Ok, got multiple problems with the truck. I'll go ahead and post them all here, and if it becomes apparent that I should do a separate thread for each problem, I will.

Truck in question is my 2003 F-350 CC DRW 4x4.

1. Rear Main Seal has a bad leak
2. Valve on coolant heater hose has a bad leak
3. PTO has a bad leak from either the hose or PTO--tech wasn't sure which on quick inspection
4. Right and Left Glow Plug harnesses are leaking
5. Oil cooler needs to be replaced (running deltas 12* and up empty, up to 20* hauling a 24k trailer)
6. Unidentifiable problem in the left front hub/ujoint
7. Problem with the cooling fan so far not fixed by PCM update or new t-stat
8. Boost issue at low RPMs

These are the problems I'm aware of at this point. What triggered all this was the fact that my cooling fan doesn't bump up over 700ish rpms until my ECT is over 220 and EOT is over 230. I replaced the t-stat and still had the same problem, so I figured next best step would be to have the PCM reflashed in case there was something messed up there. Ford dealer said the PCM was up to date, but in their inspection while checking the PCM they found the first four problems listed above. Their quote to fix three of the first four (all except the PTO) came in at $1700, with the biggest culprit on cost being the rear main seal with 8 hours of labor (do you have to pull the engine to get at that?). They were also going to throw in the time necessary to diagnose the boost issue, the pto leak, and the fan issue into fixing the other stuff.

I was aware of the last four issues already. On the front hub/ujoints, I've had a grinding noise from the front left wheel for quite a while when driving with the hubs locked, and now I've got a major squeaking/squealing noise as well. I've had it in to my front-end shop four times now and they acknowledge the noises are there, but have never been able to identify exactly what the culprit is. They exist only with the hubs locked manually, which I need to do since the 4x4 doesn't tend to engage without them manually locked (yet another problem!) and I haul heavy trailers up fairly steep gravel inclines and without 4x4 I get stuck about half-way up. The A/C still blows from the front vents, so I'm assuming my 4x4 problem is not a vacuum problem.

The boost issue at low RPMs also has me a little stumped. Granted, I don't know much about how the turbo works. When I'm driving around on my property (slowly, RPMs usually around 1k) and I hit a pothole or have to push/pull a trailer up and over a hump or something, I can push the pedal all the way to the floor, blow a ton of black smoke, and never see RPMs push over 1k and never get anywhere. Boost never pushes over 11.4 which is what it is at idle. However, if I'm driving on the highway and my RPMs are around 1500+ and I push the pedal all the way down, I can feel the turbo kicking in as it should and I have plenty of power and boost registers all the way up to 26-28 on my SGII.

So I'm curious first off, of the problems listed above, how many can be fixed without pulling the engine and without specialized mechanic's tools (just socket sets, wrenches, and some torx drivers). Also, how big a deal am I looking at on fixing all this stuff myself? I've done the basics on these trucks (t-stat, blue spring, etc) but never really dug into the inside of the engines yet.

If this were your truck and you have about as much experience as I do and not a whole lot of time in your days between work and family, would you fix it yourself, have it fixed at a dealer, have it fixed by an independent mechanic, or try and trade the truck in on something else? That's the other part of my equation... I'm hauling a heavy gooseneck trailer with this truck around my immediate area and I'm technically about 1k overweight on the rear axle of my truck and about 3k overweight on the rear tires on the truck, which are already the highest rated tires they sell for my wheel size. So trying to trade in on a 450 or 550 might be a good option for me in terms of being legal with my trailer hauling, but I'd also have to get that approved by corporate (it's a company truck) and that's not likely to happen easily. They just bought me this truck back in December. I don't have to worry about scales or anything in my area... just do about 16 mile round trip runs from my lodge to the water filling station with a 2000 gallon tank on the trailer. Total hauled load is around 25k between water weight and trailer weight. Trailer is rated for 24k, but the tires on it are rated to 26k. About 3k is transferred to my truck right now, but if I had a heavier truck I'd transfer more weight for better traction on the gravel/dirt roads.

Thoughts?

 

Done some digging through the electronic copy of the Ford Workshop Manual I have and now see that the engine doesn't have to come out for the rear main seal, but the transmission does... I don't have the tools necessary for that.

Also not sure how I feel about taking out the evaporator core housing to get at the right glow plug buss bar...

 

SGII showed me 3DTCs, but couldn't read them, so I went ahead and plugged up my AE and this is what I've got: (after clearing these with AE, only P1000 came back while idling).

P0603 -- (but no programmers or chips installed... just my SGII/AE)
P0620 -- Alternator code referring to voltage being too low. Ran codes right at startup when voltage may have been a little low from glow plugs, but I have two brand new alternators in there (top one is a DC Power) and run around 14 volts when driving.
P1000 -- seems to have something to do with the PCM. FWIW, the Ford tech had to reprogram the VIN into the PCM yesterday... apparently it's VIN didn't match the one on the truck, which is probably due to this truck being a rebuild from several other vehicles. Not sure if that's relevant or not, but thought I'd throw it out there.
P1832 -- refers to the differential lockup solenoid failing in the transfer case
P1876 -- refers to the 2-wheel drive code circuit solenoid failing in the transfer case
B1318 -- Another one for low battery voltage (brand new batteries replaced with alternators a couple months ago)
U1058 -- All these U codes are from electronic components and everything I'm reading is leading me to suspect a ground issue somewhere. What's the best way to start looking for one?
U1059
U1073
U1262
U1027
C1284 -- Oil Pressure switch malfunction. The one thing I found on this is that it's a holdover from the 7.3 and isn't valid on a 6.0.
B1352 --This one is because the electronic piece that detects when the key is in the ignition is broken. I just ignore it.

I'm stumped by most of these! After clearing the codes and putting the truck in gear (but without driving it) only P1000 came back. I've gotta drive it a bit today, so I'll scan again tonight and see what (if any) have returned.

 

Snuggy suggested the squeak could be from a badly worn brake pad... Here's a photo of the brake pad that I can see with the camera after removing the wheel:



Videos with (hopefully) decent audio of the squeak are forthcoming, but have to wait on our slow satellite internet to finish uploading them to youtube.

 

Ok, here are two videos of the squeak. This is with the truck jacked up and me turning the wheel by hand. There was no movement in the wheel side to side or up/down as would be indicative of bearing or hub problems. I couldn't feel it when turning it, but this is accompanied by a fairly rough vibration/grinding when over 30-40mph. Also, the noise doesn't change while braking. I don't know if it's normal or not, but I can turn the wheel a few degrees forward and backward before the ujoints engage and it spins the driveshaft coming out of the transfer case.

First video with the wheel on:
Wheel squeak #1 with wheel on - YouTube

Second video with the wheel off:
Wheel Squeak #2 with wheel off - YouTube

I put my ear under there and listened close while it was turning and couldn't identify exactly where the squeak was coming from, but it is definitely down inside the hub or right at the wheel. Not coming from the ujoints or ball joints.

 

FWIW, I have a 2006, and my fan kicks on really high when my ECT hits 207. It sounds like a jet engine taking off. I believe my EGR controls some of this?

Also, that low power at lower RPMS is exactly what I was seeing until I tightened all my CAC boots to 9ft lbs and cleaned my EGR. Now, when I take off from a stop light, I'm actually going somewhere. I'm new to diesels, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Good Luck!

 

Hmm... I'll double check the CAC boots and clean the EGR (never cleaned this one). Yeah, I have an 06 also and its fan kicks on right at 207...

 

For the squeaky wheel, you're gonna have to pull the wheel and check both the brake pads and see if the pins are lubed.... if not those, get wheel bearings repacked. Other wheel too if they haven't been done in the last 15k miles.

 

For #5, have you flushed your cooling system - EVER? When was the last time you replaced the coolant? As above, clean the EGR valve and test again. Delta should be taken with engine up to operating temp, on flat road at 65MPH over a few miles.....NOT TOWING.

 

Yep, I just flushed it a couple weeks ago...

 

In reference to #5, I can't speak to the history of the truck. Former owner had green coolant in it when I got it. Did two full flushes back to back to clean it out and put elc in it then.

 

I would try and get a truck to handle your loads.

 

Also, what are the pins you refer to around the brakes? I doubt the wheels have ever been repacked, so that sounds like something I should probably do.

 

You said you only get the noise with the hubs locked. I am thinking it is the knuckle seal.


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Well, I've only noticed it when the hubs were locked while driving, but when making those videos today I did try it with the hubs unlocked and it persisted...