04 F250 coolant loss

[sds]

Have a 2004 F250 6.0L. Problems started at about 170K.
Coolant was leaking. Found cracks in expansion tank and replaced. Had to add more coolant a few days after. Had the system pressure checked and all hoses, etc. checked. Thought the problem was solved. Went a week with no sign of loss.
Took the truck on vacation and drove about 600 miles the first day. Next morning checked coolant and bottle was very low. Added almost a gallon. Drove another 400 or so miles with just a slight coolant loss. Will tell majority of drive was just to cross Texas and was very hot. Seemed too lessen as we got into cooler areas.
Spent almost a week in the mountains with limited driving, coolant level stayed where it should. Decided to drive straight through on way home. Checked coolant occasionally after meal breaks. Seemed fine. After getting home checked coolant next day and bottle was almost empty. Had to add over a gallon.
Coolant loss seems to only happen while being driven especially on high mileage drives. No leakage on ground at all, no white smoke, no overheating, runs smooth. Have noticed a few white spots on top of bottle periodically.

[dhanna6powerstroke]

Originally Posted by sds

Have a 2004 F250 6.0L. Problems started at about 170K.
Coolant was leaking. Found cracks in expansion tank and replaced. Had to add more coolant a few days after. Had the system pressure checked and all hoses, etc. checked. Thought the problem was solved. Went a week with no sign of loss.
Took the truck on vacation and drove about 600 miles the first day. Next morning checked coolant and bottle was very low. Added almost a gallon. Drove another 400 or so miles with just a slight coolant loss. Will tell majority of drive was just to cross Texas and was very hot. Seemed too lessen as we got into cooler areas.
Spent almost a week in the mountains with limited driving, coolant level stayed where it should. Decided to drive straight through on way home. Checked coolant occasionally after meal breaks. Seemed fine. After getting home checked coolant next day and bottle was almost empty. Had to add over a gallon.
Coolant loss seems to only happen while being driven especially on high mileage drives. No leakage on ground at all, no white smoke, no overheating, runs smooth. Have noticed a few white spots on top of bottle periodically.

The actual fill line is suppose to be about an 1/8" below the minimum mark. If you are overfilling the degas bottle, it is blowing it out of the cap. That is what your white spots are. There was a TSB from Ford and it involves putting a sticker on the degas bottle to show the correct fill level.

[sds]

Started having white and black smoke when I take off from a stop. Truck tends to stutter some then smoke then takes off. Once on the highway, truck runs smooth. No evidence of coolant in oil or oil in coolant.
I've read through a lot of the posts here. Think it may be EGR? Looked at it and see a lot of gunk around it.

Question is how much am I looking at to replace it? I'm good with gas engines but this is my first diesel and after 4 1/2 years I still don't feel smart enough to work on it except basics.

[BCW]

I just replaced my EGR Valve last week and cost me $284 for the valve. It fixed the black smoke and lack of power issues. However now I am having antifreeze loss. I cannot see any leaks anywhere. I have to add a little antifreeze every morning. My bottle has the new sticker on it for the fill line and I keep it at the min mark. I drove 380 miles yesterday, no overheating and this morning the bottle is empty. Anyone have any ideas?

[flogger12003]

I am having the same issue with my 04. I can't find any leaks and but yet every time I drive it I use anywhere from 1 to 3 gallons of coolant. I took all of my programmers and chips off of the truck and it did well on the last trip. Now it runs like a shopping cart but it runs! We will see.

[sds]

Took my truck in finally last Thursday. Not good but could have been worse. Bad EGR, cooler, etc. Picked it up today. Cost ran close to $2800 for repairs. Sounds good and runs good, so I'm happy but poor.

[flogger12003]

Originally Posted by sds

Took my truck in finally last Thursday. Not good but could have been worse. Bad EGR, cooler, etc. Picked it up today. Cost ran close to $2800 for repairs. Sounds good and runs good, so I'm happy but poor.

Ouch...don't tell me that. I hope that my problem is not the same as yours. Would this be covered under the 100k warranty?

[sds]

Don't know. I have 173K on mine.