I have a 2004 F350 6.0L dually, and on the way home from town it suddenly started blowing white smoke and after a bit there was a ticking in the engine, so I pulled over and turned it off. Had it towed to my mechanic and he says cylinder 5 is hydrolocked and the injector is blown. So I pony up the money and he puts four new Ford injectors into it for $3000 (This is Canada, $400 per injector, 12 hours labor to R&R). I get the truck back this past Thursday and it blows black smoke like crazy at anything more than half throttle. The mechanic says eh, drive it a bit. So yesterday I take it out for a spin and while climbing a hill it suddenly starts blowing white smoke and ticking. So I pull over and it gets towed in. Today the mechanic calls me and says the computer says cylinder 4 has a problem.

Is it really just coincidence that a driver side injector blows a few days after they replace all four on the passenger side, or is there some common element they could have messed up ? I'm pretty pissed now that I'm looking at another $3K, and I don't get this 12 hours labour, the book seems to say 6 hours is the usual time barring real problems. Ford warranty report say that back at 60K miles the truck blew a couple passenger side injectors, truck has 120K miles on it now.

 

Not good. I don't track the exchange rate any more, but you can buy Ford injectors from White Bear Ford in Minnesota for $180. While the passenger side injectors are a little more work, it still ain't 12 hours. I can do one in about 3-4 hours using hand tools only in my driveway, and with it all open, the other 3 are only a few more minutes; call it 5 hours tops. And, while it's not unusual for techs to recommend replacing are 4 when one goes out, to save on future labor costs, with only 120k miles, those others should have had lots of life left. At that price, almost half of your $3k wasn't needed.


You may have a fuel pump issue. While injectors do wear out, that usually starts around 180k miles, so something is prolly blowing them out. Low fuel pressure is a very common cause, and when it starts going bad, the passenger side injectors usually fail first (farthest from the pump). Did the tech check the fuel pressure? Are you not able to work on the truck yourself? Injector replacement isn't as hard as it looks. Prolly scary for the novice to see open valve covers, but when you just put the cover back on, it all goes away. Don't be intimidated.

I did the exact repair you describe last December - failed #2, hydrolocked - in a motel parking lot on an Eseries (10x harder). Cost less than $330 including a couple of wrenches I had to buy. I'm 64 years old. You can do this. Don't throw another $2700 away on that rip-off tech.

 

Get a code reader and data monitor. Costs less than $50. It would have told you exactly what was wrong and the guys here woulda walked you through it. Or find an honest tech.

 

I don't quite understand why low pressure would pop an injector. I quit working on newer vehicles because I don't know anything about these high pressure fuel lines, how you deal with them, or what special tools you need to work with them. I have no problem working on my 1978 New Yorker because I know when I undo the fuel line from the pump it isn't going to cut a hole in my hand. These diesels are what 300-1000 psi in the rails ? I'm not messing with that.

 

Not your particular diesel - it runs around 50-60psi. It is a HEUI (hydraulically activated electronically controlled unit injector) so the high fuel injection pressure is created by high oil pressure at the injector.

 

Fuel acts as a buffer. When there is no fuel in the injector or the intensifier plunger has no fuel in the chamber, then the plunger can be over-extended. Low fuel pressure can cause the injector top to break off or the plunger spring to be shortened.

 

Of course, there's no pressure at all while the motor isn't running. The only "special" tools required are the Torx bit driver for the injector hold down clamp, a hex head wrench for the oil rail dummy plug, and on the passenger side, a swivel head ratchet wrench sure helps. Maybe $30 altogether. Otherwise, just a set of metric wrenches and sockets. You can borrow the torque wrench from the auto parts.

But, hey, I understand if that's not your idea of fun. Mostly just trying to tell you that tech is hosing you bad by describing how easy it is to replace injectors. It's not oil change easy, but with the help you get here, most amateurs could do it.

And, trying to tell you to get a code reader. It's recklessly foolish to drive one of these without one. And the experts here would tell you to install a fuel pressure gauge, because you can't tell when the fuel pump goes out until your injectors fry otherwise.

Honestly, I'd have a hard time having my truck towed to an unknown shop not knowing what was wrong with it. You might as well take KY with you too. I'd have it towed home instead and get a mobile tech to at least diagnose for you.

 

It's not an unknown shop, been goin there for years with my Chrysler and my Jetta TDI. I'm in a rural area and good VW TDI mechanics are hard to find. Got no complaints about the work on those cars. No, it's this truck, which I bought 18 months ago to pull a 38' toy hauler through the southern states last January. Truck ran fine, we went 12,000 miles with no issue pulling that 14,000lb trailer with my Goldwing in it. Probably have 9 grand into it since that trip. $850 for each rear brake hub with the backing plate for the emergency brake. $900 for a new rad. They tell me the EGR cooler is leaking, $800 for the part another 6 or 7 hundred labour (@$85/hr) to replace it. I've had three $3K bills now in the last 18 months, I'm getting fed up.

I have a pretty good set of tools, including OBD readers, I ordered a couple F-350 service manuals off ebay tonight, I guess I'm going to have to start doing some of my own wrenching; the cost of parts alone for this thing is sending me to the poorhouse. I guess I'll have to look into a fuel pressure gauge. I did some research before I bought this truck and I thought 6.0 with the updates and well maintained was a good truck, but I'm beginning to think I got a dog.

 

A BulletProof EGR cooler is 350 to $400.
https://bulletproofdiesel.com/collections/egr-coolers

Even a BPD radiator is only $500:
https://bulletproofdiesel.com/produc...eries-90201151

Looks like what you paid for parts was quite high.

 

If it wasn't a high-dollar "bullet proof" radiator (you didn't say), it would be a whole lot less. I forget what I paid, but don't think it was over $200 - or maybe that was what I paid online, and after two arriving bent up, I went to Oreillys and bought one. But it wasn't $900. Maybe that price includes the labor and a coolant flush, although still a lot.

You got a cheap hourly rate at $85 - they're over $100 here - but I think he's consistently hosing you on how many hours he's billing. I definitely couldn't afford to pay anyone to work on my trucks. But the guys here have saved me easily more than $10,000.

 

One thing I didn't go back and read until now is that he is in Canada - getting parts there is harder and more expensive, and he may be talking Canadian dollars.

 

The rad alone was $865 after they gave me a 15% discount on it. R&R was on top of that. Yes, I am quoting in Canadian dollars. Stuff is quite a bit more expensive here. A 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is now $8.44, crazy stuff. Anyway, they still have the passenger side injectors, they're suggesting just swapping the bad #4 with one of the good used ones from the passenger set. I might just do that, take a chance on it. I asked around, and was told only to use Ford or Alliant injectors, avoid any other brands.