Thread:

Overheating on 2005 F350 when towing

Originally Posted by Billy-B

I seem to have a recurring problem with my F350 overheating when towing. Is this a common deal with these trucks? If so what has been done to stop this? Keep in mind that i'm towing a 40ft Weekend Warrior with my "K" boat inside so there is quite a bit of weight.. Thanks in advance

HWlaser is close,EGR valve will not nessacarily cause over heating but ....
The 6.0's are notorious for oil cooler problems(clogging) then causing the egr coolers to leak and then overheat.
Very common repair for egr cooler and oil cooler to both need to be replaced.
There is actually a repair kit for the oil cooler which is about 1/2 the cost of the complete cooler.Then the egr cooler on top of that.there are actually a few tests to determine if this is the problem,1-rad kit vaccum test to see if the cooling system holds vaccum then hook up a scanner and run it while monitoring the EOT & ECT if there is more than 10-15 degree difference between the 2 chances are you will need a egr & oil cooler.
Often misdiagnoised as head gaskets.
Not to say the head gaskets are not a common problem cause they do fail quit often.
Just don't let someone slamdunk you for head gaskets if you don't need them,cause during the head gasket repair gaurantee they will replace both coolers which may have been the only problem all along,therefore you end up paying the additional labor for r&r heads and the real problem was fixed in the mix of head gaskets.(if that makes sense).
If you need any ideas of what parts or labor times are when you get a diagnois feel free to pm me.

Originally Posted by HWLaser23

your egr may be bad. i had this happen to me while towing my 38 ft 5th wheel numerous times. first the radiator/surge tank cap would blow. then the egr and egr cooler. then i ended up getting head gaskets. took the program out of my truck on top of all the repairs and i have not had a prob since. well so far. glamis season is upon us and i will be watching my gauges alot this season. take it to the dealer and have them do an egr function test. if it fails you can have them do it or you can do it your self. its right on top the the engine to the left of the fuel filter as you stand on the bumper you can take it out before you go and clean the carbon off of it and reinstall to see if it does any thing. i know make this part of my oil changes every other change i pull the egr and clean it up just for preventative maint. def start with the egr sys. 95 percent of overheats are cause of egr component failures IMO

Originally Posted by Billy-B

Thanks Shadow....I'm still under warranty so is this something I can go to the dealer with and explain that I have a heating problem?

Absolutely, they will be familiar with the 6.0 overheating concern.I would suggest "if" you have a chip banks,bully dog or any aftermarket programmer on take it off before going to the dealer.Some cases not always and not all dealers,but some might try to blow you out due to aftermarket mods.
I would also suggest that you keep everything documented and keep all the work orders with your concern and what they find.
If you are out of base 3yr/36k miles you will still be covered under powertrain for 5yr/100k miles with $100 deductuble.
Good luck and let me know if there is any thing i can do to help.

Originally Posted by Billy-B

I seem to have a recurring problem with my F350 overheating when towing. Is this a common deal with these trucks? If so what has been done to stop this? Keep in mind that i'm towing a 40ft Weekend Warrior with my "K" boat inside so there is quite a bit of weight.. Thanks in advance

Had the same problem on my 06 PSD replaced EGR valve and oil cooler at 23,000 miles. Even after it was replaced while not in tow but maybe pulling a steap hill it would start to run hot.

If your not worried about warranty than I would reccommend an EGR delete kit and head studs. I haven't done these myself, but they seem to the most popular fix amongst the 6.0 diesel world.

Or go buy a 6.4 and dont mess with it...

I had this same problem. Mine was fixed with a complete head job. new oil cooler and egr cooler. The problem was the copper bowl parts on my heads cracked allowing deisel to get into my coolant which was in turn lowering my boiling temperature for my coolant. Any stress and the truck would start to run hot. Under normal conditions it was fine. Radiator bottle sprayed out fluid when it got that hot. I was told by the tech this has been a major problem with the heads on the 6.0 engine. Shadow can probably take what I said and make it much clearer. Good Luck

Originally Posted by Wet Hull

I had this same problem. Mine was fixed with a complete head job. new oil cooler and egr cooler. The problem was the copper bowl parts on my heads cracked allowing deisel to get into my coolant which was in turn lowering my boiling temperature for my coolant. Any stress and the truck would start to run hot. Under normal conditions it was fine. Radiator bottle sprayed out fluid when it got that hot. I was told by the tech this has been a major problem with the heads on the 6.0 engine. Shadow can probably take what I said and make it much clearer. Good Luck

That pretty much sums it up,6.0's have overheat issues and if caught in time
it's usually EGR cooler & Oil cooler and problem solved.
Alot of times people will call had gaskets and do both coolers in the process and same results,overheat concern fixed.

Originally Posted by Cheetah06

Had the same problem on my 06 PSD replaced EGR valve and oil cooler at 23,000 miles. Even after it was replaced while not in tow but maybe pulling a steap hill it would start to run hot.

If your not worried about warranty than I would reccommend an EGR delete kit and head studs. I haven't done these myself, but they seem to the most popular fix amongst the 6.0 diesel world.

Or go buy a 6.4 and dont mess with it...

What ever you do, don't do this. The new DPF (diesel particulate filter) and the system that goes with it, sucks. My 08 F350 is luck to get 14 and that's babing it. My 02 F350 with the 7.3 got 21 driving the same way. It seems the more they fix the more they mess up. And if you don't drive enough at the right time to clean out the DPF, you wind up having to take it in and have them replace the filter. Not covered under warranty. But the 6.4 doesn't over heat while towing. So if you can afford the fuel, don't mind the stupidity of having to drive 15 extra miles just to make the stupid light go away, then just disregard this post.

Has coolant been seeping out of the reservoir tank? Look in there and see if it is full of gunk. Mine was full of sticky sand and large pieces of rust looking material with only 52K miles on a brand new 2005 F350.

I put a bypass coolant filter from dieselsite.com on the truck right before we took a trip to the river and Arizona. I could not believe the amount of crap that came out of the first filter. I saved the filter and the pictures so I could document them to Ford should I ever have a problem.

Honestly I probably got a good 5 -7 tablespoons of dirt that came out of the filter and who knows how much stuck to the filter. I was not happy when I cut the top of the filter open and saw what was there. It is no wonder this truck blows EGR's and has a problem with water pumps as well. The coolant bypass was a quick and easy fix, I just hope I did it in time to save the water pump, EGR valve and the head gaskets.