Hey fte!

so I have this awesome truck, 06 f350 6.0psd. No issues ever with it, currently at 65k. I know that there’s things that can be done to it, and I know there’s things that must be done to it. I’m just not sure which is which?

As you you can see from the mileage it’s not a daily driver, and to be honest it’s really been babied. I had a cab over camper on it twice and other then that it’s only been vacation driven here and there without towing.

I do plan on purchasing a smaller travel trailer down the road so I can expect some towing (5000lbs ish)

I do generally prescribe to the theory of its not broke don’t fix it but I don’t want to cause major damage to my baby either. Soooo what should I be doing at this point aside from regular maintenance based on how I’m using this truck? Your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

The first thing is always gauges IMO. Include in that a fuel pressure sensor and gauge.

Then you can head off problems by changing the OEM EGR cooler to one from BulletProofDiesel.

Also, if you haven't had the STC fitting upgraded, then you should do it ...... that along with installing the updated dummy plugs and standpipes.

Lastly, changing to an EC1 rated ELC coolant.

With all that and good maintenance practices (5k mile oil changes, 10k mile fuel filter changes, 30 k transmission fluid/filter changes) and you should be good to go.
Be sure to use OEM filters. A good synthetic oil is always a good choice - again IMO.

 

Of course if you don't have a lot of spare cash, and you aren't an upgrade nut like most of us here, you could just add the gauges and enjoy it!

I would probably still advise you to switch coolant though - or do flushes on the Ford Gold every 45k miles.

 

To add, learn & know what what the readings mean and know what to look out for on those readings. For instance Fuel gauge. Normal idle you want to see a steady reading 60-70 in most cases. If at wide open throttle pulling your new 8k camper you see the pressure drop to anything below 45 you know there is a problem and you need to baby it to stay above the 45 until you can diagnose it.
Oil temp, coolant temp, EGT (especially if tuned), ICP, ICP volts, IPR%, along with many others all at some point can be clues to a problem before it becomes a major problem on the side of the road.

 

2 of my biggest concerns are the oil cooler and egr cooler. Looked at bulletproof for there fixes and about died lol. Is the oem cooler really that bad in these or would I be ok with the smaller kits that relocate the filter?

 

Oh also any recommendations on the gauges? I’ve seen lots of ppl mention a tuner/monitor, is that what your talking about or do you mean like needle type gauges

 

Gauges will tell you the condition of the oil cooler. ECT (engine coolant temp) and EOT (engine oil temp) deltas above 15 degrees tell you there is a problem.

You can delete the EGR for a lot cheaper than buying the BPD cooler. Find a shop that will weld the ends of the cooler shut and put it back in. Cost me $100.

Any type of gauges will work. Depends on budget and technical proficiency. Many options available that will plug into the OBDII adapter and display multiple parameters. I'm pretty happy with my $300 Edge Evolution, though it doesn't have the ability to monitor fuel pressure.

 

The coolant is the main reason for the oil cooler issues. Get the correct coolant in there and you ABSOLUTELY don't need to worry about the OEM oil cooler (as long as the Ford Gold coolant has not already begun to cause issues). A BPD oil cooler system is nice, but again - do not feel like you MUST have it! The EGR cooler on the other hand needs to be addressed. If your oil cooler isn't plugged (or in the process of plugging), then you are probably fine for many more miles. That said, the potential consequences of an EGR cooler failure are pretty big (failed head gaskets) ........ so for reliability you need to go BPD or delete it. I prefer the BPD cooler route.

Get the gauges and watch the oil and coolant temps. Get the engine FULLY warmed up (takes 15-20 minutes minimum) and watch the temperatures. A healthy system will be one in which the oil is no more than 8-10 degrees hotter than the coolant. The "action limit" is 15 degrees when driving at highway speeds. That will tell you if all is well with the oil cooler.

As stated above - this is your first priority. The Edge Evolution is nice for a gauge system. Where you are at right now though, I would recommend you just download ForScan Lite to your smartphone and buy an ELM327 OBDII adapter (bluetooth for Android and WiFi for i-phone). It is less than a $50 investment. It is nice to have gauges you can look at in an instant, but you really only need something you can look at periodically.

Just curious - is your truck a Crew Cab, does it have 4x4? What options (ie Lariat, King Ranch, etc) and what color is it?

 

Agree with bismc...don't have to worry about the coolers if you use proper coolant and flush early.

I already knew about the engine block casting flash and gold coolant issues when I bought my '06 with 4,800 miles. So I immediately flushed the cooling system at 5k miles...no cooler issues to date at 180k miles.

 

Lariat fx4 4x4, crew cab long bed....she’s a big girl

 

Hmmmm. Maybe I need to be tryin' to get you to sell that thing!

 

Should I take you off my list?! Mine is at 28.5K miles right now - down visiting Mom with it and then back home to load the camper on and ready for a high sierra horse camp trip. My trip down was in low 90s outside temps deltas at 70mph on flat land was 4-8 degrees...

OP: read what I've done in my sig line, most of which has been mentioned; but I got Torque up and running before most of it was started or even planned for - the early on "Ford oil cooler test" was extremely difficult to get repeatable results but I thought my oil cooler was starting to plug based on numerous tries at that test - once I was going in for that I made up a list of other stuff (STC fitting, etc.) and did it all at once. Most of the big work I had done at a shop and lots of little stuff I did myself (bluespring, coolant filter, trans pan/filter, cabling, etc.) Cost was about $3K with me sourcing all the parts.

I run Torque Pro on an Android phone ($4.95) with a $12 Blue tooth OBDII adapter...

Scott

 

Lol .... I have almost given up on ya Scott! Dan will always be my first choice though!!!

 

He'll probably be just about broken in by the time he comes your way! Still can't justify changing platforms and he's a perfect match for the slide-in we have and about 7K behind...

This is blasphemy what I'm about to say (besides thread drifting), but I'm going to test drive the new 7.3 gasser when it comes out...

There, I said it -- you guys can shoot me now!

 

To be honest with you Scott, I think you would have to be crazy to give up your truck. You have done ALL the right things, the OP would be wise to model what you have done. That said, I understand how nice it is to have a new vehicle!