# 6.0L issue



## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Our 05 has a 6.0L and has run well since we bought it a while ago. Lately I've noticed it starting to blow blue smoke while driving, more specifically when its colder and shifting from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. If I hammer it going down the road there is no smoke at all. I have no power loss or misfires that I can hear or feel. I've read where it could be the inner turbo seal? Or some say to check and clean the EGR valve which I'm going to do next week but that seems like a temporary fix. Any other thoughts?


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## ford6.9 (Aug 17, 2006)

Do an egr delete kit, but take it to the ford dealer, those can get tricky working on those trucks.


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## 1982atm (Dec 20, 2010)

head gasket ?


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## KBTConst (Oct 25, 2009)

Have your injectors checked that's what mine was doing and there was one that was starting to go bad. It was leaking while it was off so it would build up fuel in the cylinder then when I started it it would blow blue smoke till the motor warmed up.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

KBTConst;1366599 said:


> Have your injectors checked that's what mine was doing and there was one that was starting to go bad. It was leaking while it was off so it would build up fuel in the cylinder then when I started it it would blow blue smoke till the motor warmed up.


This is kind of opposite. There is no smoke when I first start it then after letting warm up a bit and I start driving, thats when it starts to smoke and only at shift points.


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## ford6.9 (Aug 17, 2006)

It can still be the injectors, Trying to trouble shoot that engine yourself is like throwing money in the wind.


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## mnglocker (Dec 24, 2008)

How fresh is the oil?


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

mnglocker;1366620 said:


> How fresh is the oil?


It was changed at the dealer a few weeks ago. I believe they used 5w40 motorcraft


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Brian Young;1366697 said:


> It was changed at the dealer a few weeks ago. I believe they used 5w40 motorcraft


In fact it never did this until after the oil change.


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## mustangman02232 (Mar 21, 2011)

motorcraft is 1540, I would recomend upgrading to something like rotella 540 syn or something along those lines with a bottle of REV-x and see how that does, its expensive, but it actually works, cold be sticktaion kicking in now that its getting colder out


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

mustangman02232;1366789 said:


> motorcraft is 1540, I would recomend upgrading to something like rotella 540 syn or something along those lines with a bottle of REV-x and see how that does, its expensive, but it actually works, cold be sticktaion kicking in now that its getting colder out


Now that I think of it they might have used the 15-40 which I read is not what you want to use. Great 100 bucks down the drain.


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## ddb maine (Dec 4, 2009)

if you come to a conclusion please post. I might be jumping on a 6.0l 550. reading as much as I can


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

ddb maine;1366840 said:


> if you come to a conclusion please post. I might be jumping on a 6.0l 550. reading as much as I can


Will do, I'm going to find my receipt from the dealer and see if they put down what they used. I've read a ton on these things in the last couple days. Like I said before, it didn't smoke at all til the dealer touched it. Other possible reasons may be a turbo seal (wherever they are on the thing) If it's just o rings, they're pretty cheap. I'm going to remove the EGR valve first and clean or replace if needed but waiting for new o rings for that before I take it apart, then move on. It can only be 1 of a couple things. Talking to a diesel tech on Monday where I use to work.


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## Steve8511 (Nov 28, 2011)

The 6.0 Ford Diesel is such a problem child.
There are not enough head bolt coverage per head sealing surface -period.
It could be the turbo, head gasket(weak torque to yield Ford bolts), and or EGR cooler....
Either way a plan needs to be made for a new engine for such a nice truck. 
I cringe whenever I hear of what a great deal someone got on a Ford Diesel Truck...because I know it's a 6.0. 
Good luck.


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## wewille (Jan 20, 2009)

How are you driving when it smokes? I understand it smokes when shifting, but when under heavy load? Engine temp? ambient air temp? How many miles are on the truck? I dont see many faulty turbo seals on these trucks. If it is, turbo replacement will be necessary to fix. Remove the air intake tube and inspect the play on the turbo shaft. I forget what the spec is, some play is normal. Also inspect the vanes on the compressor wheel maake sure they look ok. No damage or anything. Also make sure air filter is ok. Is it actually blue smoke, or is it a grayish white? Oil consumption in general is not a common problem for a 6.0l. Not to say it doesnt happen, but its not often. Dont worry about the orings for your eger valve, just yank it out and see what it looks like. I rarely replace the egr valve seals.You will need a ladysfoot to extract the valve. Let me know if you have any other questions, i would be glad to walk you through this thing.


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## mustangman02232 (Mar 21, 2011)

ddbmaine, take the vin number of the 550 to a ford dealer and ask service for an oasis report on whats been done for warrenty work, also get a scanguage 2 or ask the dealer to check the delta between EOT and ECT, they should be 15*

OP have you checked volts to the FICM?



Steve8511;1366881 said:


> The 6.0 Ford Diesel is such a problem child.
> There are not enough head bolt coverage per head sealing surface -period.
> It could be the turbo, head gasket(weak torque to yield Ford bolts), and or EGR cooler....
> Either way a plan needs to be made for a new engine for such a nice truck.
> ...


i had two options, a 7.3 that was rode hard put away wet with 200k on it and rotted to hell or a 6.0 that was owned by a 55 year old guy just because he wanted a truck with 42k. i took the newer truck after doing research, the root cause is actually the ford gold coolant braking down and plugging the oil cooler, when that happens its only a matter of time before you have issues. you need something like a scan guage 2 to moniter EOT ECT and FICM volts i did replace my clogged oil cooler before my EGR went (which i deleted) and thats about it oil and filters every 5k/10k, put some cat EC1 coolant in it with a filter and shes good to go. and im running a 150 HP tune for the last 50k. also 06 and 07 have had the least warrenty claims of any year PSD 94.5-12

coolant filter after 300 miles


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

wewille;1366948 said:


> How are you driving when it smokes? I understand it smokes when shifting, but when under heavy load? Engine temp? ambient air temp? How many miles are on the truck? I dont see many faulty turbo seals on these trucks. If it is, turbo replacement will be necessary to fix. Remove the air intake tube and inspect the play on the turbo shaft. I forget what the spec is, some play is normal. Also inspect the vanes on the compressor wheel maake sure they look ok. No damage or anything. Also make sure air filter is ok. Is it actually blue smoke, or is it a grayish white? Oil consumption in general is not a common problem for a 6.0l. Not to say it doesnt happen, but its not often. Dont worry about the orings for your eger valve, just yank it out and see what it looks like. I rarely replace the egr valve seals.You will need a ladysfoot to extract the valve. Let me know if you have any other questions, i would be glad to walk you through this thing.


Thank you! To answer a few of your questions...It's not hard starts, just normal from a stop sign but it only smokes right before it shift's into 2nd and 3rd gear, no load at all except for an empty poly V box, engine temp. is normal (the needle is just below half way on the gage) and it's been in the high 30's - low 40's and there is 87k on it now. I have noticed the turbo isn't as loud as it was when I first got it but that might be me getting used to it. Plus no loss of power at all.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

I have not checked the voltage yet. There is no starting or drivability issues other than the smoke.


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## erkoehler (Sep 25, 2008)

Why not do an EGR delete kit? Everyone says that the 6.0L motors need it. I've got it done on my 06 and am at 140k.


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## ddb maine (Dec 4, 2009)

Mustangman. Did you do the writeup on fpsd forum? Theres alot of write ups about the coolant being the issue, then oil cooler then egr cooler. 
The dealer the truck is at, is the dealer who has maintained it. So yes on the oasis and absolutely on the delta. I was contemplating getting an edge insight prior, but if they can pull from the comp then thats even better. 
I dont want to hijack, I'll try and find a thread to move to, If you have good knowledge on this I have a few questions. I'll link to it later. Things to do.


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## mustangman02232 (Mar 21, 2011)

no i didnt do any of the write ups, i did however follow them and have no isses with my 6.0 that is just about to turn 100kk. the dealer can test for the delta differance through the ODBII just like the scanguage, but they hold the pedal to the limiter for 90 seconds like the big trucks, i like the scanguage because you can see how the temps do over a longer trip

VGT sensor or turbo cleaned recently?


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## wewille (Jan 20, 2009)

I can run an oasis for you, what is the vin?

For the people telling you to tell the dealer technician what to do is absurd. Do you tell the doctor what tests to preform? Do you guys appreciate it when clients tell you how to plow snow? The technician has the training, skills, knowledge and tools to diagnose as accureatly and quickly as possible.

Have you noted any coolant or oil loss? How about oil level raising? I stated earlier that turbo seal leakage is not common, but it does happen. You can check that several ways. The most accurate way is with a crankcase pressure test, and the easiest is by removing intake plumbing and checking shaft play. You will see some oil on the comporesser wheel which is normal due to the pcv system. But look for excessive amounts of play of the shaft. When cold will it smoke?

Pm me your vin, ill check the oasis.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Recent update....today it was in the 40's and went out, started it like usual and after driving a few blocks it did the same old thing. Well after about 15 minutes of driving it, no smoke at all. I even tried starting off harder than normal and again, no smoke. I really paid attention to the turbo sound and it seems as though it's getting really quiet.


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## ATouchofGrass (Jan 15, 2008)

Ive had customers switch to 5w40 synthetic and it smoked for a little while then went away within a few days, mine did when i switched over.

If you notice the pitch of the turbo is changing, then I'd highly suggest pulling it and cleaning it.


PS: the 6.0 is SUPER EASY to work on. Dont listen to nay sayers at all.. they've never been under the hood (or cab :laughing of one. All they go by is horror stories from people who have problems because they dont maintain their trucks (ie: crap ford gold coolant, oil, filters etc)

If you have any questions about the 6 liter or issues, dont hesitate to pm me.


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## tuna (Nov 2, 2002)

wewille;1367851 said:


> I can run an oasis for you, what is the vin?
> 
> For the people telling you to tell the dealer technician what to do is absurd. Do you tell the doctor what tests to preform? Do you guys appreciate it when clients tell you how to plow snow? The technician has the training, skills, knowledge and tools to diagnose as accureatly and quickly as possible.
> 
> ...


Will you do one for me? i just bought an `05 6.0 and plan to do a coolant flush,blue spring and banjo bolt upgrade but would like to know if anything has been done all ready.


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## dieseltech (Sep 7, 2011)

Yea the 6.0 is not that hard to work on. It is a bit cluttered under there but still fairly easy. I agree with cleaning the turbo. Its a fairly easy task.


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## Plowtoy (Dec 15, 2001)

ford6.9;1366593 said:


> Do an egr delete kit, but take it to the ford dealer, those can get tricky working on those trucks.


Asking the dealer to do an EGR delete is like asking them to remove the catalyst converter. Its an emission device, unless its a shady dealer, I bet they wont do it.


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Run 15W-40 in the truck you won't regret it just make sure remember to plug it in at night. I would also look at the Cat on your truck because I had a similar problem and the truck would not build more than 21lbs of boost. I ditched the cat and I was back up to 26-27lbs of boost.


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## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

KBTConst;1366599 said:


> Have your injectors checked that's what mine was doing and there was one that was starting to go bad. It was leaking while it was off so it would build up fuel in the cylinder then when I started it it would blow blue smoke till the motor warmed up.


^^^^^^

I'm betting this guy is correct since the problem goes away as soon as it warms up. I've had a bunch of bad injectors, most with similar symptoms, but they all go away once it warms up.



ddb maine;1366840 said:


> if you come to a conclusion please post. I might be jumping on a 6.0l 550. reading as much as I can


I'd jump away from it.



ATouchofGrass;1367933 said:


> PS: the 6.0 is SUPER EASY to work on. Dont listen to nay sayers at all.. they've never been under the hood (or cab :laughing of one. All they go by is horror stories from people who have problems because they dont maintain their trucks (ie: crap ford gold coolant, oil, filters etc)
> 
> If you have any questions about the 6 liter or issues, dont hesitate to pm me.


This is golden. First person I have ever heard this from. Even the mechanic who used to regularly take first or second place in the country when Ford held their competitions says they are a pain to work on. Great money for him, but a pain to work on.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

ATouchofGrass;1367933 said:


> Ive had customers switch to 5w40 synthetic and it smoked for a little while then went away within a few days, mine did when i switched over.
> 
> If you notice the pitch of the turbo is changing, then I'd highly suggest pulling it and cleaning it.
> 
> ...


Thanks, a friend of mine just did his own egr delete kit, new oil cooler, new apr head bolts and head gaskets on his 06 6.0L in 3 days and one day was dedicated to the heads being checked out. As soon as I get some extra money.....(yeah right, just paid for salt and employee taxes), I'm going to decide what I'm going to do. I don't want to make it a drag truck, just want it too last. I was thinking egr delete kit, sct tuner, new oil cooler, head bolts and gasket and maybe just run a straight exhaust. Diesel's are emission exempt around here...for now.


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

If they are emissions exempt ditch the entire factory exhaust for a turbo back 4in straight pipe and delete the EGR ASAP. I have not had nearlly as many problems with mine since everything fell off sometime in 2010.


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## wewille (Jan 20, 2009)

Brian Young;1370351 said:


> Thanks, a friend of mine just did his own egr delete kit, new oil cooler, new apr head bolts and head gaskets on his 06 6.0L in 3 days and one day was dedicated to the heads being checked out. As soon as I get some extra money.....(yeah right, just paid for salt and employee taxes), I'm going to decide what I'm going to do. I don't want to make it a drag truck, just want it too last. I was thinking egr delete kit, sct tuner, new oil cooler, head bolts and gasket and maybe just run a straight exhaust. Diesel's are emission exempt around here...for now.


If you want to bullet proof it i would seriously look at the bulletproof diesel website. I have sold, installed and serviced alot of their products over the past 2 years and can only say great things. I have not had a single issue yet, very good stuff.


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## dieseltech (Sep 7, 2011)

Brian Young;1370351 said:


> Thanks, a friend of mine just did his own egr delete kit, new oil cooler, new apr head bolts and head gaskets on his 06 6.0L in 3 days and one day was dedicated to the heads being checked out. As soon as I get some extra money.....(yeah right, just paid for salt and employee taxes), I'm going to decide what I'm going to do. I don't want to make it a drag truck, just want it too last. I was thinking egr delete kit, sct tuner, new oil cooler, head bolts and gasket and maybe just run a straight exhaust. Diesel's are emission exempt around here...for now.


I have an 06 with 80k on the clock. Had it since new and have since put a river city diesel egr delete kit, black onyx gaskets and arp studs, a coolant bypass filter kit, and an sct x3 with tunes from innovative diesel. I service the truck regularly... To date 0 problems. Even without all the extras with regular maintenance including the coolant system you should see pretty good results. I love my truck and wouldnt trade it for another untill i absolutely have to. While these years have had there issues they can be great trucks with the right maintenance.


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## ATouchofGrass (Jan 15, 2008)

dfd9;1370335 said:


> This is golden. First person I have ever heard this from. Even the mechanic who used to regularly take first or second place in the country when Ford held their competitions says they are a pain to work on. Great money for him, but a pain to work on.


Thats because they're scared of them, I can have a cab off in 2 hours, and turnaround time in 2 days on a 6 liter for and entire headgasket job, that includes machine shop time for the heads. Its very easy...

Talk about a pain in the ass to work on, Duramaxes, just did headgaskets cab on with arp head studs on our plow truck... that was fun. Not hard more of a pain in the butt than anything, sure missed working on 6 liters when we were doing that job.


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