Ford E-450 6.0 Turbo Diesel Overheating

[dangerruss]

We are getting ready to head out on another adventure with the motorhome flat towing my jeep. Last year while heading west out of Denver, Colorado the engine came close to going into the red on the temperature gauge. We were just crawling at about 25 miles an hour by the time we reached the peak. I had the system checked out at the Ford dealership and they said the cooling system was functioning correctly. Being new to the motorhome world I am concerned about rise in engine temperature climbing the long grades. Anyone have any advice on cooling system improvements or how I should approach driving these mountain passes preventing engine overheating?

On flat land or in traffic the engine temperature is in the normal range.

Thanks in advance for your advice in this matter.
Russ

[carringb]

phillyg wrote:
There are so many things that can go wrong with the 6.0 and it's important to not use a mechanic who just starts throwing parts on without really diagnosing the issue. You could "bulletproof" it at great expense, but I recommend you find a 6.0 expert first. I would not take off without first fixing the overheating.

X2

It's a sensitive motor, and seemingly minor problems can cascade quickly to catastrophic failure.

[phillyg]

My go to diesel shop is owned by two Ford-certified diesel mechanics. They are noted for their 6.0 expertise. There are so many things that can go wrong with the 6.0 and it's important to not use a mechanic who just starts throwing parts on without really diagnosing the issue. You could "bulletproof" it at great expense, but I recommend you find a 6.0 expert first. I would not take off without first fixing the overheating.

[dangerruss]

Really good videos put together by Long Long honeymoon. I just purchased the CAN GAUGE II DATA MONITORING TOOL to monitor what is happening.

[CharlesinGA]

Silicates in the antifreeze Ford used clogs the oil cooler. Install an aftermarket oil cooler with larger passages, and dump and flush the cooling system and use a non-silicate antifreeze like Caterpillar anti-freeze (commonly used in these engines). At best install a stainless Ford or aftermarket EGR cooler, to replace the original steel one. Steel corrodes thru, coolant gets into intake stream, turns to steam in the combustion chambers and builds crazy high cylinder pressures that stretch the torque to yield head bolts until the gaskets blow. If you don't blow the head gaskets, solving the EGR and cooling issues will buy you some time. Eventually high tensile steel cylinder head studs like the ARP ones need to be installed. I understand a FluidDamper on the crankshaft makes the engine a lot smoother also.

Keep driving it without doing some of the fixes, and you get in the situation Long Long Honeymoon got into.

https://youtu.be/TjxDLmqnt9I

https://youtu.be/egypz5muiEE

https://youtu.be/-ifJJcLk__Y

https://youtu.be/qPl2UwOePak

Fixed the links so they are clickable now. Indeed LoLoHo is a very good RV video producer, with lots of info fo both the experienced and the newbie RV'er. I enjoy their vids a lot.

Charles

[jolooote]

If you let the 6.0 historic problems go too long u'll fail on the road and need a complete top end rebuild.

[Halmfamily]

Check your fan clutch, had to replace ours. When it's working properly it's sounds like an airplane taking off under your hood when it activates. Google how to jump it to see if it's working.

[klutchdust]

Is your air conditioner on, if it is turn it off on the steep grades. The condenser is in front of the radiator so with the heat coming off of that combined with the extra heat generated by pulling the hill that may factor in. I have heard of folks in a desperate situation of even turning on their heater to circulate more water throughout the system. Haven't had to try it but who knows. Roll down the windows and pretend you are in Phoenix in August.

[dangerruss]

All good advice. Thanks everyone. I will continue to monitor the situation and speak with a local diesel mechanic on this issue.

[Hank85713]

Are you going off the in dash gauge or are you running a scan gauge or something? If you do not have a means of seeing the actual temps then it may be a bad gauge. Get a scan gauge 2 or some other system to monitor the temps and other needed items. Only thing it wont monitor is boost and EGT's. Maybe not fuel pressure. The 6.0 needs to be maintained better than the average vehicle. Mine has had new egr (BPD) and new oil cooler installed. While it was down had the guy install new head studs. He is a ford tech and he took it up to all the latest TSB's before I got it back and we have not had any issues, but this is a F series not an E. ALso he did the Blue spring fuel pressure mod and a couple of others. I changed to Cat ELC colant from the ford junk, also check your rad cap to ensure it is hol;ding pressure. I went thru 4 before finding a good one. Most auto places have a checker to utilize but most employees dont know how to operate it!

[boogie_4wheel]

Is the fan clutch engaging? When running hot, the cooling fan will make a ton of noise (unmistakable amount of noise) as it is fully engaged to draw air over the radiator.

Had a 6.0L at about 23k gross, never an issue with 'hot' coolant temperatures.

[Redwoodcamper]

The 6.0 is one of the worst diesels ever designed. I have spent literally 100s of hours wrenching on them for other people. The factory egr and smog system is basically designed to ruin your engine. There are entire companies who exist only to make 6.0s run and function. Take it to a diesel shop and consider deleting your egr, or going with an aftermarket one. Then upgrade to an aftermarket oil cooler in the front bumper with a remote filter.
After all that, hope and pray that your FICM, injectors, oil pump, head gaskets, and vgt turbo all don't give you problems.

[DiskDoctr]

Compare your coolant temp to your oil temp. The 6.0's are known for plugged oil coolers. Lots of small fins and buried in the middle of the valley.

Do you have a coolant bypass filter? You should 😉

The SCA's come out of solution and tend to accumulate in the cooler. It takes LOTS of effort to flush it all out. Many do the flush and then buy a new cooler anyways, and add a coolant bypass filter.

But be sure to test and maintain the SCA level in the coolant, the 6.0's are a bit picky about it.

Have you had it bulletproofed by a reputable place? I'm sure you know about the head gasket horrors and EGR plugging problems (easily fixed).

The turbo is VGT, which has moving vanes that tend to get sooted up. If you pull it an open the turbo, they can be cleaned easily, too. If it is hanging up, that could make some serious turbo heat, which could move into the oil as it is cooled by the system, into the coolant...."it all runs downhill" LOL.

BTW, this advice is generic to the 6.0's. Your E450 may have some slight variations 😉

[wolfe10]

If hot day, long steep grade, consider disconnecting the toad and driving it separately (assuming you have someone else with you).

I was going to say, gear down and slow down, but 25 is already pretty slow.

3/4 or so of allowable max RPM and less than full throttle gives best cooling.

[mbutts]

Are you certain the radiator fans are operating? You may want to head over to powerstroke.org and post your question there, tons go good advice.