We bought our 2008 F350 last week. I think its a Job 2? (it has that plastic lip under the front bumper)
It has 28,800kms, we just changed our oil for the first time since buying it (had 28,000 when purchased) and now its not running right.
We used Shell Rotella t6 Synthetic 5w-40 (cj-4 certified), motorcraft filter, and Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer (12 quarts oil, 3 quarts stabilizer as per instructions on the bottle stating 1 quart of stabilizer to 4 quarts oil)
Under normal driving conditions the revs are now up at 2200-2500rpm and the thing just doesnt want to accelerate, boost builds fine, revs build fine, just no power. before the oil change 2000rpm was as high as you would need to get the truck going at a good pace. (3.73 gears)
AND just to add insult to injury its also leaking coolant! but it might have been doing that since we bought it, its been raining a lot here the last week so we might not have noticed. It seems to be dripping from the bottom corner of the rad (drivers side). when you look through the tow hook hole you can see it dripping (like 3-5 drops a second.)
There's no check engine lights, nothing being said on the message centre, no smoke out the exhaust...

Any ideas on what it could be? I was thinking maybe the fuel filter(s) as we dont know if the previous owner changed them (would that cause a loss of power?) we ran biodiesel once (Chevron gas, said on the pump it may contain up to 5% biodiesel, filled about 20 litres). Its still under warranty so its going into the dealer on monday. (originally made the appointment regarding the steering stabilizers and hubs, turns out the stabilizers are aftermarket (theres 2 of em) and the hubs we sprayed with some silicone lube and now they're turning smoother, still kinda stiff though) good thing we didnt cancel that appointment...

 

Not sure I would have used the Lucas Stabilizer. Ive read they suggest only 1 quart per oil change in Powerstrokes here Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer : Lucas Oil but those of us who've owned these trucks for some time have learned that the severe duty cycle of changing oil, at 5k, is the best way to go. I used to run Rotella, but my Blackstone reports were showing that the synthetic oil of Rotella was no better than the cheaper Motorcraft oil in several areas. Unless you need the synthetic for extreme low or high temps I'd stick with the Motorcraft oil. Just my opinion and Im sure I'll catch hell for it but oh well.

 

This is news to me. nowhere on the bottle did it mention to only use 1 quart for the powerstrokes. it just said 1 quart stabilizer to 4 quarts oil. would too much of the stabilizer cause a problem? Here in BC (vancouver area to be specific) we can get hot summers (30+ sometimes) and pretty cold winters (-10 sometimes) and my dad was planning on going on a few hunting trips this year up north so we figured the 5-40 would be best according to page 42 of the owners suppliment. (good from -29 to +40)

 

Change those fuel filters. That unknown factor would have me on eggshells. Did you use Motorcraft Oil filter? I used a NAPA one time and caused problems, less than 500 miles later, changed oil, using Motorcraft and Oil filter and everything worked fine. I was a Believer in Rotella also, until I realized, at 5K, it really did not make a difference and could save some change. As for the Lucus, IMO, all I have seen is a waste of money.
Bottom line, get those fuel filters changed and use Motorcraft oh and make sure you drain the water, that is a must.

 

I'd change the oil, run just the motorcraft, esp since it is summer. Are you sure you used the motorcraft filter for the oil? Did you replace the cap.

Does the old cap if so, matter of fact if you have a new cap does either one have the ford markings? Use the one with the ford markings only.

I would also suspect a fueling problem. Drain the separator first thing. How does that flow? Change those filters as well OEM only.

 

KJ78, welcome to FTE!

Sorry to hear about the troubles, not an easy thing to deal with on a new truck. Like the others, I recommend not using any kind of aftermarket oil stabilizer. Lucas is a very well-known brand but they will not be on the hook for an engine replacement if yours should fail...Ford will not cover damage that can be attributed to not using the specified oil.

I don't think that this could cause problems with low power though, sounds like something with your fuel system. Do you have any records from the previous owner?

Scott has a great point; is the filter housing cap OEM? Some aftermarket filters come with their own cover. These will NOT work correctly!

 

We used a motorcraft filter ($30 from a ford dealer), as far as i could tell the old one was a motorcraft as well. (everything looked EXACTLY the same). The filter cap should be original (I'll take a look at it today), the new filter clicked into the cap exactly like the old one, everything just went together like a lego set.

We dont have a service history for the truck unfortunately. we bought it used from a dealer who dealt with mostly higher end cars, he said an old korean man used to own it who barely spoke english and traded it in for a Cadillac Escalade.

Would the fuel filters being clogged manifest themselves IMMEDIATELY after an oil change? In my mind it would make sense to gradually lose power as they clog up

I also have a new development regarding my coolant leak, when the engine cools off the leak stops. So I'm thinking maybe theres a loose fitting somewhere?

 

no more pressure when cold=no more leak.

As far as a gradual loss in power..makes sense, but it also makes sense that you fill up and get a bad batch and within a few miles bam you have an issue.

 

Status report:
Drained fuel/water separater. no difference. it still accelerates slow as heck, but once you reach speed the cruising rpm's are about right. 60km/h was 1200rpm cruising.

Also started leaking coolant again. I topped up the reservoir with distilled water this morning, and as far as i can tell i'm not dripping coolant, but water... the leaking fluid was also cool leading me to believe it might be a problem with my reservoir...

I'm also planning on picking up some replacement fuel filters from the local auto-parts store today. (all the ford dealers parts centres are closed on sunday...) Hopefully this will alleviate the trucks "low power" condition... and when we pick up some oem replacements we could keep the aftermarket ones for an emergency situation i suppose...

 

Check the fuel filters, checking whether the water separator drains won't tell you anything other than you don't have a big parafin blob buildup.

If your dripping cool water, it is most likely condensate from the A/C, and has nothing to do with the radiator. A/C condensate drips all over from the passenger side where the blower housing is.

Do not *ever* use non-OEM fuel filters in this truck. This means Motorcraft or Racor which OEMs them for Ford. Also only use the revised FD4617 filter set, not the obsolete FD4609 filter set.

 

Conclusion: The "lack of power" was caused by a combination of the front hubs not working properly, and sticking brakes.

After two trips to the dealer the truck is now running better than ever! No more leaking coolant, no more having to rev the **** out of the motor to get moving, and better mileage too! We couldnt be happier... well maybe if it got even better mileage but then again 16L/100km (14.7mpg) mixed driving isnt that bad for a truck this size

1st trip (monday): Front hubs were impossible to turn, and the truck was leaking coolant on the drivers side. Dealer replaced both front hubs because they were completely seized, coolant leak was tracked down to a cracked end tank on the radiator. 2 new factory hubs, and a new radiator all covered under warranty.

2nd trip (today): Left rear brake seized up while testing to see if the truck was running better, also left front wheel was WAY dirtier than the right front wheel so we suspected something might have been wrong with the front brakes too (monday). took it into the dealer and they took apart all the calipers. in the left rear the pistons were seized so they replaced the caliper, in the left front the pads had seized so they took them apart and lubricated everything (did the same for all the other calipers too). front pads were at 12mm, rears were at 10mm. everything covered by the warranty.

We're definitely pleased this story had a happy ending, this is our 3rd ford vehicle and it has quite the legacy to live up to: 1986 aerostar 395,000kms (original engine, rebuilt transmission) and still ran good when we retired it, 1997 f150 350,000kms (original engine/transmission) and it STILL runs good.

These are some of the pitfalls of buying a low milage vehicle that some people arent aware of. I told one friend what happened and he said "I know what your problem was, you bought a ford lol", while my other friend who's into off-roading and 4x4's understood that when you dont use something for long periods of time it breaks down more than if you use it regularly.

 

Well that is a great outcome. I would not have though the brakes were any part of this as you didn't smell any brakes.

That is why I check mine at fuel stops when traveling.

I walk around and put my hand on the hubs and the tires of the truck and trailer.

 

Wonderful that the problem is resolved. Brakes? It is hard to diagnose everything when you cannot touch, see, feel and taste what is going on. Good job!!!

 

Based on the various reports of stuck brakes, and prior stuck caliper issues on my old truck, I've added a brake check to my standard oil change routine. It only take perhaps 15 min extra to go around with the floor jack, lift and manually turn each wheel to check for unusual drag, in addition to the visual inspection for wear and discoloration. I figure at 5k intervals a problem doesn't have that long before it's discovered.

 

We're definitely happy that we managed to solve what was wrong with the truck. Just in time for the Canada Day long weekend. (funny how these things work out) We are going camping for the long weekend and we are looking forward to seeing how the 350 handles "the gauntlet". We put our 500cc Honda atv in the bed (around 800lbs) and we hook up our 24' camper to the back (about 4500 to 5000lbs once loaded) and we take off up the coquihalla highway, which is (in)famous for the loooong climb up to the peak to leave the fraser valley.

Our '97 f150 would (and still does) handle the gauntlet admirably. 4.2l v6, auto, not sure what ratio in the rear. It would slow down pretty darn quick once you start climbing, but we would drop it into 1st and the motor would scream its way up the hill at a blazing 40km/h (about 25mph). The motor would always run better after doing the round trip lol, I guess that heavy load would clean all the gunk off the valves. The mileage would tank when towing though 25L/100k (about 9mpg) so we're interested in seeing what kind of mileage the 350 can pull off.