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04 Psd Overheating!!!

4K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  99Smokin73Stroker 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone, i'm new to this. I was wondering if anyone could help. I'm trying to find a reason why my 04 Super Duty,(powerstroke) overheats under high boost. Everytime I pull my trailer under a load the trucks temperature rises. Everytime the temp. rises truck blows coolant out of the res. I took it to the dealership and immediatly they said the head gaskets need to be replaced. Upon removing the head gaskets, they informed me the heads are warped. Also two injectors need to be replaced, and glow plug seals. Anyone know why??? Also Ford is replacing the head gaskets with a new revision head gasket set. What i've heard is that the PSD from 03-some of 05 have the wrong set of head gaskets on the engine?? Is it true??? Oh and by the way, its now been almost a month since my truck has been down. AND NO RENTAL ANYMORE, RENTAL WAS ONLY 5 DAYS! :mad: But bright side is powertrain warranty covers the issue.
 
#2 ·
First off, I have been through all this.... The reason the truck over heats is beacause its low on antifreeze, from it loosing too much out of the overflow. This is called "puking" and is somewhat of a "normal" thing to happen if a break down would be a normal thing. The reason it does it at high boost is beacause the poor design of only 3 head bolts per cylinder. It does not have enough strength to hold the heads down. The bolts start to stretch at high boost aplications and parts of the head gasket start to fly out. (is you truck stock, or does it have a reason to run higher boost then stock like tuned up) When the truck over heats the heads like to start warping and cracking. The 05' trucks got a new head gasket design because of the many problems with the 03, and 04 models. The new design helped alot but is still not a total fix. My truck is an 04' that began "puking" and over heating 2 weeks after i tuned it, with 12,000 miles. After blowing up a couple radiators i convinced ford i had blown gaskets, so now i have the 05' gaskets, they lasted for 3 months, and now i em' havin some problems, but not as bad as the old gaskets. (i drive my truck HARD!) I would be very mad at you dealer for not having you a truck to drive. I know my dealer lost my business and our family and farms over the fact I couldn't get a rental because i wasn't 21?! when my truck was in for 3 weeks. Oh yeah, ask them what is taking so long, because if the parts are sitting there the ford manual says it takes only 20 hours of work to put new head gaskets on a 6.0. Some people are starting to try using a high grade head stud to fix the problem. One of my friends just got some installed on his truck after having these problems. I'm waitng to see how it works for him, and might end up going that way. studs cost around 800, and 1800 to install, b/c you have to pull the engine.
 
#3 ·
I wish i could offer some help on this. i think wapp said every thing i could though.
 
#4 ·
The headgaskets are failing on all years(03 to c). I have done 10 sets and start the 11th set in the morning. I have yet to see a SMOKIN GUN. I have yet to see a major failure. It seems to me that the heads are lifting up off the block under high load. Is this due to bolt strech? Are the heads walking? are the decks to thin? Are there to few head bolts(10 per head,18 on a 7.3l). I do not feel that aftermarket programers are to blame. Yes, I can tell if you have a programer in you truck. With the heads off you see a nice BIG flower on the top of the piston. A stock unit will have a little flower that just comes out of the dish. Only had one headgasket job comeapart for a second time. The other 9 have not came back with a problem.
 
#9 ·
I have yelled at a few guys that work "for" ford before but never a tech. I have had many "conversations" with the ford reps and engineers and even a few people in the executive branch of fmco. I know the decisions that pushed me into a cummins were of no fault of any tech. They are just doing their jobs and I can't fault them for that!
 
#10 ·
Welcome to the forum 04HDPowerstroke! Well you're not the first 6.0 owner that has had this problem as you can obviously see. There are a lot of upset owners out there, and a lot of happy owners. Unfortunately you became the victim of a design that I think should have been more thought out.
 
#11 ·
I Have Researched This Subject On Headgasket Theory Very Closely And Have Found That The 6.0l Headgaskets Are Not The Problem. The Heads Have To Be Lifting And Causing The Gaskets To Leak,but The Headgaskets Are Not Coming Apart. They Are Made Of 5 Layers Of Thin Steel With Sealing Material Between Layers.the Head Bolts Are Too Few On The 6.0l And The Bolts Are Stretching. Head Studs With Stock Gaskets And You Will Not Have This Problem Again.
 
#12 ·
I think SR has it right. I have done 11 sets of headgaskets on 6.0's and found not one was "BLOWN". I think the head bolts are a big problem. I also replace the EGR cooler on all headgasket jobs. I think a plugged EGR cooler can boil coolant and make your truck blowchow. I have a set on my bench right now if someone wants photos.
 
#13 ·
That's what I have been hearing too. I didn't think that they would actually make a gasket that would fail so often. But how many owners actually have the cash to pony up for head studs? I'm sure that can't be too cheap of a "fix" since you can't really consider it a mod since ford screwed it up....
 
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