I think I may have more than one thing going on here .... I'm not sure. But I do know that the more I read on here the more educated I get & the more I get confused as to what to do next.

Truck is 2003 6.0L crewcab, shortbed, 4x4.
190,000 miles, mostly highway.
Dieselkleen in the fuel.
Amsoil 15W40.
No modifications.
Very minor plowing, stump pulling, hauling cordwood, construction materials.

Truck always ran great. Recently I thought I'd get the studs and headgasket done for longterm reliability, then ...
1 week before I was going to commit to it, the truck died on the highway. It started to lose power and then shut off. I hauled on the steering wheel to get it to the side of the road. Sat there for about 2 mins, then figured I'd try the key again ... it started right up and got me 1 more mile down the road. Same thing again and this time I just had it towed.
My mechanic said it was a bad alternator and replaced it. He also did the fuel filters while he was at it because I was describing that it felt like it was starved of fuel. When I got it home I did the oil and filter.

Next day I drove about 180 miles no problem then it started to buck. CEL came on. I limped it home. The truck never quit. Had it towed again and my mechanic said it got a code for cam sensor which he replaced.

Next day it ran great again. I did 170 miles (coincidence?) and it started again. I have it home and it's in my driveway. It didn't die. There's no check engine light.

I noticed when I was limping it home that if I kept the rpm's under about 1,500 it was smooth ... just slow. I'd be doing 10mph up a hill and coasting up to 40 on the way down. But it would be smooth. Give it some power and the rpm's go up and it starts to buck again.

It always starts fine. It doesn't smoke. ICP and pigtail were replaced about 2 months ago.

I've spent this morning crawling over the engine trying to find something. I noticed small hard grains of grit on the engine oil dipstick .. just a few.
The coolant bottle has some evidence of coolant overflow. The cap was replaced about 2 months ago. There's gray sludge/scum around the side of the bottle and some black pieces floating in the fluid.

I got under the truck and noticed oil in a couple of places and tried to photograph it. I'm not sure the pics will make sense.
The 2nd pic down is the base of the the item described in the 6.0L Bible as the Turbocharger oil supply line.











Anyone got any ideas? I'm thinking I'll be delaying the headgasket and studs, and giving the oil system and coolant system a good overhaul instead ... egr, hpop, coolant filter, flush.

All comments welcome.

 

Sounds like injector is sticking now. When it bucks like that, it's indicating of one cylinder not firing, thus throwing off the balance. Seemingly unrelated to your other issues you've encountered recently though. If you are in park while running and rev it over 1500rpm does it get rough? A ford diagnostic computer can determine what's going on in the cylinders at that point, and being able to reproduce the problem under controlled environment is a big advantage.

If you find out which cylinder it is, replace that injector/o-ring, and you should be good to go. change your oil, coolant, everything, for the hell of it, because it can't hurt.

 

If it were injectors it would feel smoother at higher rpm, not lower. Sounds to me like maybe ICP or HP oil issues. Maybe Cheezit will chime in soon.

 

That's what I'm hoping for ... .

I've sat in the driveway with the engine running and revved it. It runs normal thru all rpms. But that's a cold engine.

The bucking began to happen both times after about 180 miles of driving. (I track my mileage for work and taxes so it's pretty close). I don't know if that's coincidence or what ...

 

So now I'm planning my next move.
I see a stock oil cooler for a straight swap ... $325.
Then I see on the same bulletproofdiesel webpage ... oil cooler kit for $1,895.
Ford Diesel Store

Anyone installed this kit? Did you like what the extra $1,500 was giving you?

 

What oil filters are you using?

 

For oil I use the Fram CH9549. I got stacks of them from when PepBoys was selling 2 for $7.
For oil I use Amsoil 15W40.

Fuel filters I get from an International dealer in the area.

Any input from anyone is appreciated.

 

Shameless bump!

If anyone has any ideas it would be appreciated.

The truck is now in my mechanics yard and I'll be talking to him tomorrow about how much of his boat payment I'll be covering