Many of you will remember the pics I posted of our 6.7L ambulance that self destructed at 17k miles. After the engine was replaced, we've had trouble with the transmission on two different occasions, and now we've had an EGT sensor shut it down in December, then the recall was done on it in January as to the sensors, then two weeks ago the low pressure fuel pump failed and was replaced, and today it was shut down again by another EGT sensor. The truck now has around 77k miles. Keep in mind that this is an EARLY '11 truck(cab and chassis), but it has had a total of 5 EGT sensor failures to date. Many more than any other truck I've heard of. The engine failure was due to the non-hardened valves that has been publicized, the transmission has been re-flashed twice and does fine now except shifting really hard when going into reverse, but the EGT sensors are still a mystery to me. I know these trucks IDLE a lot. That may be to blame but who knows. Just a little update....

 

I would bet it is duty cycle related as the reason for so many failures.

 

Yeah, my father in law is a EMS director and most of his MED1, MED2 and MED3 all have engine related failures, turbos, EGR coolers, etc. Most have something to do with it being fully loaded all the time. I guess it got so bad he just bought a Chevrolet 4500 :/ Don't quite understand his line of thought with the whole Chevrolet thing, but whatever.

 

Thanks for the update. I remember you writing about the headaches with that unit awhile back.
My vote is the idle is what's killing EGT sensors.
Do the sensor failures shut the unit down like it does with the pickups?

The county here went to all Mercedes Sprinter's last year under a new contract.
It's very strange going to the big Ford dealer here now and not seeing at least one 6.0 or 6.4 ambulance torn apart in the garage.

 

My local county ambulance service has 3 units down , all Ford . The new director wants to dump all the units and change brands . The situation sucks ....

 

Any brand can fail, I just think Ford has been the big player and has left a mess with Fire/EMS on units that don't need to be in the shop all of the time.
The past few years has been an opportunity for others to step up and produce a better product.
Which in the end, will force Ford to step up their game as well.
I think the 6.7L is the beginning of that but Ford still has work to do.

 

Yes. The units still say " stop safely now" and then shut down. That is what is driving more and more areas around here to switch to either Freightliner or Dodge. My primary service now has all front line Freightliners and have well over a million miles on them collectively, but the four newer ones have almost 250k together and not a single exhaust system failure. Water pumps yes, exhaust no. The regens in them are much shorter than the Fords, but at least they don't just shut down. That is the single largest 'problem' plaguing the Fords now. The shut down.

 

I will probably get blasted for this comment, but I have to make it. I understand Ford has to abide by the law with the EPA, but WHY aren't EMS vehicles emissions exempt???? That just BLOWS my mind that they would have to deal with a vehicle that has the emissions equipment on it that could potentially take a life due to the "Please stop safely now message". I just get annoyed that there are so many loopholes in our legal system already, but the individuals who rescue lives have to deal with trucks that just shut down because their emissions equipment fail. My father in law dealt with 6 EGR cooler replacements on both of his 6.4s until he finally just decided to take it off and do the delete pipe.

 

Matt, I completely understand. The International Assoc of Fire Chiefs have petitioned the EPA to exempt fore apparatus from those requirements as well. Realistically, think about how much a fire truck idles. Much more than ambulances! The new ones are already giving the big city truck problems. I just don't understand the "shut down"! I've seen, heck most of us have seen, the 'Fire Breathing 6.4' that started all of this, but why can't it just go into limp mode and allow you to get out of traffic, off the mountain or the critical cardiac or stroke patient to the ER? The shut down and no restart is why services are abandoning Fords at numbers only seen in the late 90s(due to payload then). When a truck shuts down with a patient inside, the patient and family see it as a 'department' problem and not a FORD problem. That breeds lots of discontent in the community as word travels very fast. I can guarantee you if a Ford execs family member was in a unit that shut down due to an EGT sensor, that would immediately get changed even at the disdain of the bean counters. Look back historically at the auto makers, including Ford(Pinto), GM(saddle tanks), they knew there were problems but also knew it was cheaper to pay out each suit than do a recall!! I don't know what the answer is, but it doesn't appear that common sense is being used here. One of Ford's best advertisements is seeing all of the public safety vehicles, hell that's why I bought my first Ford in '01 and been loyal since then. I drove them every day and saw what they could take, that's why I became an owner. But nowadays the EMS/Fire and now Police departments are going away from Ford in droves. Sure a fantastic engine platform is great, but if you can't keep it running due to an EGT sensor??? Come on!!!!

 

Man and one of the most annoying things about this whole thing is that Ford OFFERS a High Sulfur package that would get rid of the DPF and EGR from the factory. Insane. Yeah Fire Trucks definitely idle a lot longer then ambulances, infact, I don't think theres a time we ever turn ours off when out on a call. What general area of Georgia are you in?

 

I haven't researched this in awhile so I cannot remember but some other manufactures simply initiate limp mode with an EGT issue, correct?

If that is true, why is Ford shutting down the unit if the EPA doesn't require an immediate disable?

Or are the others in violation of the very complicated EPA rules?

 

I know For a Fact that GM will go into limp mode . I have worked on many Ford and GM . I will also state that I have never seen an issue with Dodge . But , we see almost No newer Dodge trucks in my shop . Also utility companies are going away from Ford . While we had a 550 bucket truck torn down for turbos and HPFP work , the guys rented a Dodge . The rental company has ZERO Fords in their fleet . Large rental company in the Nashville area .Just saying ...

 

Local city and utility kept the Fords here but most of their new fleets are 6.2L units.
I guess you can still run a bucket truck with a gasser.
I see very few of those trucks with the powerstroke logo or dual tips.

 

Tofan, I am NE Georgia about 60 miles east of Atlanta.

 

At least your not getting international units...
New Detroit ambulances breaking down at an alarming rate - WXYZ.com