[_waganer_]

Now that its finally been cold here in Missouri, I've noticed that on the cold mornings (or simply from sitting all day outside during work) my truck will put out a little white smoke and feels very sluggish. I have looked over many different forums but haven't found many good threads about it (if there is, please point me in the direction).

So for more details.
I have a 2007 F250 6.0 with right at 119k miles on it. just bought the truck 3 weeks ago, and the dealer said they had changed the oil along with all the standard vehicle checks. The truck is bone stock with possible a cat back exhaust, and appears to have been driven very well by the previous owner.

The last few days have been around 25-35F during the day and as low as 10f at night. When I start my truck in the morning before work, it starts up fine (I leave it plugged in) but if I take off driving right away it will feel very very sluggish, and put out some white smoke under acceleration. After a few minutes of driving (when the temp gauge reaches 1/8) it drives perfect. If I leave the truck to idle then this temperature is obviously reached much quicker.

It does not smoke at all during idle, only under acceleration, I've had no problems starting the truck. I do have a 3 month warranty on the vehicle from the dealership, so if all else fails I can take it in. I would still like to know what's going on because I normally do all the work on my vehicles myself.

Within a few months I will be bulletproofing the truck myself, so im not too concerned with this, but would like to prepare myself (and my wallet).

Thanks for any help!

 

[G8orFord]

It's probably just condensation, but I'd keep an eye on it. It's possible that it could be a bit of over fueling from an injector. Which leads to my next questions and suggestions. Do you have a monitor? Do you know what temperature the coolant and oil are when you leave? You really shouldn't drive a diesel right of after cranking in cold weather. You should let the oil get to about 100°F before driving, especially if the oil the dealer used is the Ford recommended 15w-40 conventional. Most of us on here run 5w-40 synthetic. The injectors and HPOP system seem to like it a lot better than conventional oil. Rotella T6, Amsoil, Mobil 1 and my personal choice Delo LE full synthetic are some of the most commonly used. I suspect your sluggishness will diminish considerably with a better oil and allowing the engine to get some heat in it before you drive off. It's not going to run as good as it will at full operating temp, but it should be better. It might help with the hazing too, especially if it's an injector suffering a little stiction.

 

[_waganer_]

I do not currently have a scanner or gauges, it's totally stock. So I don't know the exact tempature. If I can I always let the truck warm up to operating tempature, only when I'm running late or something along those lines will I cut it short(and even then I still let it sit for about 2 min). I will be getting a SCT soon to monitor and have some fun. I'll talk to the dealer and see if they have any documentation on the oil they used in the oil change. As well ill look into using the oil you recommended! I read on some forum that apparently the 6.0 doesn't go well with rotella oil? Is that total BS? Because I've heard many other people suggest using it (including you obviously).

 

[G8orFord]

There's nothing wrong with Rotella T6 for the 6.0. There are better oils, but for the money, T6 is fine. I run Delo because I felt my truck was a little smoother and quieter with it over T6. Make sure you only use Motocraft or Racor oil filters (OEM) and make sure you have the right OEM cap. If someone has used a different filter at some point, they likely changed the cap to for the filter they used.

It will probably take closer to 10 minutes in 20° weather should get you to 100° oil temps.

 

[JER-1]

I'll never run t6 in my 6.0 again, nasty looking filter I've ever seen at oil change.
Worst cold start ever with the t6 ****.
Running Mobil one 5/40 full sy with arch oil 9100 this time around.
Best I ever ran so far has been
Valoline premium blue turbo diesel oil 5/40 full sy. With two bottles rev x.

 

[junior125]

on stock tuning at 20 degrees I would say closer to 15 minutes, it really depends on how healthy your thermostat is, also for oil, choose something that your truck likes, it'll let you know what it runs smoother with

 

[_waganer_]

So for the white smoke, do you guys think it could be as simple as condonsation and that I should change the oil? From what I've read, if it was a EGR cooler or something along those lines, the truck would smoke a lot more often, not just on a cold start. Is that correct?

 

[G8orFord]

That is correct. There are exceptions to any rule, but if it clears up after a bit, it's not likely to be the EGR cooler.

 

[cthurston09]

I'm running T6 synthetic and I've never had any problems. Runs great. I do have a little white smoke on cold start but I always let it idle for at least 10-15 minutes before I leave for work. My white smokes clears up after just a couple minutes. I have a scangauge 2 and after 10-15 minutes my EOT is usually around 115-125 depending. If I plug it in at night I don't let it idle as long because EOT is already around 80-90*. If I'm really in a hurry or running late I switch on my high idle. But it does run a little sluggish until it warms up. 15 quarts of 15w-40 or even 5w-40 takes a minute to get warmed up to the correct viscosity for smooth lubrication. I don't like to drive it until EOT is at least 100-110 and I takes it easy until it warms up