2009 F250 Water in charge air cooler

sneakypete · December 2, 2015

hello,

have a 6.4L vin 1FTSW2BR1AEA46827 with gas contamination. replacing the fuel system and during repair found rust build up in the low pressure turbo outlet.removed the lower charge air cooler tube and quite a bit of water came out. approx 2-4 cups worth. any idea how the water gets into the charge air system other then condensation. inspected the air filter and housing. no water intrusion. vehicle has never been submerged. should we be pushing turbo's to the customer. he said he won't replace unless we can find the cause of the water build up.

thanks for reading. not a lot of experience on the 6.4L so if they is a basic issue I apologize.

sneakypete · December 2, 2015

pictures of outlet

lmorris · December 2, 2015

Water in the CAC is normal. Even as much as you said. The rust at the turbo outlet may have been from it being shut down when fairly hot and left to sit for a long time. Did you find any rust at the high pressure turbo inlet when you took the exhaust up-pipes off?

That rust alone would be no reason to change the turbos. You would need to check the impeller shafts for excessive movement or excessive oil build up in the compressor housings to determine turbo condition.

sneakypete · December 2, 2015

thank you for the reply. exactly what I was looking for. I thought this was more then normal but now I know. thanks again.

Keith Browning · December 3, 2015

I concur that some water may be normal. Not in huge amounts though I have a picture somewhere of a 6.4L charge air cooler that I was replacing for the excessive white smoke during regen concern showing the lower connection 1/2 clogged with ice. Normally I see a lot of oil if I see liquid there.

sneakypete · December 3, 2015

Keith,

yes that is my experience as well with Ford and GM diesels. oil build up in the lower cac tube and a bit of condensation/water but that amount that came out surprised me. Leon's post was very helpful as is yours. thanks for the response.

lmorris · December 3, 2015

Odd thing is I see more water than oil here. Maybe it has something to do with idle times, climate, elevation changes, I don't know. Only time I see oil in CAC is when there is a failure.

Keith Browning · December 3, 2015

The only time you should expect to see a significant amount of oil is the result of elevated engine oil level causing excessive oil carryover from the crankcase breather. I agree about the water being a combination of random factors.

I found the picture. Pretty cool eh?