My F350 has developed some issues that only show up when towing. After driving for about 30+ minutes, the wrench light comes on. We have no power loss, it seems to be fine, not straining or anything at all odd. Then if we are dealing with hills, after about the 4th or 5th grade, the temp will shoot straight up. We can pull over (or stop the incline) and it drops back down. This all happens in just a minute or two, at most.
No smoke, no loss of fluids.

Where should we start?

Thanks!

 

Do you have a scan guage II or something to monitor engine parameters? They are a must have with these 6.0L engines. It will also help to diagnose what the problem is. Welcome to FTE.

 

Get codes read!! Install a Scan Gauge II to be able to monitor Engine Oil Temp vs Engine Coolant Temp. The Scan Gauge is avail at Auto Zone and numerous other places online.

Check under the hood to see if you have a white yucky stuff around the coolant tank.

 

All of the above. The factory gauges are glorified idiot lights with a pointer. When towing heavy on long grades try dropping down to 55 mph and then pulling the gearshift down to third gear. All of this while in tow/haul mode. Temps should drop almost immediately. You can tow most grades like this all day long. Let your gears do the work. You do need the Scangauge or equivelant to know what exactly is going on however.

 

moniter boost and ect. my bet is you will see a pattern were boost and ect start to spike. roll back on the skinny pedel and watch ect drop off. your a winner of streched head bolts.
my guess is you also have a pluged oil cooler and or a stck turbo.

 

thanks so much everyone! i was under the impression that ScanGauge would not work on my 2005 F350, at least it isn't listed on their web site as something that they support. i was looking at the AutoEnginuity tool instead.

no white yucky stuff. this truck has had an EGR delete done on it.
i am afraid that the stretched head bolts and plugged cooler/stuck turbo could be it. i hauled last year without any of these issues, these are new since May. we tow using the tow/haul mode, my husband was hauling yesterday and does drop to 3rd, i forget. not sure about speed though.

my husband will know, but since he isn't right here, what is "ect"?

thanks!

 

Engine coolant temp. and eot is engine oil temp.

 

what style delete?

 

style? um, i don't know that. it started overheating and pouring out white smoke about 2 years ago. mechanic in the city i was driving in gave me that option, or one other that was very very expensive. so much so i have completely blocked it out of my mind!!

can you name these styles, and maybe something will click.
also, my husband wants to purchase some injector cleaner "system", not a fluid. do these work, or is it best to just replace the injectors?

 

I wouldn't run a cleaner thru them. Why does he want to replace the inj. at 300 ea. plus labor? The 6.0 is the last engine you want to start throwing parts at. Sometimes it's cheaper to take it to a Ford certified diesel mech. than Joe Blow who is a diesel mech. on backhoes and big rigs. Fixing it right the 1st time is almost always cheaper then throwing parts at it.

 

oh, the Ford dealer mechanic is the one who told us to replace 3 of the injectors. we were hoping we could clean them and last a bit longer. we don't have a spare $2k for that work i am afraid. i know, cheaper than a new truck! but we just don't have it right now.

he doesn't want to run a cleaner through them, he wants to get some $200 system that is supposed to clean them. looks like some machine or something. i just hate throwing money, albeit a lot less, at something that will not work, or even be worth it for other cars/trucks.

 

It's possible your truck is suffering from a condition called stiction. What type and weight oil are you using? Make sure you have OEM oil filter and cap. No a/m. If your using 15W40 oil, try 5W40 synthetic. That can help if it is stiction.

 

cleaning injectors is not gonna help ya much. if your issue is spool valve try running some quality 5w-40 oil in it. see if that makes it any better.

basicly wondering if the bad cooler was just reused after being pluged off.
my guess is when they did the "delete" they failed to flush the system and replace the oil cooler. sometimes it a case of ya go cheep ya get cheep.
refer to tsb 09-08-03 and follow it for your overheating issue.
But as i said before " you are a winner of streched head bolts" and odds are a bad oil cooler.