limit! :{

oldscuts · 07-20-2009, 03:03 PM

Well we made it to California. The Excursion ran good with lots of power the rest of the way. The funky coolant smell is still present even after it was flushed 4 times by the dealership in OK City.
Check engine light came on a couple days later, it had some sort of generic EGR pressure fault that I reset and it hasnt returned.
The final tally at the second shop was Oil Cooler, EGR Valve, oil change, and coolant flush along with a few othe misc parts that were done during the work. This bill was more money but less hours than the last dealership. I contacted them while Excursion was still in shop and they apparently spoke with the other dealer but the price did not get modified.
So now I will start the process with ford to find out what can be done about getting charged for 12 hours at one dealership (the first one) and only around 8 at the second (and did more work), the fact that the first dealership mis diagnosed the problem, did not follow the Ford TSB, if Ford will stand behind their product with a known issue and make things more right.
Depending on the outcome of all this I might be listing the dealerships that were involved good and bad to assist others in choosing the right shop.

More to follow.

kys03rigger · 07-21-2009, 03:20 AM

Thanks for the info. Many of us are experiencing these exact failures and it's just plain bogus that Ford isn't accepting responsibility for their bad design.