I bought a powerstroke now i have questions.

[Strokergonebroke]

Hello all... I'm glad to say i bought my first 2004 powerstroke with 140k...nice upgrade from my 98 mustang gt for ohio winters ha

Little backround info.....truck has egr delete and edge programmer with all the goodies, leveling kit and 35's.

My back round.....Fix airplanes for a living and work on cars every weekend for the last 8 years it a love hate relationship as we all can agree to

I have a few questions and before i get to asking i want eveyone to know i've done hours of research and just looking for more details on the matters.

1. Guy i bought it from put autozone 50/50 coolant in her and ran it like this for the last 2k miles, i plan of dumping it and putting ford gold in and i have all the info on how to do so. My question comes to the forum of do i need to use distilled water or can i use water filter'd with a britta filter? my second question is do i have to run sc-12 i believe its called ASAP after a change orar can i drive for a week without it untill it arives in the mail?

2. I have a oil leak in/around my turbo valley....yes i've read of a sensor that leaks and turbo o-rings and such that can. The leak right under the turbo i plan on washing off everything that is oily and making it shine to see were it coming from. Now my question is do i buy OEM o-ring or gasket that is bad?

3. rear pinion seal leaks also is it as simple as buying a new seal, prying the old one out and installing the new one or is there more inside the diff that i must attend to?

4. My heat works but its not put your 2 yr old in the truck and go driving with 15o weather out side....she reads slightly under the min level on the degass bottle by mabe 1-2 centameters....yes i've read this could be the problem and i will attend to that once the flush is complete, she blows a little hotter with the high idle turned on, i've also read it could be headgaskets going UGHHHH, is the bubble test a good indication to go buy even with a egr delete? Any more ideas on this and better testing rule out head gaskets(there is no white residue near degrass or on and no signs or smells of coolant puke or any smoke even on 28o outside temp starts or driving.

5. When taking her out for 4wd sometimes it takes 10-20 seconds or so for it to disengage is this normal? Vac leak im assuming?

6. My battery light comes on and off randomly but battery volts when truck runs is 12.8 ish....alternator was told is fairly new....any input to fix this? also what is the alternator post to output volt wise directly from the out post on it. Batteries also less than year old.

Sure im forgetting more but i will be back....any help is great.

Thanks guy

[kinnisoj]

okay to touch on just a couple, ford gold bad, batt light comin on and off mine did that and had to replace alt now its all good!

[kinnisoj]

As far as the heat you could have a slipping water pump or air in the system. What temps does your monitor read for ECT?

[Strokergonebroke]

Originally Posted by kinnisoj

okay to touch on just a couple, ford gold bad, batt light comin on and off mine did that and had to replace alt now its all good!

you say ford gold is bad can you explain why this is? Fleet is at napa down the road but $25 a gal. I figure autozone brand coolant cant be doing it any good.

[Strokergonebroke]

Originally Posted by kinnisoj

As far as the heat you could have a slipping water pump or air in the system. What temps does your monitor read for ECT?

havn't gotten to ready drive her yet other than test driving due to waiting on title in the mail from sellers bank from paying off his lien...when i did test drive it was around 110-130 is....took about 5min to warm up from 28 to 100.

i did see were someone said they can spin on the shaft causing a no flow.

[dhanna6powerstroke]

Do NOT run the Ford Gold coolant. That is the main reason for oil cooler and EGR cooler failures. You need to flush with distilled water and then the coolant you want to use is an ELC coolant with an EC-1 rating. DO NOT use Dexcool. The oil leak is most likely your ICP sensor. Only way to fix it is to replace it and you also need to replace the pigtail because oil leaks into the connector. Rear pinion is a little more involved. Pinion gear nut would have to be removed, then the flange to get to seal. Your heat could vlbe a thermostat issue since the OE thermostats fail in the open position. Only way to know that is to get a monitor for the truck to watch all of your temps. The factory gauges are useless. Coolant level is fine, should be 1/4" below minimum mark. Not sure on the 4x4 and alt needs removed and checked as well as load testing the batteries. Oh yeah, .

[Strokergonebroke]

Originally Posted by dhanna6powerstroke

Do NOT run the Ford Gold coolant. That is the main reason for oil cooler and EGR cooler failures. You need to flush with distilled water and then the coolant you want to use is an ELC coolant with an EC-1 rating. DO NOT use Dexcool. The oil leak is most likely your ICP sensor. Only way to fix it is to replace it and you also need to replace the pigtail because oil leaks into the connector. Rear pinion is a little more involved. Pinion gear nut would have to be removed, then the flange to get to seal. Your heat could vlbe a thermostat issue since the OE thermostats fail in the open position. Only way to know that is to get a monitor for the truck to watch all of your temps. The factory gauges are useless. Coolant level is fine, should be 1/4" below minimum mark. Not sure on the 4x4 and alt needs removed and checked as well as load testing the batteries. Oh yeah, .

ok i've read tons of coolants to run...what is difinitavly(spelling) the absolute best i can order to put in her, and site to were i can order it or store with it(preferably both) Coolants not my cup of tea in the knowledge area.

thermostate i will take out and test with hot water, if it is bad are they able to be picked up at autzone,napa,advance,pepboys? or only ford dealer or internet? i do have the edge programmer that has digital reading of the ect temps.

how do i load test batteries? Never have done or heard of this before.

Can you explain this "pig tail" to me? is it part of the icp sensor or a seperate part that would need to bought if the sensor is the problem. Also do have a write on were this icp sensor is and what is need'd to come off to get to it? Very new to diesel


I'll get back to the pinion when engine problems are fixed its just a moist leak not dripping or nothing.

[04cr450]

There is NOTHING wrong with ford gold.. I have 170k on my truck with gold coolant and never had a issue.. I drain the coolant once per year and refill with fresh gold coolant.. I run a coolant filter to add...

[dhanna6powerstroke]

Here is one type of coolant. It doesn't matter which brand as long as it has the EC-1 rating. Also, make sure it is the concentrate and not 50/50 mix.

Zerex ZXEDRU1 HD Extended Life Antifreeze / Coolant - Gallon : Amazon.com : Automotive

Zerex ZXEDRU1 HD Extended Life Antifreeze / Coolant - Gallon : Amazon.com : Automotive

Here is what the ICP and pigtail look like.
Ford Powerstroke Diesel Power Stroke ICP Sensor Plug 6 0L VT365 2004 2009 | eBay

Don't worry about removing thermostat to check it. Just watch the Edge and see what your coolant temp reads. If the thermostat is bad, go with OEM only. Remove the batteries and take them to a shop or auto parts store to have load tested.

[dhanna6powerstroke]

Originally Posted by 04cr450

There is NOTHING wrong with ford gold.. I have 170k on my truck with gold coolant and never had a issue.. I drain the coolant once per year and refill with fresh gold coolant.. I run a coolant filter to add...

You will find the vast majority of 6.0 owners disagree with this but to each his own. Coolant filter on the other hand is a very good idea.