Well I just got my first diesel, an 03 f250 with 150k on the clock.
Runs and drives good, got a decent deal on it I think.
It's a super cab fx4.
Previous owner said he bought it in 03 with 15k miles. In that time he replaced the transmission last summer with a used one with 115k miles, said he replaced all the injectors once, then a couple after that, and other then that just maintenance (although he had no paperwork to show, he did his own repairs)

It has a 4" turbo back exhaust, egr delete (he says) a programmer on it (some box under the hood with a switch that ill get the name and model number off of in the morning) and a k&n filter, which I know, both are bad things.
I'm going to buy an oem filter and fuel filters, and do an oil change this upcoming week.

I drove it home 2+ hour highway driving doing 70-80 the whole way and it drove great.
I did notice that the engine temp gauge only came up maybe a quarter of the way at most while driving (I live in florida-weather currently around 60-70 degrees.) so I don't think that's normal??

Other thing, while I was looking at the truck I had shut it down and restarted it a few times throughout the time I was there, one time I went to restart it and the engine turned maybe a quarter turn and stopped-wouldn't actually crank all the way over, after a few minutes and a few tries it cranked and started just fine. Owner said he had that happen once before and the solution was putting it in neutral-said he thinks its a parking safety switch? Then after driving 120 miles home, I stopped and went to restart-same thing just a quarter turn then stopped, put in neutral and it cranked fine and started up. (I stopped and restarted the truck about 5-10 times and this happened twice.

Does the parking sensor sound right? Any info on swapping it out if that's the issue?

Next issue I saw was the degas bottle was cracked and lathered in glue to seal it. He said he had it crack once and replaced it with a new one and the new one cracked so he just repaired it instead of spending another $80 on a new one again. Are these prone to cracking or is there something else wrong?

Other then that, this truck is great and so far I love it. Hope it lasts me a LONG time!
Thanks in advanced for the help, I'm sure ill have a lot of questions to ask as I get to know this truck

 

First thing to get is something to Monitor the sensor Values, the Dash Gauges don't really tell all, I use a Scan Gauge , Monitor Oil temps Vs Coolant temps nothing more than 15deg spread is oil cooler plugging most likely, as for the Gear shift lever control switch your lever will be hard to shift down out of park if this is the case then you will need to replace it , the switch shouldn't make the truck not start hot start , as there could be a HPOP leak , a air test will determine this. with the New Degus Bottle the there should be a new 1/2 mark on the Bottle , if your not puking out the Bottle then the cap still should be ok, depends on if the truck has ever puked. what color of coolant is in there now? sorry I forgot to copy what else you had said, I'll have to reread and Bump this back to the Top for the Guys Input

 

Thanks for the reply!
A scangauge ii is already on my "to buy list"
The truck shifts from park neutral drive etc no problem (it is a little "loose" though)
But that's not the issue-issue is only sometimes, when turning the key instead of the engine turning over and trying to start, the engine barely turns (maybe 1/4 through an engine stroke) and then stops cranking and I get a humming noise until I release the key and try again. (Keep in mind I've only seen this happen twice now)
Previous owner says neutral/park lock out or something?

 

you could pull the IPR , witch is located under the Turbo along with the ICP sensor check the screen on the IPR it may have a hole blown through it or completely out, with the Gauge Monitor ICP and IPR.

 

sorry I'm having Internet Issues How old do the Battery's look or are they, need to bench tested and Bought in Pairs

 

It could be the park/neutral switch causing the problem. If it does it again, instead of shifting to N, try just wiggling it in park. Since you say it is lose feeling, there are two screws under the dash that come loose of the shifter and go to the cable mechanism. It's not easy to find under there, but it could not be fulling moving the shifter on the trans to park. Seen that a few times.

The two torx screws:

 

That kind of starting problem is not common to these trucks, it could have something to do with the trans being changed out if it's a neutral/park problem. Might just want to keep an eye on it and see if you notice any tendencies, like always works in neutral or something.

Also, reading live data from a gauge through the OBD2 port will be more accurate then the dash gauge. Your temps could be fine.

.

 

Where in Florida are you?

 

Wow thanks for all the help everyone!
Ill look into the shifter cable, although when it did it the first time at his house, I jiggled the handle a little and it still didnt start that time.

Ill check the age of the batts, both are interstate although one did look older then the other at first glance. But I don't think its a battery issue since It cranks just fine most the time.

I forgot to mention-he said he replaced the starter not too long ago and from looking from the wheel well the starter does look relatively new.

I'm in south florida

 

Just looked into the chip under the hood. It's a small 2"x4"ish size box. Side says pdq front says volumizer. Has a gray switch and a long wired plug running way behind the engine

 

Batteries are both interstate-one from 09/14 other I think is from 10/13-definitely looks older.

Checked degas bottle for what color coolant but there's very little left in it that I can barely see. I opened it (stone cold-drove it last night at 10pm now 9am) and the bottle hissed as I opened it.

New question, under the hood in front of the power steering reservoir, by the firewall there's a big main wire harness, it splits off in three, main harness still stray across the engine bay, one small group goes up and connects to the good (believe for the light) other comes out and for some reason is cut. I have 4 loose wires?!?!
Red, blue, black and yellow. What the hell are these for and why are they cut??

 

That's normal on the wires. They end there and start under the dash. Just 4 pre-run wires for hooking stuff up.

I wouldn't worry to much about the batteries, if you wanted you could get the older one warrantied to be closer to a match set.

I'd take the chip out and toss it in the round file.

 

First off Wecome Nitrodude. The quarter turn no start thing... my truck suffers from the actuator (sorry it escapes me it true technical name) not working properly all the time. What happens is you turn the key, truck cranks up an runs, press brake peddle, and truck will not come out of park. Cut truck off, put it in neutral, turn key start truck, put it in drive and away I go. With this condition, which is something that has plagued this truck since new as it was fixed under warranty, the engine cranks up normally the gearshifter just will not come out of park. Your situation has to be from some other cause. My I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night guess would be dead/hot spot in the starter and that is where I would begin. My suggestion let the truck tell you what's right or wrong with it, previous owner nice person, throw everything he told you out the window. I refer to the 6.0 as an exotic diesel so it has it's own learning curves for it's owner. The main thing don't get discouraged as there is a great wealth of knowledge here to learn from. One big thing you can do is when you do find the solution post it here.

 

Yeah it's definitely a learning experience!
This site has already been a huge source of knowledge. I've been lurking this and another forum for a few months before I actually bought this truck.
Especially the "6.0l buyers guide" although, one thing I wish it had that would be a HUGE help to people like me just reading through without a lot of diesel experience is with the things to search for, take for example, the puking degas Bottle and how to look for white residue on It to see if it pukes.
Good suggestion BUT I wish it also would say WHY? And how major of a deal is it that it has done that?
Because without knowing that, i wouldnt (and i assume any other new to diesels person) would know If that is a huge deal breaker or a $20 fix?
That's just one of my little suggestions from a person who actually used the buyers guide when I went to look at these trucks

 

Degas puke could be a less than 20 buck fix if it's just a bad cap or overfilled. It could also point to other major problems but takes some testing to figure out whether its bad head gaskets or bad egr cooler.
Pulling the egr valve and checking for dampness is a quick test on the egr cooler. On the head gaskets testing degas bottle pressure is what I would do. As far as checking for degas puke--well you really can't miss it.
Oh and welcome to the family.

2006 F350 4X4