Hi, first thanks for many great posts I've been browsing while trying to learn to navigate these different forums. The TECH FOLDER is great.

Sorry if I ask a couple very basic questions that I could probably find in here somewhere, but this just seems faster until I learn my way around better.
I picked up my F250 in Florida because of the better condition they're in and brought it back to Cincinnati. With the BullyDog I added, it ran mechanically great all the way back, doing amazing on gas mileage.
The truck came with just 1 Ignition key, NO owners manual and half way home I realized I had no jack, so off to the closest Harbor Freight for an 8T bottle jack and HomeDepot for scrap lumber to put the jack on to elevate it if needed.
Fortunately, i didn't need it.

Without the owners manual, here's my first question. Although I've had no problem starting the diesel, I seem to recall older engines had glow plugs that needed to warm a short bit first. Is there supposed to be a certain process I should do when starting my truck? What I have been doing is turn the key to power on, wait until all the lights come on/off and sounds stop making sound, which is like 4-5seconds, then turn and it fires up fine. Well except yesterday it was cold and took a few tries.

When i first picked it up, the A/C acted up twice going warm after about 15mins. The dealer filled the freon and it appeared to fix the problem, but going up the road about 10mins later it got warm again, then 15mins later cooled down again. A friend of mine told me he had the identical problem that took a long time to evaluate, and turned out a mechanic told him it was the "Low Pressure Bulb" in the a/c system. He replaced it and no problems since. Does that sound right to anyone here?

Well, that's enough rambling for a first post.

Thanks in advance for your patience and assistance.

Oh, and if anyone is in the Cincinnati area it would be good to have a local Diesel knowledgeable friend around.

 

Welcome to the family.
On the starting there is a light on the dash (looks like squiggly lines)
You turn the key on., wait for the light to go out then start it. On another note you probably will want to do away with the bully dog in lieu of an Sct tuner. Ypur transmission and wallet will thank you. Also you need to get something to read live data such a sgii or phone app and obdii adapter so you can't keep an eye on your vitals.

 

X2 get rid of Bulley Dog


Bad JUJU for you trans sorry maybe you can sell it to a dodge guy


Congrates on the truck and welcome to the Ford 6.0L Family

 

Thanks, yes I seen that Squiggly line and Wondered IF that was my sign. Had NO IDEA having no manual. Thanks for that confirmation.
The BullyDog I have to first say, I didn't buy it to race, I got it for improved performance. My trip back from FL to OH I was getting, In My OPinion, AMAZING gas mileage. On Level ground it varied between 32-36mpg, sometimes it held at even more just depending on my speed. Funny, unlike my gas car where faster got less, my truck faster didn't affect it much, even seemed to improve it from 55 to 65. At 52 it got its best, but I just couldn't drive far at that speed. ALL this monitored by the BullyDog.

Also it monitors everything that can possibly be monitored in the engine. I set it to show me the ECT and EOT the entire trip, noting it usually kept at 8deg diff, sometimes 11, and once for a very short time was at 14deg.
I did have it on Extreme Tune once and forgot to take it off, and going uphill it went into passing gear, and HOLY COW!! About gimme whiplash, but dang she sounded impressive. I put it back to Performance Tune for the rest of the trip and the MPG was excellent. If I don't use the Extreme Tune mode, just the basic Performance or Tow if/when needed, do you really thing it will affect the transmission that much? I sure hope not.

My current concerns: 1. Dang windshield washer isn't spraying. I think it's clogged because I can hear the pump working. So guess I get to take out the reservoir for inspection.
2. Seen this morning the left side of the dash panel instrument panel has a light out, so I can't read that side in the dark.
3. Front left tire has a cupping, so will need replaced eventually. But as long as Im doing ok on gas and the tire just makes a thumping noise, I'll put up with it. Bad thing, previous owner put 20 in on it. now that's a wallet killer.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

I wish I could see those mpg numbers! The best I ever got with my truck was around 17 mpg before I lifted it. Now I get about 13 mpg.

 

the thing with Bully Dog is it eats the Trans clutches


yes it will drive Awesome power wise but in 50k your doing a trans from what iv seen on here from years of being here

 

X10 what blade35 said

 

But I didn't buy the BullyDog for excessive power. I intend to drive it very economical, using all the capabilities of the Tuner to monitor the engine, and yes if/when needed use it's Tow Mode.

 

I took many pictures of the Tuner showing the MPG on my trip back. They're on my cell phone. I'll email them to myself so they're on the laptop then post a couple of them.

To be clear, it was Highway mileage that was great. City was still very poor. Driving very conscious of what you're doing I think is key. It's real easy to take off quicker and accelerate often when not concerned about your mpg. The BullyDog tuner has a monitor telling me if I'm being efficient GREEN/YELLOW/ or RED, and in both accelerating and decelerating. So if I've approached a red light to fast and need to brake hard, it tells me that was a waste of energy used. Also it grades your driving. On the Interstate I was able to maintain an A+ often. Every exit it would drop to a B or C range, and take awhile to build back up.
But yes, the mileage in town still sucks. I just coast a lot, take off easy and think ahead what can I do to keep off the gas pedal.

 

My truck gets about the same mileage in town or on the highway, towing or not. I've driven between Colorado and Minnesota and got 13 mpg, then pulled a trailer (about 5,000 lbs) back to Colorado and got about 13 mpg. In town with no load -- yep, about 13 mpg.

 

I hate to break this to you Ron but there is no way your really getting 32-36 mpg in an truck that weighs close to 8k pounds. That is way beyond the limits of what these truck are capable of by at least 10 mpg.

 

I was going off what the MPG was on the BullyDog. The bottom middle was Instant and number above it Average. And the Instants were all taken with cruise control on driving on long stretches of level higheway, NOT downhills. If it were downhill you'd see 75-99 numbers.

The Average is what counts, but without excellent highway mileage it would not have gotten that good of average. I'd guess city 10-14mpg. ONe stretch of about 6 miles the Instant held at 38mpg bouncing to 41 and back. I was only doing about 52mph then. Maybe it had a back wind too. But it was common the rest of the trip to see 32-36 on long stretches.

It was on Performance Mode 95% of the trip. Two of the pics you'll see Extreme Mode, but believe me I didn't leave it in that for long. On cruise it really didn't matter at 65mph, but it caught me off guard once downshifting going up hill and scared the $7%@ outta me like a jet taking off.

 

That makes sense. Those instant numbers mean absolutely nothing other than they can help "train" you to feather the accelerator. In my BMW, I see 99 mpg instant number every time I take my foot off the gas. The average numbers you are seeing are a lot more in line with what your true mpg performance is. Your miles/tank would be over 1000 at 35 mpg. The reality is that you are likely able to run between 400-500 miles per tank, maybe a bit more if the average mpg numbers you see in the Bully Dog are accurate.

 

I said that from the beginning, that it was HIGHWAY Miles that was great. No where was I claiming Average was that much. And I said in the beginning my city miles were poor. I also said I was running on LONG LEVEL Stretches of highway when I took those Instant mileage readings, so yes they are accurate. If you don't get the occasional Big numbers how do you think you ever get an Average worth a darn?

 

It will eat the trans regardless how you drive or what you set it on




Is the Bully taking into consideration Bigger tires on it