I recently purchased a 2011 F350 chassis cab with no bed installed. Have a few questions regarding the exhaust system.

A little history first. When I inspected and drove it noticed some black smoke when under hard acceleration, nothing major though. Other that that the truck drove great. Have not got the truck home yet, a friend is going to pick it up and deliver it in a few days. Based on the visible smoke I was suspicious of the exhaust system but I have no knowledge of what the system is suppose to look like. My experience with diesels and for that matter gas engines is mostly from the days of mechanical fuel injected diesels (70's era farm tractors mostly) and carberated gas engines. My friend stopped by a local Ford dealer and crawled around under a new 2015 Chassis cab to look and compare to this 2011. It appears that the SCR and DPF are not installed on this truck. Where they would normally be is a section of pipe with a section about 2 feet long that is 6 or 8 inches in diameter. Looking at some threads on this site I'm guessing this is a muffler that has been added since the truck is not loud. There is no DEF tank and all the wiring for sensors that would be attached to the exhaust system appear to be tied off to the frame and not connected to anything. The dealer didn't know the history beyond he purchased it on an auto auction and he installed a new rear end in it. Car Fax shows nothing of concern.

My question is should I now be concerned since have determined much of the exhaust system has been removed? I've read some threads and it appears that the only way this can be done and have the engine run well without any codes etc is if the removal is done with some sort of tune. Is there any way to determine who has done the tune? Will it be an issue when take to a Ford dealer for service?

I know if wanted to put the system back to stock would be large dollars, as long as the system runs well and is reliable I will be happy. The anticipated use of the truck will be to pull gooseneck trailer and will probably not see more than 1000 miles a year towing and 5 to 10k total in a year. I drive with a very light foot seldom ever pressing any vehicle to its limits. If still have the truck in 10 years when retire or at least cut back on my work then it may see more miles.

 

I'm sure it's been deleted from your description. The only problem you might run into is if you have to have an inspection. It will fail that.

Bill

 

You have a few options. To start off, if a tuner cannot be found on or with the truck, it is next to impossible to find out what tunes are on it. If you need to pass any inspections, the rest of this post is worthless.

Did this truck start life as a C&C or a pickup? Tuning options can change based on this answer.

The cheapest option would be to purchase an off-road tuner, go have the dealer re-flash the truck to stock and tune it before you start it to drive away. At least you will know what tunes are on it and what it will do. This will give added peace of mind and some options should the truck need work down the road.

The most expensive option would be to purchase all the parts and have the dealer return it to stock. Some peace of mind here too and some or all of these parts could be found used.

Another option might be to either return the truck or sell it and get one that does not have these unknowns.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm fortunate in that have no inspection requirements to have to worry about. The truck did start its life as a chassis cab, since these are not as common I would assume there are fewer tuner options. Any recommendations for tuner manufacturers?

To show my ignorance, would a tuner be permanently attached to the truck? If so where would you look for it. I've seen people with what looked to me to be a tuner but it included a dash mounted display the driver could use to select power levels. Have always pictured tuning as something one might do by connecting a laptop to a port somewhere on the truck to reprogram the computer.

 

PM sent Sir

 

I for one would not be buying this truck without more info on what was done.


Also warranty issues will arise.


the dealer should not be selling this truck as is.

 

My thoughts on all three points as well.

 

Well, the have already purchased the truck so not purchasing is out the window. It is well out of warranty so that is not much of an issue either. I appreciate the thoughts and feedback. Most likely as long as it runs ok will just let sleeping dogs lie. If have problems then will need to go down the road of either re-flashing for all the deletes that have been done or obtaining parts to put is back to stock. If it were not for the missing DEF tank most likely I would have never noticed the deletes anyway.

Thanks again, this site always has good info and good advice.

 

You will need to purchase some gauges to monitor your vitals.


Hard to say but I'd imagine all the safeties are not gone too. EGT's is a big one.

 

I really don't want to post this but I have a strange sense of duty here, I kind of feel obliged though I'm not sure I agree with my comment.....

Whoever sold you this truck has committed felony, I think. You do have options if this vehicle seems that it won't serve you well. I hope you got a GREAT deal on it and I hope it's stable enough to earn you some income, just make sure you're okay legally in your area. If you're ever inspected or required to be inspected for commercial use you could have problems.