2004 Ford F-250 SD: engine overheating

Filed Sep 23, 2013 · Engine · 58,300 miles · NC

While on a recent trip pulling our 5th wheel travel trailer we noticed on several occasions the smell of anti-freeze while under acceleration(up hills, highway merging). Once at the campground we made a visual check for any leaks and none were found, but the coolant reservoir was at the min mark. I filled to max. On the return trip same thing happened. Once home I checked for leaks and none were found but coolant was back to min mark. At no time during the trip did the truck overheat or run any differently than normal. I made an appointment at our local ford dealership and after they inspected I was told that the turbo had gone south causing an over boost condition that then entered into the combustion chamber and caused the head gaskets to fail. Then I was told that as the head gaskets had failed pressure from the combustion chamber had entered into the coolant system boosting pressure beyond what the pressure relief cap was rated for on the degas(over flow) bottle and spewed anti freeze out of the bottle, which is what we were smelling. The cost for repairs and parts are estimated at 7,000.00 dollars for a truck that has little over 58,000 miles on it. A call to ford customer service(chris) and a follow up call from his supervisor at my request, has netted us nothing as fords stance on this is "there is nothing that ford will or can do". After some research I see that I am not the only consumer being asked to bear the brunt of fords mistakes. Apparently every item that I was told that needed to be replaced is a part that a multitude of consumers are having issues with. This is unacceptable. They know they have an issue yet they do nothing, and no one is holding them accountable. If I wanted to sell my truck after it is repaired I'd be lucky to recoup anything as this issue has grown so large that everyone is selling and the value has dropped.

Filed Aug 20, 2010 · Engine · 63,000 miles · SC

Our family was traveling to the beach on a very busy interstate when our 2004 ford f250 diesel, pulling a 35 foot rv, started running hot. I pulled over in the emergency lane to investigate. Let the truck idle and cool for a bit, returned to the interstate to try and get to the next exit for a less dangerous place to work on it. It continued to run hot and upon exiting the interstate on the down ramp the vehicle shutoff, with no power brakes to stop the truck and camper, I was unable to stop the vehicle at the stop sign and blew through it. Thank goodness nothing was coming. Turns out all the water was gone, due to either a blown head gasket or egr oil cooler failure and the motor overheated and ruined. Ford wants to replace the engine for $17,500. The truck has 63,000 miles on it and is just out of warranty. This is a known engine failure problem for ford yet they do not stand behind the problem. If I had known they were having problems I would have had mine fixed or replaced prior to having to pay thousands of dollars to replace the motor. I paid $50,000 for a truck with a premium to get a diesel that is suppose to last forever, and it does not even last more than 63,000 miles. Thousands of people have had to face this problem, and have had to spend thousands of dollars to fix it. All you have to do is search blown head gaskets ford f250 on google to find thousands of people with this problem. The extremely hot exhaust gases get recirculation into the intake manifold, but first it has to be cooled. When the cooler fails, all the water from your engine goes out the exhaust, through the turbo (bye bye turbo), then you are pumping extremely hot gases back into the intake manifold which boils the water, creating extremely high pressures, which lifts the heads and blows the head gaskets. What kind of stupid design is that? Now I have to pay for all of those design problems? I now have a $50,000 boat anchor, which is not worth repair. Help please!!!!!!

Filed Jun 7, 2010 · Engine · 10,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f250 superduty. While driving uphill at 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly lost power. After shifting in and out of gear, the vehicle stalled two to three times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the egc cooler was reprogrammed because it overheated after pulling a load uphill. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that they would decide whether they would cover the repair costs and get back with him. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. The current mileage was approximately 60,000.

Filed Oct 12, 2009 · Engine · 53,163 miles · LA

2004 ford 6.0 liter diesel motor- egr cooler cracking and thus causing coolant leaks into the exhaust system and engine cylinders. Egr cooler failure causes coolant to enter engine cylinders thus increasing cylinder pressures on heads. Head bolts stretch and head gaskets fail. Water in cylinder leads to major engine failure. 1000's of ford 6.0 liter diesel owners have the same problem. Dealers repair them constantly. Ford dealer parts dept states that they have parts in stock because they change them out on a daily basis. My vehicle was 2 months out of warranty when part failed at 53,163 miles. Egr cooler cracked, leaked out coolant in the exhaust and into the motor, thus motor failed. Dealer says need new motor at $10,000. Ford needs to recall the older egr cooler component. Currently when they change them out under warranty, they replace it with a new and improved egr cooler. If it is new and improved, why isn't the old one recalled if they know it is a bad design?

Filed Jul 10, 2007 · Electrical · 54,776 miles · TX · fire

2004 ford f-250 4x4 superduty 6.0l diesel - engine fire. Cause: negative battery cable vibrated loose and caused ground on A/C to overheat and catch the A/C housing on fire. Fire resulted from attempt to start the vehicle in the owner's driveway on a cool day. Vehicle was towed to local dealership and repaired ($1250). The repair included tack welding the negative cable to the engine block. A few months later, a resistor in the A/C blower had to be replaced. The dealership claimed it was unrelated and the repair was an addition $114.

Filed Apr 9, 2007 · Engine · 15,000 miles · WI

Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 ford f250 superduty 6.0l. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH he lost turbo charge trying to accelerate to get onto the freeway. This happened when the vehicle overheated as well. Also, the contact stated that the engine stalled. He had taken the vehicle to the dealership, where they have made repairs 5 times to date. This had been an ongoing problem since the vehicle was purchased. The failure mileage was 15,000, and the current mileage was 23,000.

Filed Dec 14, 2004 · Engine · 3,638 miles · WV

Diesel engine bucks while in motion and most importantly when stopping. Necessary to put truck into neutral to prevent bucking/jumping forward into car in fromt of me. Sweet anti freeze smell inside truck. Ford refused to acknowledge problem until forced to perform a complete inspection as prescribed by the dispute settlement board. Then learned problem with turbo charger, coolant leak into engine. Non-performance happened over a 6 month period begining in june, 2004.