Looking for advice... on Ford F250, 04 6.0

[Red Bull Breeder]

Brians truck shop in Lead Hill Ark. He is as good as they come.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Sounds like maybe an electrical issue with the injectors. If you could get someone to check for codes, that would give you a start.

I think our neighbor has a code box, so I will try to get those tomorrow! Thanks everyone for your help so far!

 

[Hook]

The pump should barely be audible.just a nice low hum that is barely audible. You have either have a fuel Restriction in the tank, the foot is broke off in the tank (most likely), or (least likely) the engine mounted filter is clogged.

 

[highgrit]

I figured somewhere fairly close there woud be a good diesel mechanic. You have to drop the tank FS and then it's easy. I've had to do it to 3 of my Fords. Just clean the inside of the tank good and add a piece of copper tubing to the hose and let it sit on the bottom of the tank. I drill some 1/8" holes in the last 1" of the copper pipe. A good diesel mechanic can fix you right up. 6.0's have EGR and oil cooler issues also, but once you get a few things fixed up there are good engines. And Hook knows most everything about a 6.0 engine.

 

[Hook]

Hg, how do you attach the copper line to the line where the foot broke off? I can see that working in a pinch, but seeing as the foot lasts 250k plus and it's only 30 bucks or so, why not go back to the original part?

 

[highgrit]

Hook it a time thing not a miles thing. You saw my old 92 F250 I thought with 435k on it. It has 2 fuel tanks and I fixed them both with the factory crap once. And had to redo it 7-8 years ago. I use to be on the 20 year program, but I plan on going to the 10 year program. I don't want to fix something twice in my life time if I can help it. When FS sees what the dealers want to give her for the truck she will fix it for the kids.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Hook it a time thing not a miles thing. You saw my old 92 F250 I thought with 435k on it. It has 2 fuel tanks and I fixed them both with the factory crap once. And had to redo it 7-8 years ago. I use to be on the 20 year program, but I plan on going to the 10 year program. I don't want to fix something twice in my life time if I can help it. When FS sees what the dealers want to give her for the truck she will fix it for the kids.

That is what I am afraid of! Here is the biggest problem with this truck, it is NOT 4 wheel drive! We bought it new, when we lived in CA, and had no need for a 4 wheel drive at that time. So even if the fix is inexpensive, in the long run it will not work as a farm truck very well. I can not tell you how many times we have had to pull it out of the wet pasture with the tractor because it could not get out on its own. It is a pavement princess, gets stuck on a cow patty! So you can bet the next one will be 4 wheel drive!

 

[highgrit]

I can relate to the 4 wheel drive part. I bought a 89 F450 2 wheel drive it was my last one. I feel a truck needs a 8' bed and has to have 4 wheel drive. FS, in my book you need a new truck.

 

[Hook]

I can relate to the 4 wheel drive part. I bought a 89 F450 2 wheel drive it was my last one. I feel a truck needs a 8' bed and has to have 4 wheel drive. FS, in my book you need a new truck.

Not being 4wd I will agree. But the issue still needs to be fixed.
Hg, Let me know how you attach the copper line to the pickup tube that the foot fell off of I'm probably going to have to keep that in mind

 

[govols]

I'm not a diesel expert but I have owned two 6.0L Ford's. First thing I would check would be the FICM to see what the voltage is. I had to replace one on my old 04', really hard cold starting and rough idle IF it started. When you crank it are you getting any smoke coming from the exhaust?

YES! When we changed the alternator, the thing smoked like no tomorrow after starting! What does that mean? I am still reading through the threads, and will try to get to everything.
On a side note, from what people tell us, we got lucky with the 6.0 and never having any major problems. I guess it was Ford's worst engine. I just expect my truck to to last longer than 230K miles. Our next truck will likely be a gas engine!

I would get it hooked up to see what kind of codes it's throwing and check the voltage on the FICM. That's where I'd start, you can spend a lot of money just throwing parts at one. Find a reputable diesel mechanic that knows 6.0's and they should be able to fix you up. If it were mine I'd keep it, with 230k and no major problems. If your running a stock program I wouldn't even stud it with that kind of miles on it already and no head gaskets issues. Just delete the EGR, flush, replace the oil cooler while your there and drive it another 200k.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Well, we could not get the code reader, so we just towed it to our mechanic. Fuel pump went bad, $498 to replace (they are doing it in the morning). Gee, with the $300 power steering pump two weeks ago, and the $200 + $100 towing for the alternator last week, and now the $500 for a fuel pump (plus the $50 to replace the fuel filters trying to fix this problem) I sure hope the truck is set for awhile!!!! Why does everything break at once??? Thank you ALL for your words of advice, I tried to go cheap but it just was not in the plans!!! I am just glad we have a good mechanic we can fall back on if needed. Last year he replaced a fuel injector that went bad (close to $800 if I remember correctly), and the air conditioner seized, which prevented the serpentine belt from being able to run so the truck would not start then either. Had to replace the air conditioner ($1200) last summer (bypassing it would have been a little cheaper, but no air in the hot summer so we just replaced the whole thing). Ugh. This too shall pass!

 

[Hook]

I sure hope you didn't pay that for an injector. It's about 400 bucks for a single, and 250 of that is the injector from ford. Glad you got it figured out.

 

[Aaron]

Other than the air conditioner, everything else is just general wear and tear. Sounds like a great time to trade-in.

 

[saltbranch]

Sometimes a cheap Mechanic is good. He is better with cheaper equipment to maintain.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

OK, another truck question; Fuel pump replaced, but when it starts it misses. So, they dug deeper and the fuel injector 2 and 7 are bad and need to be replaced. They replaced number 4 last year (it was closer to $500 in cost). He is going to quote how much to fix these two, but said once it warms up it runs fine.
Remember, we want to trade it in this summer on a newer truck (can be used, just not as used as ours!), so would it hurt to run it that way or should we just buckle down and pay the piper AGAIN on this truck?
Thanks again for the advice. We do not tow a bunch, but we are getting ready to hit our busy season for shows and will be pulling cattle to daily shows just about every weekend starting in May. Small loads, low miles, but need a dependable truck. In July, we are heading to Louisville for our big National show, but hope to have a better truck by then.

 

[Hook]

It's called injector stiction. If you are trading it in, run it until the summer and don't put any more into it. 2 and 7 are on opposite banks. If they were on the same side I would walk you through doing it yourself. Passenger side is a bear. Driver side is easy. If you decide to do it yourself let me know. Injectors are 250 each from ford plus a core which you get back.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

It's called injector stiction. If you are trading it in, run it until the summer and don't put any more into it. 2 and 7 are on opposite banks. If they were on the same side I would walk you through doing it yourself. Passenger side is a bear. Driver side is easy. If you decide to do it yourself let me know. Injectors are 250 each from ford plus a core which you get back.

Thanks Hook. That is what he said, on opposite sides so more expensive to replace. Which on is on the driver side? When we pick it up in the morning, I will see how it runs.... then decide what to do with hubby.
Thanks again!

 

[Hook]

2 is drivers front. 7 is passenger rear.

 

[DLD]

Make sure you keep your oil fresh and run good fuel conditioner (I run Power Service - used to use Lucas, the Power Service makes a noticeable difference), you should be fine - especially after the weather warms up. I needed 2 new injectors this time last year and that got me by 'til fall. But if you have one that keeps giving you trouble when your motor's warm, you do need to get it fixed. A friend of mine kept putting off replacing a bad injector 'til it finally trashed the whole cylinder - had to replace the whole motor. Cost for a rebuilt from Jasper (using his old injectors, turbo, etc...) including EGR delete and installation was upward of $9K.