I'm new to the diesel world and I'm finding out all the issues with 6.0 liter after I purchased my truck. I purchased my 2005 F250 lariat crew cab a few months ago and had no issues for a month or so, its a grocery getter and I'll be towing my 20' toy box out to the desert on ocassion but nothing too crazy. I purchased a Hypertech max energy programmer which I have on the #1 setting to help with a little extra power and especially to calibrate the speedo since I went with 37" tires. To make a long story short I noticed I was getting white smoke out of the tail pipe on take offs which turned out to be steam since the factory EGR cooler was starting leak into the exhaust, alot of people recommended the Bulletproof diesel EGR cooler which I did purchase. when ordering the cooler it was recommeded that I replace the oil cooler also, I talked to my mechanic friend about it and he said he didn't think it was needed which I now regret cause a week after replacing the cooler I started to get a blackflow out of the reservior after a drive on the freeway. I took the truck to my mechanic again and he hooked up his handy computer and took it for a drive and the temp for the coolant was 200 degrees but the oil temp was hitting 230 degrees so he looks at me and says "The oil cooler is bad" I asked couldn't you have run this test before telling me the oil cooler that was in the truck to start with was ok? So now I'm ordering the oil cooler and having this installed and my question now is could this fix the problem of the back pressure or overflowing of the reservior and is this going to be a bigger problem ? Thanks

sorry for the long story, just trying to give as much info as possible, Thanks again

 

Oil cooler is plugging for sure.

Your coolant being pushed out is most likely headgaskets.

Your hypertech, does NOT recalibrate the speedo. None of the hand held tuners do that. You'd need something like IDS from Ford, or even Autoenginuity. Superlift also makes something called Tru-speed that can fix it.

I would get rid of the hypertech anyways. Custom tunes with SCT would be the best option.

 

If the head gaskets are bad would the problem of the coolant being pushed out have happened prior to changing the EGR cooler? Thanks

 

There are a few ways coolant can be pushed out.

First, coolant can sometimes just flash boil in the EGR cooler (if you still have it installed), it can and does happen. It doesn't mean anything is wrong. It may just happen towing a heavy load up a hill, or running down the 1/4 mile track. That's why the caps on the coolant bottles are designed to let pressure bleed off past 16psi. That flash boiling just raises the pressure inside the system and then the cap bleeds it off. Not a big deal.

The EGR cooler can crack/erupt which causes exhaust gases to enter the system and over pressurize, which will cause it to push coolant out. The fix is delete, or replace the cooler, such as you have done.

The headgaskets being blown would also cause the truck to over pressurize the system and force coolant out. Especially when more boost is added.

So typically when a truck is pushing coolant, most guys will opt to do an EGR delete first, as it's easier and less expensive than doing headstuds/gaskets right away. Sometimes it fixes it, sometimes it doesn't. You can remove the EGR cooler and pressurize on the bench to look for leaks, but at that point why not just delete it or replace it with a better unit right?

So your EGR cooler might have been ok, but it's not like you did a bad thing by putting the BPD unit on.

If you are still bleeding coolant out the bottle on a pretty regular basis, then yes your headgaskets are probably bad.

A clogged oil cooler is actually the root cause to ALL of this. I always recommend a new cooler when doing EGR delete and studs anyways, no matter what. For $200, it's not worth it to leave it alone, especially once you've gone in that far.

The best way to avoid this is to get an engine coolant temp gauge (ECT) and engine oil temp gauge (EOT) and you can monitor the delta between the two temps. It shouldn't ever really exceed 15*'s. As the cooler becomes clogged, it has a harder and harder time keeping the temps regulated, and then the coolant boils in the EGR cooler and causes issues, and eventually blowing headgaskets.

It sounds like you're on the right track here though. Welcome to the site btw! Anymore questions feel free to ask. Swing by the 6.0 section and start reading, tons of info in there for you.

 

FYI: 2005 F-250 6.0L
Hypertech programmer P/N 42002
3 Stages of Tuning
and
Adjustable Features:
Shift Firmness (Not user selectable - automatically installed on certain tuning levels)
Speedometer\Odometer Correction For Tire Sizes 29-43 inches 1/4 inch increments
Top Speed Limiter 25 - 75 MPH in 5 MPH increments, 81 to 255 MPH to match speed rated tires
DTCs Read and Clear

We actualy recently increased the tire size range that can be corrected for on your vehicle to 43".

 

So you can actually correct the speedo? How are you able to do this? I haven't seen any other hand held programmers that are able to do this? Most have an input for revs/mile, but that's just to adjust transmission shift points.

I'm eager to learn if you care to share...

 

If you’ve installed tires that are larger or smaller than original equipment tires, or if you have installed a ring and pinion gear set with a different rear gear ratio, the Max Energy allows you to re-program for correct speedometer and odometer readings, as well as correct part-throttle shifting. The vehicle’s computer calculates your vehicle’s speed based on the diameter of the stock tires. If you’ve installed taller or shorter tires, or changed the rear gear ratio, the vehicle’s computer doesn’t know how fast your vehicle is going. As a result, the automatic transmission may not shift correctly and the speedometer readings will not be accurate (as required by law).

Hypertech’s Speedometer Calibrator can correct the speedometer and odometer for tires up to 54 inches (depending on the vehicle application), and/or non-stock rear gear ratios.

Feel free to visit the site for more details.

GW

 

Ok well that didn't answer the question at all. I understand how gearing works, I want to know how your programmer is able to adjust for this... Something that could normally only be done using Ford's IDS, or autoenginuity, as far as doing it with a scan tool/programmer. The site gives about as much useful information as this post...

I would love to try one out to see how it works. You should send me a trial unit so I can report on it!

 

Well over the weekend I had my mechanic install the new oil cooler and prayed that it solved the problem with the overflowing coolant issue I was having. So far so good I glad to report , the coolant level has stayed the same and I haven't seen the overflow I would get from driving to work and back. Today I'm going to take it on the freeway and hook my friend computer to the truck to get a reading on the coolant and oil tempreatures just to be on the safe side. Thank you all for all the info I greatley appreciate it and I'm sure I'll be on here reading up on all the good info that people post. Thanks G