I have 776.71 miles on our truck ('04 6.0 L King Ranch ) and no problems as of yet. I believe the build date is Nov 17 / 03. I've got my Finger crossed.
________________________

2000 F-250 4x4 super cab , v-10 , 285 / 75 R16 BFG AT KO'S, the rest stock
2002 Gt Mustang convertiable (wifes)
2004 F-350 King Ranch 4x4 6.0 L ,285 / 75 R16 BFG AT KO'S, loaded with everything but the sink (wifes winter wheels and farm truck)

 

Great start to something good.............here

 

5449 miles build date was june 03, had 2 oil seals replaced in the first 2500 miles. gas milage was 16.4/18.8 ave when new and has consistantly gotten worse since now at 14.3/15.8 ave this is by math not the console and is a running ave of 3 tanks. other than that I love the way my truck runs and drives.

 

Truck ran fine. Took it in for oil change and got Oct reflash at 4950 miles. Now noise, lower power and less fuel mileage.
NO PROBLEMS with truck other than reflash caused ones above.

 

1250 miles build date I believe to be Oct 24 has 04 engine with no problems. Gas milage 13.6/15.2 on first tank. Have not check after that.

 

2004 f350xlt sport fx4 6.0L torqeshift Built on 10/03 has 625miles. thought i had a rear main leak, wiped the bellhousing clean and the oil has not come back.. The fuel milage seems to be fine right now, but have not had it on a long trip yet.

 

I have gone through many different posts, trying to bring attention to this process, which will ultimately result in a matrix. I will attempt to recruit any moderator or computer wizard that could show/help me to post the matrix when completed. (Format unknown)

The accuracy of any matrix is the amount of data your receive. Obviously the greater the sampling…the greater the fidelity of the reduced information.


Tell one tell all, to give us their info.

_______________________________________________


DISCLAIMER:
I will not attempt to qualify or quantify,
in any way, the compilation of data recieved from this post. It will be posted as a matrix only/

 

7000 miles give or take, no mechanical problems up to this point. Jan 03 build F250XLT C/C Torqushift, 4x4 SB.
The Oct reflash caused the common concerns- low power, noise, smoke, and etc. It affected the milage also, but it's hard to juge how much. The fuel that they lable as "winter blend" also causes a decrease. I would though say that the milage dropped 3-5 mpg.

 

That drop in MPG would seem greater, than from the winterized fuel alone.

 

04/04 X, 10/23/03 build, 2950 miles, 16.4 Avg MPG, no problems.

 

Tim: Thanks for your concern to all 6l engines,mine was built on aug/03 (sticker on door) sticker on motor says 2003 model,as you have probally read all the problems i have had, I am at a loss for words,do not no what to do anymore,im currently waiting for my dealer to get back to me. The salesman says i should get a new truck but the higher powers dont think so. I bought it on nov 15/03 and have 10000kms on now. I need this truck or one that takes me to work everyday, as it is my livelyhood.Ford and or the dealer does not seem to realize this, and they want to keep it for 2-3 days at a time. I wouldnt mind if it was fixed and ready to go but i get it back w/the same or others problems.And up here in Canada it can get pretty cold stranded on the side of the road(20 to 40 below zero)and it pretty embarrassing sitting there in a 60 thousand dollar truck that wont run.

 

Thanks Tim: There are now quite a few various postings of this subject elsewhere on Ford-trucks.com. It's good to put it in one place. I agree that someone needs to connect the dots, and categorize the variables, so that we can be somewhat eduated in diagnosing the problem of figuring out whether or not it is 'mostly' driver induced fuel inefficiencies, or whether Ford (i.e. International) has 'installed' inneficient power plants in some of their trucks.

Build date March 2003, < 10mpg fuel economy, city driving, unloaded.

May I make a suggestion? If someone more knowledgeable than I could please create a 6.0L PSD FUEL-EFFICIENCY SCENARIO SHEET, this would be a great starting point. If you are going to connect-the-dots using a spreadsheet database, then it would be pointless without rating each person's unique driving style and truck characteristics. Once you obtain enough data and develop enough confidence, you can deduct percentage points from each individual's efficiencies based on the unique information they provide. The one constant would absolutely have to be 'unloaded', not pulling a trailer, 2003-2004 6.0L diesel. With the 'constants' established, a FUEL-EFFICIENCY SCENARIO of '20', being best, would likely be similar to the following scenario:

FESR-6.0L (Fuel-Efficiency Scenario Rating)

20-FESR: Standard 6-spd transmission, SWB 2WD Single Cab, 265 to 285 tires, usual driving on highway, approximate average RPMs 2200 or less, frequent use of cruise control, aerodynamic plusses (no mud flaps, no lift kits, etc.).

19-FESR: Automatic 5-spd transmission, SWB 2WD Single Cab, 265 to 285 tires, usual driving on highway, approximate average RPMs 2200 or less, frequent use of cruise control, aerodynamic plusses (no mud flaps, no lift kits, etc. causing drag).

Keep in mind that certain things probably won't matter like hills (because you're working going up and coasting going down), like windy country (because you're working going against the wind and coasting away from wind) and so on.

You could get someone to create a FESR page link that each individual can push certain data buttons and it will create their fuel efficiency scenario rating and they could also plug in their calculated miles per gallon. They could plug in whether they have had the October flash or the December flash. They could plug in a dynomometer reading before flash or one after flash, if they have it. If you design the database with enough datapoints, then you are sure to get useful information. You could have one specific to 6.0L 2003-2004, one for 7.3L 1997-2003, one for V10 2003-2004, etc.

I have a friend (I used to be his Manager) that would likely have the talent to create these databases for you, resulting in various charts, graphs and query abilities. He's not free, but he gets things done pretty fast. Do you have sponsors that could pay him for his time? The results would be well-designed, stylish and comprehensive. Just a thought.

 

2004 F-350, SD, short bed, SRW, 6.0 PSD, 5-spd auto, Lariat, w/camper pkg.

build date 10/27/3003
Delivery date 11/03/2003
Returned to dealer date 11/19/03

at about 500 miles began noticing vehicle veering/pulling left when hard braking above 45-50 MPH. First event resulted in near-miss of head on collision in heavy traffic.

First fillup of fuel indicated approximately 15 MPG.

At 550 miles returned to selling dealer for repair. Approx. $5000 (parts/labor) and 6 weeks later the vehicle still isn't "right" and I have invoked the Lemon Law and expect FMC to buy it back. Current mileage is about 660.

 

As far as mileage is concerned it is one of our least concerns at this ponit. We operate an oilfield EMS service and reliablility is our only real issue. We did a fuel consumption comparison for about the first 4 months of ownership with the trucks we got in January February and March. 15.5 miles per gallon seemed to be average for them when running correctly. We had problems with various reflashes cauising a reductiuon in mileage but an increase in driveablility in cold weather conditions (-30 and lower) We also had a problem with reflashes causing a decrease in reponse, driveability and fuel consumption. This was characterized by a very strange fuel pedal response. Ford Canada at first told us that we couldn't run fuel conditioner in these engines and also said not to run purple (farm) fuel (we also have a 2003 6 litre we run mostly on the farm) Now we are being told we must run a certain type of conditioner when ambient temperature is below -25. Not sure where that will lead at this point. We are also being told by Ford that idle boxes must be installed to vary idle and raise idle during extended idle operation or the EGR valve will definitely fail. We have already experienced this a few times last winter and spring. Our saving grace has been a fantastic dealership that has stood by us through all of this and continues to provide exceptional support no matter what the issue.

 

As for the extended idleing, with any PSD you should have a idle controller, otherwise you take the chance of wetsacking. Looks like there are little problems with the 04's compared to the 03's, keeping my fingers crossed that there will be not more problems. Ford's diesel market is very high, if they loose their diesel market, they loose about 60 percent of their 3/4 and 1 ton truck market. If Ford treats them right, there will not be a problem. I think most people, except for people here who investigate our problems, think that it is just their truck that is having problems, so their is little concern, they think "it's just a lemon". I think it would have helped if ford would have started a year earlier developing the 6.0. The 04's i hope have little problems, because the 04 is the last year of the leaf spring front ends suppositly. Coil springs are going to suck in a superduty, they just don't cut it. I think ford's torqueshift transmission is doing quite well for a first year transmission, atleast ford didn't have to buy out a company to get a good transmission, unlike GM.