In the mornings mainly it will romp a little mitt then smooths out. I've read here about rev-X or arch oil, who's used them and how did it go. Like some personal experience from others before I spend the money. God bless and thanks a head of time,

 

You also need to check your ficm voltages.

 

Voltage seems good. It's around 47.5 all the time. I've never seen it below 46.5 on my scan gauge. I've been thinking of sending it off for a tune but not sure yet because of towing 15 to 16K toy hauler dozen times a year.

 

I used RevX with excellent results.

 

Ficm tune is probably the best improvement I have done. Shame I took so long to do it.
I saw improvement with just 2cycle oil. But really just confirmed I have to change them. But they were really bad. Cheaper way to test

 

Colin, how long after using RevX did it take to notice the difference? 50 miles, one oil change, and I guess it's kind of the thing that has to go in every oil change? It just sucks with only 80K miles on the truck.

 

Bonanza, I had a hard start condition when cold, ficm was good so I flushed the oil and put in 5w40 Rotella T6 and tried the Archoil. I drove it to work,(18 miles), and parked it overnight with temps around 15*f. I didn't plug it in so I could see if this stuff would make a difference. It would normally take the truck about 8-10 minutes to finally start in that temp. That morning, and ever since, the motor only turns about 2-3 seconds and fires right up. I will use it every other oil hange from now on.

 

I used rev-x a couple of times, and had zero luck with it. I think it depends on how bad the stiction is. Mine was bad I guess.

And Reverend, you must have good batteries to crank it for 8 to 10 minutes every morning.

 

There are actually 2 types of stiction, oil most are familiar with {rev-x & archoil] and fuel,pintle gets varnish build up. [sea foam & stanadyne] help there.
Sometimes it takes more than one application.

 

John, only cranked it that long a few times when I didn't plug it in overnight. And yes my batteries are both new Odyssey's with 900cca each. Pricey, but worth it to me.

 

First things first: Check and double check your FICM voltages KOEO, cranking, KOER, and at WOT. Ford spec is no less than 45 volts, but anything less than 47 is too low for me and fair warning that your FICM needs some attention.

Tuning your FICM: Given that you tow and I'm not sure if you have gauges, I'd recommend not going higher than the PHP Econo tune. The Econo tune frees the FICM of the shackles imposed on it by Ford to unecessarily detune the engine. You may be able to get away with the Atlas 40, but you would need gauges to keep an eye on EGTs.

Stiction: When I bought my 2005 Excursion, it wasn't very well cared for by the PO and suffered from a moderate amount of stiction on the fuel and oil side. The sitction was covered up by the inductive heating flash that came on the truck. What I'm driving at is that stiction makes itself obvious only when it's cold out. The inductive heating flash pre-heats the injectors (similar to how the glow plugs pre-heat the cylinder prior to starting) effectively covering up stiction until it gets to the point of having to replace injectors.

I remedied my stiction issue with two products:

Archoil 9100 and Hot shot Secret Products

I ran Archoil 9100 December 2013 and and May 2014. Each time I used it, my truck started and ran noticably better. My fuel economy was also up as well. May 2014, I put it in before a 1700 mile trip to visit Super Duty Service in Grain Valley, Missouri. My truck effortlessly pulled the hills of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and averaged 17.5-18 mpg easily. The only issue I found was that after the use of Arhoil 9100, 1-2 oil changes after, the stiction was back. Keep in mind, the AR9100 helped with cold starts and overall performance while I was using it, but it didn't solve my stiction issue/ (other results may vary)

I won some Hot Shot Secret as part of a raffle and it sat in my garage for a few months until August when I remembered I had it and finally used it. I'm very familiar with Hot Shot secret as I've been using it in my 7.3 Excursion since December 2008, so I figured it was high time for the 6.0 to get treated.

I changed the oil and ran the full 7500 mile interval and as I got to the end of the interval, my 6.0 fired with more authority, took less turns to start, and ran MUCH better than it did when I first got it. There was, however, one other piece to the puzzle: the fuel side.

I've recently found that the use of Power Service Diesel Kleen does NOT clean internal injector deposits as it's more of a lubricator and cetane booster designed to treat mild internal injector deposits. To that end, I recently decided to try some Hot Shot Secret Diesel Extreme fuel additive. Diesel Extremely is a highly potent fuel additive that will clean out the entire fuel system from the tank to the injectors. It's so potent, that it's recommended to be used every 6 months and not every tank.

While the oil side was clean and performing as it should, the issues I had fuel side were hesitation, inconsistent throttle resposne, and the occasional, but subtle miss while drivng. After reaching half tank, my throttle was more consistent, my truck no longer has a miss or any hesitation while driving or otherwise. This is the ONLY fuel additive I've found that effectively cleans the fuel side of the injectors. I've run Powerservice Diesel Kleen, Ford's PM-22 addtive, Stanadyne Performance Injector Cleaner, Stanadyne Performance Formula, and a few others that escape me, but none of them cleaned the internal injector deposits like Diesel Extreme did.

In order for Hot Shot Secret Oil Addtive and Diesel Extreme to work properly, you must drive your truck. Not around town running errands, but on the freeway at 70+ mph. My commute to work is 95 miles roundtrip, so my truck had plenty of freeway time for both additives to work.

You can find both Hot Shot Secret products at Autozone or order them direct as they are an FTE Vendor and Sponsor. You won't be disappointed using the Hot Shot Secret and Diesel Extreme together. Your only regret will be that you didn't do it sooner. I could have saved myself alot of money in fuel if I had done it sooner.

 

like mentioned above, a ficm tune (i went atlas 40) made the most difference for me. since then i've dumped a bottle of archoil in and have pulled all of the injector spool valves and touched them up on some 800 sand paper. not even a shake on cold starts now.

 

I just bought my truck a couple of months ago. The owner told me it used to be real hard to start. They would crank and crank and then it would barely run until warmed up, then everything was fine. The owners dad is a mechanic and came across some guy that was either a Ford tech or just knew a lot about them. He had the truck "re-flashed" and all was good. He said it was unbelievable the difference. That is the only way I have seen the truck start. I have purposely left it un plugged on a few cold nights just to see how it does. It will start after about 2 - 3 seconds, then (if real cold) stumble for just a couple of seconds and then purr right along. I don't have any drivability problems or starting problems, but since I have never heard another 6.0l start, I don't know if mine is running the way it should or not. I am curious if I may have stiction and the flash is covering it up or what. The lowest my FICM has ever been is 45V during cranking, but the battery voltage was low 10's. Usually the lowest it goes is 46.5 then runs 48 to 49 the rest of the time.


Should I use the Hot Shots and Diesel Extreme anyway? Could it cause any problems since "it aint broke"?

 

Thanks for the good review! The Diesel Extreme was developed to handle IDID's (internal diesel injector deposits) which are basically additives that are blended into the diesel fuel coming out of solution. It also tackles fuel stiction on parts like pintle valves and things like that. Stiction is caused whenever you have high pressure and high heat on an oil or diesel fuel. The extreme conditions cause carbons to separate out and attach themselves to metal parts. On the 6.0's for the HP oil system, this buildup happens on the spool valve inside the injector. This causes the valves to stick whenever the engine is cold, as it warms up, oil flows easier, and the stiction weakens allowing the valve to move freely. There are 4 different ways to take care of injector stiction on the oil side.
1. There are FICM tunes that will work to compensate against the stiction. This is "somewhat" effective, but can only help so much.
2. Pulling the injectors and polishing the spools by hand. This is a very effective, but time consuming, and in depth procedure.
3. Using a hyper lube additive (Rev-x and Archoil 9100). A lot of guys see good, fast results from these products. They mainly just lubricate the stiction enough to where it is isn't noticeable. One could argue though, that the positive charge of the additive can have a cleaning property by bonding itself to the negatively charged metal, taking the place of the stiction buildup. That is a little more scientific than what I know.
Lastly....
4. Using the Stiction Eliminator. It is not a super lube like the other two products. What it is is a very strong detergent. It will work through the system and completely dissolve any stiction buildup. This isn't limited to the injectors either, it will clean buildups on cams, lifters, and turbo bearings. After initial use of 2 quarts, someone only needs to use a single quart every 3rd oil change to keep things clean.
That last part may have sounded like a sales pitch, but oh well I hope this write up as a whole gives you a better idea on what stiction is.

 

Make sure the Scangauge is on before turning the key on, and check the FICM when the truck has not been plugged in. That's how I caught my low FICM main power.

I run the Atlas 40. I really can't say if it performs better than stock due to putting in a Powermax turbo the same day. Too many changes to say which did what.