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

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.

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.

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 ;)

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.

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.

Ford E-450 6.0 Turbo Diesel Overheating | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

Redwoodcamper
Explorer
Jul 24, 2017
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
Explorer
Jul 24, 2017
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
Explorer
Jul 24, 2017
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
Explorer
Jul 24, 2017
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.

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Ford E-450 6.0 Turbo Diesel Overheating

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