2006 F450 6.0 that I've owned since new. It has had 2 injectors replaced previously, EGR cooler with BPD, and a few other problem parts. As it is getting older, I have recently noticed it runs like absolute dog crap when it is cold. It can't even reasonably accelerate onto the hwy when cold. Once it is up to operating temp, it runs better. It still does not pull like it did when it was new and under 50k miles...but it is at least driveable once warm. I need to do some heavy trailer towing soon and need to get this thing back to accelerating good.

What should I be looking at first for the horrible running condition when cold?

 

Stiction, add HSS or Archoil to your oil and look for good result after 1000 miles.

Or, plug it in at night

 

Mine was missing when cruising at 45mph. A real hard buck once in a while. I just changed oil a few weeks ago, so I added 16 oz of Archoil without changing the oil. After around 200 miles, the missing and bucking has ceased. Runs fantastic.

 

And switch oil to Delo LE400 5W-40. What's the FICM output look like, 48v?

 

Can you give a little longer description of Stiction? What is HSS....some sort of additive? No block heater here, I was having the same problem last summer as well. I'm in Socal so starting temps are not extremely low.

Most of my oil changes are done at the local Ford dealer. I'd assume they're putting something acceptable in it. How do I check the FICM output?

Thank you both.

 

Do a search on "injector stiction" and narrow it down for the 6.0L Powerstroke.

HSS is a oil additive product called Hot Shot Secret, the additive is marketed as a solution for "injector stiction".

There is a good chance that the motor does have block heater located in the freeze plug just above the starter, the 110v power cord may or may not be there.

 

You need something to read live data, Scan Gauge II, Torque Pro and an OBD ELM327 device, ForScan.
Then monitor the FICM output to make sure it's at 45v or more while cranking and running.

 

To check the FICM output, you can either run gauges or manually test it out with a digital volt meter. Steps for that can be found at 17. Can I test my FICM to ensure that it is the culprit?.

Hope this helps!

 

I have an Actron CP9145 OBD2 scan tool which does show "live data" but I'm unable to interpret if it's showing me FICM voltage. There is a list of live data I can scroll thru when the truck is running. Anyone know what the FICM output will show as in "live data?"

For the last 1.5 years, I've been running 2 stroke oil as a fuel additive, and it somewhat seemed to help at start up, meaning smoother running at start up and not so much barking at cold start up. I have not tried any of the other aforementioned additives, but I may give them a shot if they're not ridiculously priced. I also tried a large bottle of Diesel Kleen, which I have mixed results over. Thanks again.

 

I don't know what the Actron reader in particular calls 'FICM Main Power', but it is likely called some derivative of just that.

DieselKleen and other similar products are fuel additives only. Ideally, you'd also run a cleaner/lubricity agent in the oil to help that side out. We sell a ton of all three products in this space - RevX, Hot Shot Secret, and Archoil. They are all good products. Each addresses the issues in different ways.

Ed

 

Thank you. It took me a while online to decode all the abbreviations for the PIDs, but I think I have them all. I am not seeing anything that appears to be FICM main power. The only power readout I have is "VPWR" which appears to be vehicle power and it's in the 14 range once running. I guess this tool won't help with the FICM.

I am going to try one of the 3....they are all oil additives? Can any of the 3 be used with older, existing oil, or do they only work magic right after an oil change? I did some reading about all 3, and every one had their critics that said it didn't help at all. I'm hoping for the best, and praying for the rest.

I hadn't realized that this problem needed to be attacked from both sides.....fuel additive and oil additive. Is using additives just a fact of life with a 6.0 or is there some way to avoid having to use these again once I get it back to 100%?

 

You need to fix the problem and not use additives, which is like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. The problem is still there and will come back. If you did the research on stiction you would have discovered the way to fix the problem is to remove the injectors and either disassemble and clean or install rebuilt units.

 

I read about stiction, and I realize using additives is a band aid. So let me run this hypothetical......I drop the couple thousand and replace all the injectors on a truck with barely over 100k, then I get a few more years down the road and maybe another 100k, then problem comes back?? Only getting 100k from injectors? Something wrong here! My 04 Chevy Tahoe has 230k on the ticker and not a lick of problem from original injectors.

How would you suggest fixing the problem? Do you have a spare few thousand to replace all the injectors? What caused the factory injectors to crap up, crap out like this with ONLY 100k, so I can avoid it next time?

 

The elephant in the room is the fact the injectors on your 5300 are not 6.0 injectors. The similarity starts, and stops, with the fact they both inject a fuel.
01 Yukon, never needed an injector so I know where you are coming from, but it's not even fair to run that comparison.

Don't assume the dealer is running 5W40, it's likely 15W40. You won't know until you ask or check the invoice.
Nothing wrong at all with running a fuel and oil additive. Keep fuel filters changed every other oil change @ 10k miles.
You have owned it since new and it's now just over 100k, that tells me it makes a lot of shorter drives, that does not help. To combat that run something like powerservice silver bottle since you are in SoCal.
Try some Optilube injector additive, good stuff.
http://opti-lube.com/diesel-fuel-imp...additives.html
Archoil 9100 with an oil change, or if you are not at max on the dipstick and just off a fresh change, toss it in. It works for a lot of folks here, myself included after literally 50 miles.

FYI I am not a paid spokesperson.

 

A rebuilt Motorcraft injector is only $200 so you're talking $1600, not a few thousand. I don't know how your truck was used and what oil was used, and how it was driven. You won't have stiction problems come back if you use 5W-40 and keep it changed, drive the truck real hard every now and then, don't only do short trips, don't overheat it, blah blah blah.
Don't compare a typical gasoline injector to the 6.0s HEUI injector.
What do you think an injectors lifespan in before performance starts reducing anyway?
Yes, it sucks to replace them at 100,000 miles but if you do it right the new set will probably not have symptoms. It's not a perfect world.
Again, I despise additives and they are not needed. If they are needed then something is wrong. Additives won't prevent anything and if they do bandaid a symptom it is short lived and you could have put the $60 toward a new injector that you'll be replacing anyway. BTDT.