Recently purchased a 2006 Ford F250 4X4 PU with 6.0L Power Stroke engine. Engine has 85,000 miles. Vehicle cranked, but would not start. Towed it to dependable shop. I have been in the heavy truck parts and service industry for over 35 years. The shop and I are both stumped on this issue.


Ford standard diagnostic procedures have been performed and here is the action taken to correct. Gerotor oil pump was damaged by metal debris passing through the inner and outer gears. one metal piece was found in the front cover housing for the LPOP. The other pieces were found between and in the oil cooler passages.


The metal debris resembles a piece of a injector clamp assembly if it was installed incorrectly (impact). The shop had a defective clamp in the shop that was replaced for the same reason. The pieces found in my lubrication system was almost a perfect match.


We removed the pressure rails to check for missing retaining clips at the top of the injectors and noticed that someone has replaced a clamp recently. There was no signs of missing clips. We flushed the high pressure oil system, removed oil pan and checked the pan and oil for other debris. Can not find any signs of where the metal debris originated. The pieces found do match the impressions left on the damaged LPOP gears.


All oil passages have been checked. There was no oil in the HPOP sump reservoir when we removed the pump cover. We replaced the gerotor pump gears, LPOP housing, pressure relief valve, front cover assembly, upgraded the oil cooler and egr cooler, new HPOP and sump filter, checked all oil bypass and drain back valves from the oil pump to the filter housing.


We can not build any base oil pressure to the filter housing. Re checked the low half of the oil pickup tube and all "O" ring connections. Still no base oil pressure. The engine will start and sound normal by supplying pressure at the filter housing, but engine will not provide base oil pressure on its own. we have gone back and double checked the oil pump gear set and other serviced items. Still no base pressure to the top of the block oil galley from the LPOP.


The only thing left that I can think of might be that the upper portion of the pickup tube is restricting oil to the pump inlet at the front cover entrance. Noe that you have read my book....HAS ANYONE OUT THERE EVER EXPERIENCED THIS SITUATION OR KNOWS WHERE TO CHECK NEXT? I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP SOLVING THIS MYSTERY.

 

Sounds like needle bearings from a lifter. After the clean up and repair, I would think it would build oil pressure.

Must be something with the pick up tube????

 

Thanks for your reply. The two most popular suggestions are a needle bearing roller from a damaged lifter or the retaining snap ring at the top where the HPOS rails mount to the top of each injector.


I spent the whole day visiting the most qualified Ford Senior diesel technicians located in my area. They all seem to think that the metal debris is from a broken snap retainer from an injector. They think some shop has replaced the damage retainer or damaged injector bolt/ clamp assembly and failed to remove the metal debris that eventually destroyed the gerotor oil pump. I agree with their theory.


We also agree that the low oil pressure problem exists at the new gerotor pump gears, pressure relief valve, or the oil pickup tub assembly. All of these items are new and have been installed on the engine. We need to go back and inspect inner/ outer gear clearances and relief valve housing. The only possible scenario or solution lies within these areas.

Will update everyone later and try to post some pics of damage.

 

Me and another member found this in his LPO regulator...
Does it look like what you found?
Piece on the far right.

 

Im curious as to how fast the engine is turning over when your trying to start it? is it cranking slowly? or the normal fast start?? Reason i ask is after i had my engine apart i had 2 very weak batteries that couldnt get it turn fast enough to build the pressure.. after hooking a 3rd battery and my jump box to the ones in the truck i was able to get it to turn fast enough to build pressure..

the other question i would have is have you tried pouring some oil down the filter housing itself? Might help get it to prime.. wasnt on a 6.0 but ive had LPOP's on other engines that when installed dry fail to prime themselfs.. would end up having to pull things apart to soak the new pumps in an oil bath to fill them. reinstall and would crank right over...

 

Thanks for the Pic. No, but hard to tell from view. I will be posting a close up picture of the metal debris found in a few minutes.

 

Going to be posting some pics , but it turns out that the markings on the gears are different and have found the debris that caused it. Thank you for your help.

 

Batteries are good and fully charged. Engine cranks over fast enough to start if I had base oil pressure. Truck starts right up if I help create pressure, but engine is not capable of maintaining pressure so we shut down for now.


we are going over the possible issues over at the ford dealership and some other shops. Basically it isn't rocket science, the technician needs to recheck his installation on the front cove, pump, relief, etc.....the solution lies between the pickup tube and the block oil passages leading up to the oil cooler and filter housing.

 

This is the first thing I thought of also. I believe your problem lies where the pickup is bolted to the block.

We've had this problem posted here before, but it's been a LONG time and I don't remember the exact resolution, but it seems like it was something with the pick up tube gasket/o-ring and flange. There's not a lot of stuff between there and the filter housing.....

Do you know if the upper oil pan (I would call it a windage tray) was removed at some point?

Here's a simple layout of the LPO system if you haven't seen it: http://www.backglass.org/duncan/ps60...l/ps60_021.jpg

 

Haven't remove the upper pan yet, just the lower pan a few times during cleanout and inspection of more debris. Like you mentioned earlier, not much going on between the two points of flow. Going to have technician recheck his work at the LPOP and gauge the endplay and height to make sure that part is properly installed. Then recheck the pressure relief valve and journal for debris. cross my fingers.

 

Darn. That shot down both my ideas. Hope you get it figured out soon.

 

Oil goes thru the cooler before it gets to the filter. Have you verified no blockage in the cooler? There is a bypass valve around the cooler so probably not likely.


You mentioned they put in an "upgraded" oil cooler, I assume that is the Ford unit that contains an extra row and not a full-blown external cooler like from Bullet-proof?


Regulator valve on the pump isn't stuck open? Sounds like it's all new?

 

The upgraded cooler is the Ford's version. I have the technician rechecking the pressure relief valve at the pump this morning. I will let everyone know how it goes today.

 

The debris I found was harderned metallic machined and magnetically charged.

 

I am new to this site and still understanding procedures. I have posted some pics to an photo album. Some of the pictures might not show everything (Pixels size).