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2005 F250 Wrench Light No Code

45K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  ChrisSki 
#1 ·
The wrench light on my truck comes on intermittently but it seems usually after 20 miles or so. I've been trying to narrow down the problem for a few weeks now and there doesn't seem to be many if any constants. This is my first diesel so I really do not know that much about them but have been reading on how this engine works so bare with me if I don't make any technical sense.
When the light comes on I am generally holding steady around 65-70 but on my last trip it came out about 10miles after refueling and I was still on the edge of town. The trip was about 700 miles and the light was on the majority of the time. The really weird thing is I feel no loss of power, had zero effect on fuel economy, and no codes. When I had it scanned before there was a code 341 for camshaft position sensor but I do not know if that was in there from before or from my problem. He cleared the codes and I was hoping to have something to go by but as I said this trip produced a wrench light but no codes. I have no problems hauling our tool trailer or boom lift/skidster. The only thing that is different is it sounds like it is acting in tow haul mode and the RPM's will stay about 1900 with zero or no turbo but the engine doesn't retard like it normally would.. Engaging tow haul does nothing and if it does it takes quite some time for it to actually kick in and the RPM's shoot up into the 2500's. I was hoping that the camshaft code was a place to start but I was worried I wouldn't get it back together if I started taking it apart.
I apologize for my rambling and hope it makes some sense. It doesn't seem to be affecting the truck that much but I can just feel something isn't right.
 
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#2 ·
Your oil cooler is plugged. You truck will show the wrench light when your eot and ect get to be 15° apart. A dealer can pull that code but the light has to be on. Most of anything else that puts the wrench light on will put the truck into limp mode and you'd only be able to do 35mph (IMMSMR). Had the same thing on my truck...good luck.
 
#4 ·
If you're on a tight budget and have an android phone go with the torque app and get the Bluetooth obd2 plug in from eBay. It will cost you around $20. This will allow you to monitor those temps and make a more accurate assessment. If money isn't an issue pick up a good monitor and watch it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Sadly money is always an issue. I will give the android app a shot and make sure this is the problem before I pour a ton of money into it. Is this the correct plugin in?

Super Mini ELM327 V1 5 OBD2 OBDII Bluetooth Adapter Auto Scanner Torque Android | eBay

So if it is the oil cooler besides flushing the coolant system what else would need to be done? Should I just delete the EGR at the same time or just hope it isn't damaged yet. I do not plan on adding any tunes, just want to keep it stock. After doing some reading on this before I planned on installing a coolant filter from dieselsite. Forgot to add, thank you for helping, its much appreciated.
 
#6 ·
If you can get away with deleting the egr cooler do it. That will depend on emission standards where you register the vehicle. Make sure you flush the coolant before you swap the oil cooler. I got an oil cooler from the local parts store for $200. You can get an egr delete from ebay for under a hundred. Change your coolant to CAT1 rated ELC when you do the flush. Might want to install a coolant filter as well. Pull your egr valve out and look for moisture (coolant) in your intake manifold. If you find coolant the egr cooler is bad. When I did mine it took me 22 hours...that was with chasing down parts, coolant, oil and tools I broke or needed during the process (I broke two 10mm sockets on the rear turbo bolt). Long day for sure. Probably only spent 15 hours working on it but I was being slow and taking my time taking pictures and organizing everything so it would go back together smooth. Basic tools the parts and patience is all you need. There's good videos on YouTube that walk you through it step by step. That's what I used. The turbo it's was my biggest struggle.

That obd2 Bluetooth will work. The cheap ones like that are Chinese, so don't expect it to last forever. There are some better ones that run in the $150 range. I bought a cheap one hoping to get a monitor here in the next few months. Either way it's important to monitor a bunch of things on these trucks to keep from having big problems...
 
#7 ·
I was thinking... you may want to do the blue spring fuel pressure regulator while you're working on it...and not necessary but some do it is the ccv reroute. Keeps oil from getting into your intake system because that's where it gets dumped. Search it you'll find plenty to explain.
 
#8 ·
I had already been looking at the fuel pressure spring after doing some reading on here so will do that the same time. Maybe a stupid question, but does this affect the gas pedal pressure? My boss has an 06 F250 and I have to put a lot more pressure on his than mine. Might be just me though.
Reading through the coolant flushing process the guy recommended changing the thermostat, thermostat housing, upper and lower radiator hoses, and the degas bottle cap. I figure since I will have most of the truck apart anyway I may as well do it all at once. I also want to install that coolant filter from dieselsite and eventually an edge insight. Scanner should be here Saturday so I'm trying to limit my driving until then. I'm pretty nervous about blowing the EGR cooler but I think, hoping is a better word, that I caught it early enough. Thanks again for your help!
 
#9 ·
The blue spring won't change the stiffness of the gas pedal. It's just a spring that controls the amount of pressure that goes to the injectors. I believe our trucks have electronic throttles. No cables all computer crap....Good luck to ya.
 
#10 ·
Well its the oil cooler for sure. ECT 194 EOT 220. Highest delta was 30. I think it actually went into limp mode as I was pulling into the driveway, felt like it was chugging. I have the app set to notify me if a fault is thrown and it never said anything when the light came on. I suppose it would be best to also replace the EGR cooler? Time to sell my kidneys and become a stripper haha.
 
#12 ·
Most likely its the oil cooler as this two year old post talks about. Only way to diagnose is to get a monitor like it talks about. If you shut the car off, and turn it back on the light will go away for a few minutes, but the problem will be there. I think what trips the light is a 25 degree delta for 15 to 30 minutes, at least that's what it seemed like when my cooler went bad.

This is an expensive fix. Its cheaper if you do it yourself, unless you have to get all the tools for the job. If you do it yourself, don't forget gasket sets like the turbo gasket.

No true special tools needed, but there's a lot of tools that might not be in your tool kit like a deepwell wrench to torque the boots on the turbo. The 3/8" socket deepwell isn't quite deep enough, so 1/2" set will get deep enough.

Like earlier posts said, you'll want to flush prior to changing. Fumoto F-108n valves make the job go so much quicker. There's so much more you can do while you're in there.

Takes some people an entire day to change an oil cooler, some a weekend, took me longer.

If you replace do replace it, those not using OEM parts don't have good luck. Other decent aftermaket options are a remote oil cooler, so if it goes bad again its a quick fix. Another option is an air cooled oil cooler.
 
#14 ·
If you have already replaced it twice, and deltas are still excessive, is it an OEM cooler you replaced it with or a cheaper Dorman model? The Dorman model with a certain color seal is prone to failure, other high flow coolers are prone to excessive deltas.

Did you do the oil cooler swap or a mechanic? If a mechanic, was it one familiar with 6.0's with a few sitting in his lot.

Did you use distilled water for the flush prior to the final fill? Also, a good flush can take an entire day, so if it was done at a shop, they may not have taken the 8-12 hours it takes to do it yourself. A chemical flush not properly flushed out can leave chunks in the coolant that can end up in the oil cooler. Also, was it flushed before or after the oil cooler change? If after, anything that was flushed out will end up in the oil filter. Also, if you flushed, did you remove both drain plugs each time? If you skip the drain plugs, you only take out half the coolant.

The code will not appear in a code reader or on a Scan Gauge monitor. Its a code only readable at the dealer. I tried both when my wrench light went off and both did not read the code. Probably only the Ford IDS software will do this.

When you get it swapped out, think really hard about spending the extra money on a remote kit. If you do that, an oil cooler can be swapped out in 30 minutes. The remote kit can pay for itself in a single oil cooler change.

What are the ECT and EOT when the wrench light trips?
 
#16 ·
If Ford did the repairs, hopefully its under some type of warranty. You may need to call them to figure out how to go about that.

If you don't have it already, get a monitor. Even if its an app your download to your cell phone along with the ODB to cell phone connector. Probably the cheapest route is this. Otherwise there's SCANGAUGE or Edge CTS Insight. That will let you measure the ECT and EOT.
 
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