Hey all, thanks in advance for checking out this thread and offering any advice.

In early January I bought a 2005 F250 PSD with 101K miles on it. I was nervous about buying a 6.0 but it came with a 3 month/3000 mile powertrain warranty from the dealer so I figured if anything went wrong I'd be ok.

Well, I already had to replace the FICM, which wasn't covered because it's not a "lubricated part." It was reading 35 volts running, now it reads 48 at the OBD and with a multimeter under the hood.

I have an Edge Insight CTS and I've never seen an EOT/ECT delta over a few degrees in either direction once the engine is warm. My EOT is usually around 176 and ECT right around 174.

Before FICM replacement, the Edge read DTCs p0611, the FICM death code, and 2 cylinder contribution codes (I think it was #4 and #6...I might have seen #8 too, I can't remember but they were all even numbered cylinders).

After FICM replacement, I'm still getting P0272 for cylinder #4.

The truck starts right up but has a miss when it's cold. There's NO excess of smoke at startup, but if I try to drive at all before the EOT is above 125, the truck feels like it has no power (like it's running on 4 cylinders), it dumps white smoke out of the tailpipe, and it does not want to shift out of first gear unless I back off the gas pedal.

The smoke smells like diesel, not coolant, and I'm not losing any coolant. There is a pretty strong diesel smell in the cab, although that seems like it may be an exhaust leak unrelated to the other issues.

Once the truck is warm, the smoke goes away and it has plenty of power. I haven't noticed the fuel economy to be that bad...it's doing a heck of a lot better than the V10 I had before this.

Around the time that I replaced the FICM I changed the oil, oil filter, and fuel filters. All filters are Motorcraft and for oil I switched to synthetic, Mobil 1 5W40 Turbo Diesel Truck, and added two bottles of Rev-X. I've been running that for several hundred miles with no improvement.

Any ideas? The only code I'm getting now is p0272, cylinder #4 contribution and balance, although I have definitely seen the code for cylinder #6 at some point. Can the Edge Inisght read fuel pressure on a 6.0?

Could some of the injectors have fried when the FICM voltage was low? I should be able to get the injectors replaced under warranty, but I think I'll have to pay the diagnostic fee and I'd rather not do that until I've checked all the simple stuff myself.

 

It is probably a stiction problem. Could try Archoil 9100 or Revx see if there is and improvement. As far as fuel pressure goes there is a test port on secondary fuel filter. There is no sensor for it.

 

IMO its not a sticktion issue sticktion doesnt usually set a DTC

It could be the FICM took out some injector/s

Low fuel pressure will also take out injectors
Change the fuel filters and put the fuel pressure regulator blue spring

White smoke that smells like diesel fuel would normaly be an injector stuck on

I would fix ASAP dont want it to Hydrolock engine or even worse Burn a Hole in the piston from overfuel condition. If the injector all the sudden goes worse case senerio and get stuck on its going to Dump Fuel in the cylinder FAST

On a side note Test all batterys and alternator output so the FICM doesnt burn up again

 

Or one with a cracked tip allowing more than the metered amount in during each firing cycle.Exactly! Check your fuel pressure to see if it's too low, that's how I burned up three of them two years ago. If you don't have access to an AE (IL is too far of a drive for me)...I'd do a balloon test to see how many injectors are bad. Since it seems to get better as the truck warms up I'm thinking a couple at best. If you had 4 of them out the truck wouldn't run (discovered that playing with AE one day). But if you just want to cut to the chase (assuming the fuel pressure, batteries & altenator are good) you could replace all four on the even side since you said you've had codes for #4, #6 and #8; #2 is the only one left.

 

Thanks guys.

I also should have added that I tested the batteries and alternator prior to FICM replacement and they're good.

I don't know if the truck has the updated spring for fuel pressure, and I haven't really looked into how to check that so if anyone can drop a link to instructions that would be great. When I changed my fuel filters and oil 300 miles ago I didn't know about the spring issue.

Sounds like the next steps are fuel pressure and balloon test.

 

If you have the blue spring installed...your fuel pressure will be above 60 psi at WOT. Idle it should be somewhere around 65-70 depend on fuel temperature (lower as temp raises) and a couple of other minor things. If you haven't searched it yet, to check the fuel pressure you'll need a M12x1.5 fitting to use the test port on the side of the secondary fuel filter housing. Here is a good link for the blue spring replacement:

Fuel Regulator Upgrade w/ Pictures - Diesel Forum - TheDieselStop.com

I buy most of my PSD stuff through RiffRaff (I do not get kick backs)...so with that said here's what you'll need for the blue spring upgrade.

Without cover:
Riffraff Diesel: Ford Fuel Pressure Regulator Blue Spring Kit

With cover:
Riffraff Diesel: Ford Fuel Pressure Regulator Blue Spring Kit

You shouldn't need the cover unless something has happened to yours. You will need to replace ALL the seals under that cover since they've swollen from exposure to diesel fuel. Also, something else...have you checked in the IL chapter to see if there is someone near you that might have an AE (with Ford Enhanced Bundle) that could help you troubleshoot your injector issue? To me, it's allot easier than the balloon test.

Illinois Chapter:
Illinois Chapter - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Chapter leader:
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Profile: BobbyDiesel71

 

zhilton, can't thank you enough for the links.

I'm really not looking forward to a balloon test so I'll check with the IL chapter for an AE. Does it have to be the dealer-level IDS (The $4000 tool) or will the AutoEnginuity Pro scan tool ($1400) tell me what I need?

Also, reading around I found some posts on this scanner:

Waekon | Hickok Product Catalog 9.0 - New!

Can't tell if it only pulls spool-valve data for stiction issues or if it can read other fuel system issues like the AE would. Any thoughts on that thing?

 

Zack is all over it


If you want an AE go to Riff Raff Diesel

IIRC they are around 360.00 and you MUST get AE with the Ford enhanced Bundle Thats what Most DIYers use Does alot of stuff like cylinder balance test what you need to do

He does have a AE with a Domestic Bundle if you want to be able to run on Diffrent Makes

Clay at RR diesel will hook you up
check it out

Riffraff Diesel: AutoEnginuity Total Ford Enhanced Bundle

Click here^^^^^^^^^^^^^^




There is NO Fuel pressure sensor on the 6.0L so you would need a Mechanical Gauge screwed into the Fuel Press Test port. Some guys get a gauge to mount in the truck and use a Electrical sender in the Fuel Press test port and then run it into the Cab.

I opted to just upgrade to the Blue Fuel Pressure spring without checking the fuel press. But if I suspect any Fuel Press issues I would get a gauge IDK. Shure doesnt hurt to Hook a gauge up to monitor constantly.


And Here is a Link for a writeup on changing the Blue fuel press spring out

FPR BLUE SPRING UPGRADE FTE

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ue-spring.html

I cant remeber if the above link had pictures or not so here is another one with Pics added

Good BLUE spring with pics

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/...ctures-278882/


Good Luck with it its not to bad to change the spring in the FPR. Tons of folks do this job at Home

 

AutoEnginuity Ford Enhanced Bundle is what you need...and a laptop; $360 and free shipping through RiffRaff. The only thing it can't do is check fuel pressure, the PCM has no clue what it is. The AE will do contribution/balance, individual injector disabling, EOT/ECT data, ICP, IPR pressures and a hose of other things. There's something Cheezit was talking about a couple of days ago that IDS can do that AE won't...but it was a very specialized test that you'd just about need to be a PSD tech to understand the data.
That's the first time I've heard of that brand scanner. I'm going to assume that's what Navistar uses to diagnose their trucks/engines; like Ford's IDS...but I don't know. The absolute best system is the Ford IDS...but I believe it goes for several thousand dollars if you even can buy it (not sure it's available outside Ford dealerships). The AE with Ford Enhanced bundle (which I have) by far is the best you can get without spending a fortune. I've had it for a year now and saved myself enough money diagnosing a cracked injector, helped two fellow FTE members pull codes/run KOEO/KOER test on their trucks and some minor sensor issues on the Explorer we own. By far, one of the best tools I've ever purchased.