so i just got back from pulling my new 5er for the first time. The truck ran beautifully. traffic was pretty heavy when i got back into town and when i would pull away at a green light, the truck was very sluggish. it had not been this bad the whole trip. when i got home and shut it off, i started it back up and it did not start as quickly as usual and when it did, there was some serious amounts of white smoke. it didnt smell like anything i can identify. also, my heater will not blow any warm air. i just replaced the t-stat and had the system power flushed. so im not sure where to even begin. i think its time for a new oil cooler too. there is still a bunch of oil in the water even after i changed the oil cooler gaskets. i didnt get it pressure tested while i had it apart. anyone have any ideas on any of this?

 

Oil in the water could mean a blown head gasket.
How is the water level in the radiator?

 

i just had it flushed and filled on sat. morning and when i looked in there after i got home today (monday) it was about two inches below the opening in the radiator. any ideas on a bunch of white smoke after a hot start up? there is also white smoke when i punch the go pedal while in park.

 

White smoke usually = water in the combustion chamber.
NOT a good thing.

 

i think ill soon be doing some searches and asking questions about changing the head gasket.

 

You've got a blown head gasket

 

i dont like that answer very much. if only it would have been more like "theres a loose bolt that needs to be tightened" or maybe some type of fluid i need to dump in. At least im gonna get to know this truck even better by the time this is all over with. how safe is it to drive? there is no coolant in the engine oil. its still hooked up to the fith wheel that needs to be cleaned. the you know what is full.

 

If you take it easy, and don't drive for days/weeks - nursing it shouldn't hurt it worse than it already is... damage has already been done.

 

Bet that smell you can't identify with the white smoke smells somewhat "sweet"??

 

It doesnt really smell like burning anti freeze. I'll take another good whiff today and see if i can tell for sure. This might be something that just gets brought to the shop and let someone smarter then me figure out.

 

Smart people have already identified it as a blown head gasket; if it's worse (say - a cracked head or cylinder) - the head has to come off anyway....

Go Nike, man - just do it!

 

If you remove the rad cap and then start it. Does it blow bubbles?

Any oil in the coolant?

Do you have a pressure tester?

 

heres whats happened. i took it into the shop because it became undrivable. it wouldnt even start at one point, but then it did after a while. long story short, the shop thinks its cracked but has to take it apart to be sure. there is a new head available in portland that will have to be shipped down and an additional charge of $300 if the core isnt repairable. the wife has been warned the bill is gonna be large, so I think I better get a stage to AFE to ensure this does not happen again. they want $450 for it plus an hour of install time, but i may just buy it and tie the cost into the bill and install it myself. so basically, the head is cracked. must have gotten to hot. so much for saving some money on buying a thermostat from autozone.

 

How hot were your EGTs before you blew?

Better breathing will help your temps.

Make sure you find out WHY it got too hot before you consider the repair complete... only one thing worse than a cracked head is cracking the new one in short order. Fix the cause as well as the effect...

Sometimes the radiator, fan or water pump are culprits.

 

turns out the head wasnt cracked after all, just a blown head gasket. i dont think EGT's were the problem. they never got much higher then a 1000 with the sensor being pre turbo, right in the manifold. I think the new autozone t-stat did'nt work properly cause the engine got very hot on about 3 occasions. I'm thinking of putting in a AFE stage 2 to help the breathing a little bit.