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I'm an old IDI enthusiast ... been out of the game for six months after trading in my '94 F-250 (had seemingly uncurable overheating issues).
Well, yesterday I pulled the trigger on a deal I just couldn't pass up: an '04 F-350 with a 6.0. It's a high-mileage truck, even for a diesel: 341,000+ miles. However, it was a one-owner truck, fleet owned its entire life by a local refining company that maintains its vehicles meticulously. The mileage (and the fact it's a 6.0) are what enabled me to get it so cheap: $2100. Hell, the utility bed is probably worth most of that by itself.
It runs and drives great. It has one, or maybe two misbehaving injectors; the power is not where it should be, and the idle is kind of rough. But it starts up easily, even this morning when it was 41 degrees outside. It's slow off the line (currently), but once it boosts, it gets up and goes.
I am completely new to the world of non-mechanical diesels and am looking forward to gaining a lot of knowledge about my new truck.
Welcome to FTE Thats a good bit of miles on the ole girl. I would say that with that many miles, most problematic issues have more than likely been taken care of before you got it.
Take a trip through the tech-folder. You will find a wealth of information.
You will need to know if it is a "late" build 04, or "early build". That will help you in looking for knowledge about any issues you may come across. (add that to your sig when you find out)
run6.0run's truck has double those miles. His is an 06.
The first three things that I would check would be fuel press. min. 45# at WOT, FICM voltage, min. 45 volts and delta temps between the ect and eot's. No more than 15 degrees between the two once the engine is totally heat saturated and cruising between 55 and 65 mph on level ground. The factory temp. gauges are glorified idiot lights and worthless. As Josh said get some gauges. The ScanGauge ll is the cheapest, app. $160 and will read most anything from the OBD port except fuel press. and egt's. Good luck and welcome to fte. A lot of good guys and a few whiners.
PS, If the ICP is on the right valve cover you have a late 04 build.
Is there a particular OBD dongle you guys recommend for use with Torque? It seems like they run the gamut from piece of crap to more expensive than a ScanGauge.
You will need to know if it is a "late" build 04, or "early build". That will help you in looking for knowledge about any issues you may come across. (add that to your sig when you find out)
Well, it does not have the ICP in the passenger side valve cover, so I guess that makes this an early build.
I did find a sticker on the passenger side valve cover that says this is a remanufactured engine. I wonder if that's good? Maybe they studded it and resolved a few other things. Seems plausible.
On the Passenger side would be late built 6.0 , other thing to know would be always use OEM fuel and oil filters ( ray core) and OEM oil cap is a must no after market cap or air filter housing and filter, Welcome to FTE
Well, it does not have the ICP in the passenger side valve cover, so I guess that makes this an early build.
I did find a sticker on the passenger side valve cover that says this is a remanufactured engine. I wonder if that's good? Maybe they studded it and resolved a few other things. Seems plausible.
You can check for studs by looking under the degas tank just below the valve cover.