I'm hoping somebody can get me over the hump. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on my first diesel. The '08 SD XLT is beautiful. Carfax is great, OASIS says it received a new Venturi Tee in Mar-2009 and a radiator in April - 2009. All of the oil and filters were done by a non-dealer who also installed a "SuperChipsFlashPaq # sup1808" in May-2008 and also an "E.G.R. Valve" 3 months ago. ??????
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The coolant smells funky and appears yellowish clear, but that's from a gasoline engine guy and the mechanic says it's good. There appears to be gunk in the bottom of the coolant bottle.
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The truck ran great, but I haven't had it under a load. My tow is upwards of 9000# which I plan to put behind the rig this afternoon. <O></O>
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Any guidance/suggestions or advise is much appreciated.<O></O>

 

I would be concerned about the tuner, not a recommended one. Also I would be concerned that there is no warranty on the truck.

 

I agree with SENIX on both counts..

 

Which link do I use to compose and submit a new post?

 

fordswell,
You have tied into an existing thread. Go back to the 6.4L Power Stroke Diesel and you will see a "New Thread" at the top of the page.

 

sinex, thanks for the recommended concerns. The truck is listed by a non-Ford dealership. It is going to an affiliated area Ford dealership today to have some u-joint work done and an oil leak taken care of. I have expressed concern about future warranty - the Ford dealer will inform us if it is covered. Does anybody know if the tuner install will be noticed by the Ford dealer (if they are not told about it by the non-Ford dealer)? Any idea why the tuner is "not a recommended one?" How about my having identified what appears to be oil build-up coming from the rear main crankshaft seal? Should that funky smelling coolant be a concern? Will a nitrate test tell me if I should be concerned? Sorry about the rookie diesel questions.

 

If you end up needing to have engine work done under warranty, and there is ANY question about whether the motor had a tuner on it, Ford CAN see that it had a tuner on it, even if it didn't leave a "footprint". Simply put, they can see that the max boost, rpm, whatever exceeded the factory settings and they'll deny the warranty coverage. Before Ford will OK a major warranty claim, they will sometimes require the dealer to print off data logs from the ECU on the truck to make sure everything was in-parameter (ie, no tuner).

The tuner is not one of the ones widely recognized for the 6.4L, and thus may or may not be a "dirty" tuner that can cause damage to the engine.

The 6.4L engine has incredible potential for power when tuned, DPF/Cat deleted, etc, but if not done properly, can set you up for a world of hurt. Even in stock form, they have some problematic areas (radiators/thermostats, Fuel Pumps failing due to water contamination, Intercoolers causing condensation) that are starting to become apparent, and I sure as heck would buy one with the factory warranty and keep it stock until it runs out to get the most from the factory warranty.

My .02, this coming from someone with 125k on the clock and no warranty coverage....

 

In addition to what Jettix said, this truck probably has the 11B23 flash needed. So the truck needs to have the pcm returned to stock for that to happen.

Sounds like it needs a coolant flush and clean as well.