Where is my coolant going???

[Born To Run]

Driving back from Chicago Sunday,warning on dash for engine temp,temp guage near red! Then a wrench symbol comes on (throttle body??) Pull over & find resovoir empty,i put 2.5 gal of water in to top up.Every hour i had to put 1 gallon in.No visible leaks,smoke or anything & the truck runs great.
Where the hell is all my coolant going??? Please explain.This truck is a 2006 F-350 dually diesel Lariat with 118,000 miles.No warranty left either!

[a2elvis]

Sounds like EGR cooler/oil cooler failure. Egr cooler ruptures sending the coolant into the motor and out the exhaust. Kinda crazy there hasnt been any white smoke though. If the coolant isnt going on the ground then its probably going thru the motor.

[NYC F-350]

Check your codes. If the EGR cooler has failed to that extent you may be looking at a head gasket repair as well. This is not a guarantee but it does happen this way.
By the way, the code check is out of curiosity and there is no code that will point squarely at a head gasket issue.

[Born To Run]

Originally Posted by NYC F-350

Check your codes. If the EGR cooler has failed to that extent you may be looking at a head gasket repair as well. This is not a guarantee but it does happen this way.
By the way, the code check is out of curiosity and there is no code that will point squarely at a head gasket issue.

If it is this egr cooler,what do you suggest,bypass it,replace it with oem or aftermarket?I need direction as my Ford dealer has no diesel techs,Carrier truck centre want nothing to do with it & its there international engine in this thing.

[Born To Run]

Originally Posted by a2elvis

Sounds like EGR cooler/oil cooler failure. Egr cooler ruptures sending the coolant into the motor and out the exhaust. Kinda crazy there hasnt been any white smoke though. If the coolant isnt going on the ground then its probably going thru the motor.

No smoke at all.Truck runs just fine.I think its the egr cooler as well.This is all new to me.

[a2elvis]

Theres a lot of good info on the forum and personally I would go with a upgraded EGR cooler. Deletes are an option, but not legal in most states. Plus using deletes you can run into check engine lights.

[a2elvis]

Also the reason the EGR cooler fails is because the oil cooler fails(clogs). So make sure you have the oil cooler replaced along with the EGR cooler.

[NYC F-350]

That depends on a few factors.
If you have emissions testing, or there is a chance of future legislation for adding it, get the bulletproof diesel EGR cooler for your year engine and use that.
If you do not have emissions testing, don't see your state adding it any time soon and don't mind taking the chance of getting caught breaking a Federal emissions law that can carry a HEFTY fine (Chances are slim, but it is possible), delete it.
For what its worth, I deleted mine.

Depending on your year engine and the PCM flash, you may or may not get the P0401 "insufficient EGR flow" code. To get rid of that code, you will need a tuner such as the SCT x3 or other SCT tuner with a custom tune. It isn't as expensive as that sounds. You can get the tuner with "lifetime stock tunes" for about $425 from a reputable tune writer.
If you have the tooling and know how, theres a link in my signature line that contains the PDF files for turbo removal/replacement, intake manifold replacement and oil cooler servicing. The link will have all the part numbers you will need and a few notes and tips that can help you.

[FourFun]

Originally Posted by Born To Run

If it is this egr cooler,what do you suggest,bypass it,replace it with oem or aftermarket?I need direction as my Ford dealer has no diesel techs,Carrier truck centre want nothing to do with it & its there international engine in this thing.

Your best bet is gonna be to find a reputable AND reliable shop or mechanic to properly diagnose this truck. It may be just the egr cooler, or it could be much more and worse than that($$). The worst thing you could do now is find a shop who bandaids it or misdiagnoses it costing more money in the long run, and then leaving you with a truck that you think is horribly problematic and wanting to just sell. This is why most of this forum and member's have either done or might recommend an egr delete(or a lot of other mods for that reason) to avoid situations such as yours. Good luck!

[Born To Run]

Originally Posted by NYC F-350

That depends on a few factors.
If you have emissions testing, or there is a chance of future legislation for adding it, get the bulletproof diesel EGR cooler for your year engine and use that.
If you do not have emissions testing, don't see your state adding it any time soon and don't mind taking the chance of getting caught breaking a Federal emissions law that can carry a HEFTY fine (Chances are slim, but it is possible), delete it.
For what its worth, I deleted mine.

Depending on your year engine and the PCM flash, you may or may not get the P0401 "insufficient EGR flow" code. To get rid of that code, you will need a tuner such as the SCT x3 or other SCT tuner with a custom tune. It isn't as expensive as that sounds. You can get the tuner with "lifetime stock tunes" for about $425 from a reputable tune writer.
If you have the tooling and know how, theres a link in my signature line that contains the PDF files for turbo removal/replacement, intake manifold replacement and oil cooler servicing. The link will have all the part numbers you will need and a few notes and tips that can help you.

Wow thanks for the info,i may delete it,we do have etest here but i get it done in Jan & they do it outside they measure oil temp & some other thing at idle only thats it.I have some homework to do.