Three problems related to engine cooling system have been reported for the 2003 Ford F-250. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
My husband and I were pulling our camper to virginia for vacation and half way there we could smell antifreeze. By the time we got to martinsville and got our camper backed up at the campground white smoke was coming out of our tailpipe and later overheated. We called aaa the next morning and had it towed to a local dealer where they had informed us that it was the egr cooler. They put the new egr cooler on and we got our truck back 2 days later. We did not drive the truck anymore until we were pulling our camper home to ohio and noticed the same things were happening. The white smoke and antifreeze smell we also had loss of power. I made my husband pull over and low and behold we had no antifreeze in the truck. The dealership had put 2 bottles of antifreeze and changed our oil because of antifreeze in the oil. We called the dealership and they told us to try and limp it home. We were not going to be any part of that and asked the gas station attendant where the closest Ford dealership was located. They told us the get off the next exit and go 1/2 mile up the road. We made it a 1/4 mile from the dealership and had to pull over because truck was overheating. Tried to start truck back up and nothing. Got a tow truck to tow us to this dealership where they told us our engine was vapor locked. We only had gone 130 miles from the other dealership before this happened. Dealership is telling us that Ford has been having issues with the 6. 0 liter v6 F-250 super duty diesel engines. Have an ongoing lawsuit with dealership and Ford. Would like to know of other issues with these trucks because we are over warrant by 2,000 miles.
Vehicle has a oil cooler and egr cooler defect. Common problem by many f250 owners. Ford is aware of the problem and has issued a superseded part number for the oil cooler, egr cooler is unchanged. When these components fail it causes the vehicle to overheats when towing a load and can consume several gallons of coolant. It's a safety concern due in part that if a vehicle overheats and shuts off while towing a heavy load the vehicle will lose braking power.
Failed three times in the last 24 months - fuel regulator, oxygen sensor. Water pump failed 06/23/07.