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Exhaust Leak on 2017 6.7 Powerstroke?

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11K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  RThompson  
#1 ·
This one concerns me quite a bit, a lot in fact. I'd appreciate if anyone could weigh in as this is my first time owning/daily driving a deleted diesel. I recently picked up a 2017 powerstroke which I have since deleted with a 5" exhaust (bolt on) and a series of EGR block-off plates that allow me to retain the EGR cooler. Ever since the delete I've been experiencing symptoms of what I perceive to be carbon monoxide poisoning, as I tend to end every drive feeling somewhat spacey and lightheaded (short trips included), a feeling that persists throughout the day even hours after a drive, which may sound insane. I understand that carbon monoxide isn't abundant in the diesel combustion process, unless in-efficient fueling takes place leading to unburned fuel, which doesn't necessarily apply to me (in its fullest capacity) as I'm running a stock HP tune with stock fuel pressure and injectors etc. In other words I'm not running around town with all my windows rolled down while I spew concentrated black soot everywhere and question why i'm inhaling residual fumes. Although a small amount of black soot can be emitted at higher throttle and in overdrive gears I'm generally unable to produce (noticeable) coal while under normal operation, so I don't routinely get any remote smell of diesel in the cab unless I have my windows down while stationary. Because I'm unable to discern an odor coming from the HVAC or any other area within the cab I assume it can only be carbon monoxide that may be contributing to this issue, although my assumptions are very naive as I'm unaware of what compounds diesel fumes can emit. To clarify, this is something that occurs regardless of whether the windows are up or down.

I haven't performed any modifications to the turbo housing or the exhaust manifold since I have gotten the truck, so there's not a chance those could be malaligned. The only areas I have tampered with that could possibly lead to an exhaust leak are the EGR block-off plates, particularly the one which bolts directly to the exhaust manifold which I have torqued down firmly to 89 inch-lbs with its factory gasket installed, and the bolt-on exhaust which spans from the factory downpipe back. I have searched the entire bay and haven't noticed any obvious signs of leakage, the firewall by the turbo housing remains unintroduced to soot and correspondingly the EGR plate which bolts direct to the exhaust manifold represents no signs of soot leakage. I have searched all of the bolt-on exhaust flanges/couplers and again, no substantial amount of soot leakage is present if at all, there also aren't any noises escaping through any points in the exhaust connections.

I believe this issue has only been alive since I've deleted my truck, and I'm stumped to say the least, there's absolutely no smell in the cab and no obvious signs of an exhaust leak. Maybe this is all in my head? While this rambling likely sounds zany as can be, I'm wondering if anyone else out there has experienced anything remotely similar to the poorly described situation above. The symptoms I'm experiencing seem incredibly improbable unless I were to negligently inhale diesel fumes on purpose, as there's certainly no way that a trivial exhaust leak could lead to immediate lightheadedness when the windows are rolled up with the HVAC recirc enabled. I'm trying to determine if this is something entirely unrelated to my deleted truck and caused by an external factor, or if this is a serious issue that has some plausibility. I bought a carbon monoxide detector that I'm going to leave plugged in to the 110v outlet for the time being. Thank you for reading my incoherent rambie, lol, I'd appreciate any input although I'm not really sure how anyone would be able to respond to such a bizarre story. Being new to the delete world, I just want to know if such a thing is possible.
 
#3 ·
I would think with windows down and fresh air constantly coming in I wouldn't think you would be able to inhale enough of it to be noticeable as opposed to the truck being sealed up and using the a/c. I may also be way off on that but just the way my mind envisions it. Interested to see what your CO detector tells you.
 
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#4 ·
I'll definitely update this thread once I drive the truck a few times with the CO detector, I'm genuinely curious if it will get tripped. As I've mentioned I'm completely oblivious to the characteristics of the compounds found in combusted diesel exhaust, although I'm almost certain that carbon monoxide is the only gas found within diesel exhaust that would be odorless and undetectable if present in the cab. I attempted to find posts similar to mine and all have described situations where fumes were blatantly detectable (odor ridden) when an exhaust leak permeated the cab weatherstriping or entered through the HVAC via the upper cowl, yet they failed to resemble/mention the pathetic symptoms I'm walking away with after every drive as it seems. Hopefully this entire thing is related to an external lapse in my health and not caused by this deleted F-250, it's far too fun to drive lol, best freedom I've ever experienced. For me to contract symptoms of this calibre it seems wildly unlikely that it would be caused by a piddling exhaust leak which is all this truck couple possibly exhibit, there's nothing obvious to be found. I greatly appreciate the responses.
 
#5 ·
Have you ever considered you enjoy driving your truck so much you are losing blood from one brain to the, ahem, other brain lol.
 
#6 ·
Lol, that is very plausible. I've always fantasized about owning a deleted diesel for nearly my entire life. One of my genuine considerations for the light-headed feeling was the influx of dopamine from leaning into the throttle and hearing the turbo spool, which is a sound by the grace of God that I have never gotten enough of. Let's hope that's all it is, case and point.
 
#7 ·
An observation with some deleted sheeeyit-boxes: the exhaust is more pungent without an exhaust filter. Have you considered that?

When I go hunting for exhaust leaks, I use a mechanic's stethoscope - the diaphragm end is removed and, in its place, I have a 2-foot piece of nylon tubing (that's 60.96 centimeters for you foreigners) shoved into the stethoscope hose. Run the engine and move the end of the tube along the edges and connections of all the exhaust components while wearing the stethoscope. If there is a leak you will hear it easily.
Otherwise, try shutting the windows and put the HVAC on recirculate.
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#8 ·
Of course, the exhaust fumes being more potent and prevalent is the first observation I made. The ambiguous thing about this is that I am getting none of those potent smelling fumes in the cab, which is a smell I could detect from a mile away. The fact that the smell of diesel is not present when the symptoms of inhaling it are, is very strange. The only way to determine the issue is to give it time, I'm sure whatever it is will become more obvious.
 
#10 ·
If you aren't idling and sitting in your truck parked in an enclosed space I really don't see exhaust being the cause. Just going off the other post I would say you might be a bit of an "overthinker". Just drive the damn truck lol. As someone who owned a 200k mile 6.4, I know exactly what headaches come from being overly concerned about whatever little bs the truck might be doing (or mostly what it may do to my wallet...).

That's not to say you don't have the potential for an exhaust leak, exhaust manifolds are fairly common... But, generally not gonna lead you to where you are currently. Let us know what you find out, but its Friday man... Go crack a beer and throw some burgers on the grill.
 
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#11 ·
I completely agree with you, I tend to look for the worst in these trucks before I accept the good, I'm probably overthinking it. Multiple different people have ridden along and have not reported that they felt "off" or shared the same symptoms as me, granted I daily drive the truck and these sorts of symptoms could potentially become worse/noticeable only with consistent driving throughout the week. After having time to think about what the symptoms could actually be the result of in regards to the truck, I have not a single clue. I had myself convinced that the exhaust fumes/CO was permeating the cab, which as you said, would typically only cause detrimental symptoms (not that mine are anywhere near detrimental) if in an enclosed environment and stationary, not like my situation where I'm driving around town with the windows up/down with virtually no diesel smell and an exhaust that is perceivably is intact with no blatant leaks. I'm going to man up and stop overthinking everything, this truck needs to be enjoyed before the time runs out. If there is real issue present it will show itself eventually, I'll make sure to be cautiously optimistic.

Your recommendation on cracking a beer and grilling was a great one, works like a charm.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I have been behind the wheel of a vehicle or two that had a distortion in the windshield glass. The effect is light headed disoriented feeling. I am reminded of this as of last week - I had to road test a new Transit van that is an armored transport with inch thick acrylic bullet proof windows. I noticed when not looking straight forward through it I got that feeling. A cheap aftermarket glass might do it, then again OEM glass can’t be overlooked.

Just thinking out loud here and thought it was worth mentioning.

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#13 ·
I have been behind the wheel of a vehicle or two that had a distortion in the windshield glass. The effect is light headed disoriented feeling. I am reminded of this as of last week - I had to road test a new Transit van that is an armored transport with inch thick acrylic bullet proof windows. I noticed when not looking straight forward through it I got that feeling. A cheap aftermarket glass might do it, then again OEM glass can’t be overlooked.

Just thinking out loud here and thought it was worth mentioning.
I appreciate all the ideas I can get, although I think it's more likely that I'm just being a baby in the sense that I'm trying to find flaws in an awesome truck.

After driving the truck over the weekend and early into this week, I've noticed that these "symptoms" don't really present themselves if I'm the least bit distracted by something else, say, talking to someone riding along in the cab. I think what really made me overthink was the fact that I had experienced the same symptoms which I presume to have been actually legitimate a month back before I began traveling about the country and left the truck to rest for a while. What had happened is that I formerly stored Hot Shots Secret EGT (fuel additive for those who don't know) underneath the rear bench seats. My cab used to absolutely reek of the fuel additive since the bottle it came in leaked inside of a ziploc bag. After checking the back of the bottle today it of course had a respiratory hazard label warning not to inhale the vapor (a given), which very well could have caused the series of dull headaches and lightheadedness when I used to store it in the truck, as I just can't find any logic that a small exhaust leak would ever lead to notable symptoms if a CO detector held a negative reading and the truck wasn't running inside an enclosed area. One day I was probably driving along and had a dull headache from general stress at work, which then led me to think, "hold on a minute, I felt this same feeling last month when driving my truck (with the fuel additive vapor present)". Then the overthinking ensued, thinking that something was amiss.

Word to the wise for those that use diesel fuel additives, don't be a dumbass and store it in a non-ventilated cab like I once did unless they are properly contained, because those bottles do tend to be permeated by the intense chemical smell from the additives. I assume this is all it ever was, I feel the need to apologize for wasting the valuable time of the people who had posted on this thread, although there is still some great information on here. I'll update if anything else arises.
 
#14 ·
The fuel additive could absolutely play a part. Like I said, I owned a high millage 6.4... I felt like I spent more time checking numbers on my CTS and listening for little noises than I did actually paying attention to the road. Almost to the tee, I experienced much of what you described... The thought of having a $600/mo truck payment was more relaxing than the thought of what I was gonna do if/when the truck ended up in the shop.

Its almost impossible to keep the additives from getting all over the outside of the bottle when you pour them... That and they don't have the greatest seals means they tend to leak very easily and can damage leather/cloth. If at all possible they should always be kept in a toolbox in the bed of the truck. Unfortunately, I don't have a toolbox so I have to keep it in the cab. I use arson/evidence bags to seal the bottle in with and absorbent mat stuffed in the bottom. We use them to store our k9 training odors since they are resistant to most harsh chemicals (particularly petroleum products), they are perfect for keeping fuel additive contained lol.
 
#15 ·
Alright, so I believe I found the culprit. Maybe you all could provide input as to whether this is complete nonsense.

I continued to do some digging around the engine bay, and I found that my coolant reservoir was filled below the minimum fill line which was strange. To be sure this wasn't the case when I first purchased the truck I checked photos that I conveniently took of the engine bay eight weeks back, which clearly showed that the coolant reservoir was filled well above the maximum fill level. This would explain why I've been seeing indications of a liquid dripping from the passenger side (later running down the passenger side traction arm and then onto the pavement) almost every single time the truck sits after running, which I originally thought to be excess condensation dripping from the HVAC block since I live in an extremely hot climate. Theres a series of aluminum piping that is located on the far passenger side right next to the fuse box, which I assume to be some sort of distributor for coolant? or perhaps AC? I take this is the source of the leak, unless condensation is common. I'm not confronted with a sweet odor coming from the HVAC as most people report as a coolant leak characteristic, but it's worth throwing out there.

So I now think that the inhalation of ethylene glycol (coolant fumes) is what is causing these symptoms, as I am showing every single last one. I'm pretty disappointed if this has been lingering in my face the entire time, no less destroying my health.
 
#16 ·
The aluminum tubed would be your A/C lines - condensation on the cold side is normal. This is a 2017 truck - most common coolant leak is from the DEGAS hoses on top of the engine - check the t-joints with the small band type clamps that are crimped. They tend to loosen up and drip a little.
 
#17 ·
That's what I figured those aluminum tubes may have been, glad I could rule that passenger side liquid on the pavement as excess condensation and not coolant, at least as it appears. I'm told that a warm truck will output a false coolant reading given that the contents are under pressure which makes sense, it may have mislead me to believe that the coolant reservoir is depleted. I'll take the truck in to get its coolant pressure checked just to be certain. I checked the DEGAS hoses and the t-joints, they along with their surrounding areas are clean of leaks. I inspected the entire length of the hoses for any clear signs of imperfection, as much as I could access that is. Is there any other coolant failure points that are common on these 6.7s? I appreciate the quick response.
 
#18 ·
I'm starting to worry that you MAY never get to enjoy this truck lol. It's good that you are keeping an eye on things
 
#19 ·
Seriously man...
i've been trying my absolute best to ignore this and pass it off as senseless minutiae but I'm fed up with feeling delirious during and after each ride. It just seems wildly improbable that any issue besides a blatantly obvious one (that even an idiot couldn't fail to see) could cause one to feel really ill, damn strange is what it is. Like anything else, there's nothing to it but to give it time and figure it out, hell I'll make a game out of it. I was just throwing ethylene glycol inhalation out there as a possible culprit since its odorless and my coolant reservoir was low, perhaps that would make some sparks fly I thought. I've found one other thread where a guy reported feeling "dizzy" after every drive in his 6.2 F-250, which was supposedly caused by coolant fumes, never conclusive. Although, I've also found some conflicting information that the inhalation of ethylene glycol would only cause upper respiratory irritation at its worst degree, only direct ingestion would cause the symptoms I'm experiencing.
 
#20 ·
Could try changing the cabin air filter...