Folks,
My dad has a 2004 Ford F350 6.0 powerstroke with 240,000 miles. As is with these trucks it's having some issues. Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the 6.0 to help. I'll list what issues he's having and I'm hoping for some input and direction for all you fine knowledgeable folks.

When it's started it starts smoking immediately
Is low on power
Slight dripping from exhaust. Dad says it looks like oil but....
Says it looks like smoke from a fire not steam but he's not sure. Hasn't run it in almost a year out of concern for doing more damage
Doesn't run rough
Doesn't loose coolant

I called a local Diesel shop. The gentleman I talked to said without seeing it's hard to tell which I understand but thought it could be Oil cooler / EGR or possible 1 or more injectors. For the Oil / EGR it would be $2700-3000. Injector would be about $1500.
I've read about bullet proofing these trucks but I wonder what the best options are. We want the truck to be reliable but aren't planning on drag racing it or anything. Just need it to be a reliable work truck.

So my questions are this. From the description what do you all think is wrong?

What things can or should be done to make the truck as reliable as can be?

Thank you all for your time.

 

Verify the vgt connector is plugged in at the turbo
Check for codes
Verify (by collecting it in a jar and examining) what is dripping from the exhaust (it could be diesel, coolant, or oil, but coolant or fuel mixed with soot can resemble oil)
Get an engine scan tool - a phone app and a wi-fi or bluetooth adapter is pretty cheap

 

bismic thanks for the reply I appreciate it. I ordered this scanner to check the codes so hopefully it'll get the info. We'll try to figure out what the fluid is. Is there a difference between a code scanner and engine scan tool? I've been wading into the tech folder and there is a ton of info there just hard to sort and apply what I might need.

 

Some engine scan tools don't read codes very well. ScangaugeII is pretty good at reading engine parameters, but not codes.

Don't forget to look at the vgt connector - cheap and easy if it is loose or chafed

 

Yeah I read about the code readers not being all made the same. But to late it arrived today so hopefully it's better than nothing..... Definitely going to check the connector. Would be sweet if that were it. I've used the SCan Guage II on my other vehicles for a long time. Glad they are useful for this too!

 

Here is a light read on the subject of diag tools I posted awhile back.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...eral-info.html

 

Thanks Rusty I've read through that one a couple of times now. Lots of good info in there. My dad ran the code reader on the truck but there were no stored or pending codes. This code reader may not be able to pull all the ford specific codes which is something I read on the forum I think. Dad took some time to look at it this weekend and said there is not Oil or Coolant loss but there is a little oil coming out of the exhaust. Also had a guy he knows who is "kind of a mechanic"(his words) look at it who said Turbo seals and at least 1 injector. At this point I just need to trailer it from the small town he lives in to the town I live in so I can either work on it or get it to a shop.

 

I know the thread is months old now but just an update. Had the truck towed to a shop and one of the injectors was blown and 2 glow plugs were bad. Replaced all that and the truck runs now. Still has some other quirk. I ended up buying the truck from my dad and got it home this last weekend. When I got home I backed into the driveway at my house which is on a slight incline with the nose of the truck pointing down. Went out the next morning and it ran fine. When I came back home I pulled into the drive with the nose up to troubleshoot a window that wasn't rolling down.(Broken wires x3). About 3 hours later I went to take off and noticed the truck had a sever loss of power and it seemed to be hunting gears of shifting up and down rapidly. Got to where I was going which was flat ground and parked. An hour or so later I took off again and everything ran fine. I've been driving the truck for a couple of days since and have been making sure to park nose down and haven't had the same issue since. I did some reading in the forums that led me to think it could be an HPOP issue. Do any of you have any thoughts? I have Torque Pro and have a log from my drive to work if any of that info can help. Other than that there are is an issue with the vac system (blower stuck on defros I need to track down and the AC isn't working but those are minor in comparison.

 

This symptom can often be the cause of the HPOP shaft seal leaking down overnight. Park nose down, the pump tends to hold the oil better.
It likely ran poorly the other day when the pump when air was introduced into the HPO side, and took a bit of driving to work it out.

I would air test it to confirm. Since this is an 04 you likely have the ICP on the valve cover, so there are dummy plugs and stand pipes that can also go bad over time, but hopefully the shop checked those/or replaced at least the side that they had off for the injector R and R.

 

Number one: change the glow plugs..

 

So the HPO tested out fine. I was figuring on that being the issue. Ended up dragging it to my mechanic and having them look it over. Which ended up being a good thing. Found that the transmission was low due to a leaking pan seal. Also found that the valve covers were loose with bad seals and a few other things. All said and done a couple of days later and a small chunk of money we're all cleaned up and running fine. Thanks for the info navistarnut and mrwrench. Also ended up getting the drivers side glow plugs and harness replaced which I wasn't expecting. So nice call mrwrench. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what the glow plugs would have to do with it. It was a very warm day that day and the truck drove fine before and after the issue presented itself. But none the less they were having issues. Also found out this truck has a deleted EGR. After some discussion with the mechanic it seems that parking uphill probably got some air in the transmission system which probably caused the issue. But I'll be keeping my eye on it. Now onto the tech folder for more research and learning!

 

Just an fyi - A good code reader will generally identify glow plug issues as they are good about throwing codes.

Also, there are quite a few code readers that won't read the TCM. Scangauge is pitiful at codes in general (so are most/all programmers), the Torque Pro App is ok w/ the ECM, but that's about it. ForScan is pretty good at reading all the modules. I would imagine that AutoEnginuity is as well.

 

Thanks bismic. I'm running Torque Pro now. I thought ForScan was a windows only app but I see they have an android one now. I might get that one too! I wasn't getting any codes this time around but as you noted Torque Pro isn't the end all. I'll look into AutoEnginuity. Trying to get some info on OEM oil filter cap etc. Having trouble finding part numbers for that. Also need to get the dip stick. Handle came off. Trying to force myself to go to the dealership but......

 

Oil dipstick 03-05 F Series
3C3Z-6750-AA

Oil Filter Cap, F-Series
3C3Z-6766-CA

 

not necessarily... depending on the build date his ICP could still be under the turbo up pipe connection.. in which case would be a PITA to get to and not likely have stand pipes..