F 450 flatbed camper build
- Thread starter Capt Eddie
- Start date
tcdent
New member
If your water separator container is full, any additional water in the fuel would get sprayed into the motor, but it's unlikely you have enough water in your tank to make visible smoke.
I'm no certified diesel mechanic, but if the white smoke (steam) was actually coming out of the exhaust pipe, I'd say you've got a blown head gasket. There's no reason why a bad radiator would introduce water into the motor; aside from possible connections for a transmission cooler, the only link between a radiator and the motor are two hoses: one for water in, one for water out. This would also explain the lack of power and compression, though I'm unsure how you tested it. Pull your engine oil dipstick and look at the color of the oil, if it's light or milky at all this is most likely your problem.
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
They service dept said it was the computer. When they disconnected the battery the computer lost memory. They reprogrammed it and said I am ready to go. Good thing, my dad passed away at 2:30 this afternoon. We will be leaving for Holloman AFB for a military funeral. Lets hope God and dad will help us make the trip.
mangymarmot
Lost
My condolences to you and your family.
Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
Eddie, I hate to hear about the awful news that your dad passed away.
God Bless you and your family and I hope the truck issues get themselves worked out so you dont have more things to worry about
God Bless you and your family and I hope the truck issues get themselves worked out so you dont have more things to worry about
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
Thank you all for being so thoughtful.
A little history if you don't mind. His name is Edwin Jellum. He adopted me when he married my mother. I was 18 months old at the time. He had been in the Air Force for 3 years at that time. From the first day, we traveled. Mostly be car, sometimes by truck and camper. We were stationed in Okinawa for 3 years and traveled to Tiawan and India for vacations. Thanks for HOPS. It didn't hurt that he was in base ops and knew where every airplane was going. He would schedule our vacations around HOPS to differant countries. In the 16 years that I was his dependant we traveled throught every state but Oregan and Alaske. I have been to 4 differant schools in one school year. I can't say I loved every minute while we were doing it, but I love and charish every memory now. All that traveling taught me alot about differant types of people and how differant it is for military kids. You learn to never make friends because you or they always move. You learn to only trust yourself and family. It also put a desire to want to always see what is around the next bend in the road. As kids we were lucky to have parents that wanted to give three boys adventures in life and not just things. But we learned that you have to work hard for everything you want. The last 4 years I was home we had a truck camper. We had lots of good times and now I have two grown kids and three grandkids that I am trying to show the same good times that my dad showed me. Thank you dad for all the good times we had. I love you.
A little history if you don't mind. His name is Edwin Jellum. He adopted me when he married my mother. I was 18 months old at the time. He had been in the Air Force for 3 years at that time. From the first day, we traveled. Mostly be car, sometimes by truck and camper. We were stationed in Okinawa for 3 years and traveled to Tiawan and India for vacations. Thanks for HOPS. It didn't hurt that he was in base ops and knew where every airplane was going. He would schedule our vacations around HOPS to differant countries. In the 16 years that I was his dependant we traveled throught every state but Oregan and Alaske. I have been to 4 differant schools in one school year. I can't say I loved every minute while we were doing it, but I love and charish every memory now. All that traveling taught me alot about differant types of people and how differant it is for military kids. You learn to never make friends because you or they always move. You learn to only trust yourself and family. It also put a desire to want to always see what is around the next bend in the road. As kids we were lucky to have parents that wanted to give three boys adventures in life and not just things. But we learned that you have to work hard for everything you want. The last 4 years I was home we had a truck camper. We had lots of good times and now I have two grown kids and three grandkids that I am trying to show the same good times that my dad showed me. Thank you dad for all the good times we had. I love you.
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
Sorry to hear about your loss, I know what its like to lose a parent.
On a side note.. I was born on Holloman AFB....lol.
Every Miles A Memory
Expedition Leader
That Ullage gave me goosebumps the entire time I read it.
Sounds like he was a great man!!
Sounds like he was a great man!!
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
The truck was used as intended. We drove the truck and camper to Padre Island National Seashore. Our TJ Jeep in tow. Canoe on top of the Jeep. Fishing poles, coolers and spare fuel on the rear rack of the camper. What Else?? Water 15 gallons of extra water. We drove the camper 5 miles down the beach to set up as base camp for 4 days. The truck and camper worked out great. No problems with either. Still had extra water and extra fuel when we left. We took showers every night and still had water in main tanks. Pictures to follow as wife downloads to the computer.
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
More problems. We were heading to Gonzales ,LA for a trade show. We were 10 minutes away when to truck went into limp mote. 20 MPH on I-10. We made it to Lamar Doxin to drop off the wife and kids. I now had to find a Ford dealer because this was the first day of a 4 day trip to Grand Isle to fish. I find a Ford dealer and was able to whine enough that they let a tech put the computer on it. The code came out Overheating. But the tech is monitoring everything and sees that all temps are normal. He can not explain the code. He checked everything over and could not find a leak. The rest of the story is the I just had this same problem and was supposed to have had it fixed two weeks ago. The good tech tells me that these trucks are bad about overheating and that the seals on the radiater hoses are bad and when they have this problem they change the single seal hose to a double seal hose under warrenty. Well my dealer tried to charge me $680 for the job. And I would have paided it. But the repair tech made a notation on the bill to charge extra labor of two hours for having to take off my front skid plate. The only problem with that is that he lied. The skid plate still had rocks and mud on it from a trip to Mexico. When I showed the service person he cut the bill in half. The last tech said it should have been covered under warrenty. The truck only has 42888 miles. The truck is for sale. I need a truck that will be dependable.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Sorry to hear about your continuing problems. If you do replace the truck, what will you replace it with?
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
It will be a Dodge 5500. My best customer is the area Dodge dealler and I am on first name basis with the head Tech. Plus I have had Dodges since 2001 and they have been great trucks. I got this Ford just for the Cool Facture. So far it has been a nightmare. Almost every trip has caused problems that needed the dealer. My nearest Ford dealer told me flat out. Take it back where you bought it. We work on our own customers first. And that truck is always in need of repairs. As all people will find out. It is NOT the cost of the truck that you should look at. It is how good will the service be after the sale. And my local Dodge dealer. Larry Brown Dodge in Minden Louisiana has always been great with all of my trucks.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
I had a vehicle like that once, not fun at all to own, and very hard to trust while on cross country trips. Always keeping an eye out for the closest dealership. Very frustrating, but best to move on to a new vehicle platform.
Carlyle
Explorer
Sorry to here about your woes and I can truly empathize about the Ford issues. The Dodge sounds like a good idea though!
Capt Eddie
Adventurer
I took the truck back to the dealer that sold it to me. I spoke directly to the service manager. He admitted to cooling issues on the trucks.. I am giving them one more time and one more trip to Mexico before I decide to sell. My wife wants to be rid of it right now. But I have so much time in the bed and camper setup. But I know that the most inportant part is 100% dependability, and trust in the truck. Does any else know of the cooling issues on 2008 diesels???