Yeah, I know it's August and I'm asking about a hard start issue in cold weather. I will try to keep this brief, but I want to share info for the helpful guru's here. I will apologize in advance for the length of the post.
I have a 2003 6.0 with 100,000 miles and change. I am the third owner. I have all maintenance records from the two previous owners. The first owner used it with a slide in camper, and the second used it to pull a light bumper pull camper with a bed cover. The truck has been pampered it's entire life. It was never used for work or as a daily driver until I bought it. It had 75,000 on it when it was purchased about 4 years ago. The bed looked new when I bought it. Literally not a scratch. It is 100% stock. It has been garaged it's entire life. I bought it thinking that I would purchase a fifth wheel during retirement, but I have shifted that idea towards a smaller, lighter bumper pull that I could I could easily pull with a half ton truck. Essentially, I want to keep the bed of my truck free. I could sell it and buy a half ton, but I love the truck. The heaviest load I pull is a cord and a half of wood from Colorado back to SW Kansas several times a winter and this truck is a stud. I will not own an under powered vehicle.
I am not a mechanic by any means, but I recently retired and have a little time to learn simple tricks! I have no scanners, never have the right tool, and am not skilled mechanically. Some here will say that I shouldn't own a diesel if I can't do my own work.
Other than replacing batteries, having ball joints replaced, and having an oil leak fixed on the firewall side of the engine I have had no issues. Oil is changed every 5k or yearly, whichever comes first.
My question. The last few winters, I have had to plug the block heater in to get it started, even in the shop which I keep around 40 in the cold of the winter. My guess is glow plugs, which seems like a fairly straight forward fix. You can learn a lot from YouTube! When it is plugged in, it starts up immediately. If it is not plugged in, I will need to "cycle" it through two or three times, it will crank for 10 seconds, and usually start. it blows white smoke on start up that immediately goes away. I am assuming that it is unburned fuel.
Does my diagnosis sound correct?
Also, although I don't plan on "bullit proofing" the truck, what fairly routine work should I consider having done to the truck to give it a trouble free life?
Thanks in advance.

 

Could be glow plugs, but also could be injector stiction.

What oil are you using?

 

Rotella T6 15w40

 

The very first thing should be to get an OBD2 adaptor and monitor for your cell phone so that you can read data and codes. What cell phone do you own?

 

As above. Need to get something to monitor the sensor outputs. Hard starting could be glow plugs or FICM or injectors or a combo
It gets expensive guessing without the correct diagnostic tools.

 

That oil is not the best to use in Kansas winters. In fact, Ford has stated that it isn't recommended below 20 *F, but I wouldn't want to use it below 30*F.

You might want to try some Archoil 9100 in the oil, and switching to a good 5W40 oil wouldn't hurt your wallet very badly with one oil change a year.

 

This is what I’d do (and already do) in my cold Upstate NY climate. T6 5w40 and Archoil 9100. I also use OptiLube XPD in the fuel.

 

I have a Samsung S21. Android.

 

I will go to a 5w40 oil. I use Howe's Diesel Treat as an additive, mostly in the winter. It was recommended to me.

 

Howe's Diesel Treat is a fuel additive. For stiction, I am talking about an "oil additive"....... I just don't see your issue being on the fuel side.

 

I also agree with going to 5w40. With Android you want either want Torque Pro or Forscan Lite, and a Bluetooth OBD adapter. I have a BAFX adapter and it works well with both, plus the full version of Forscan on my laptop.

 

I've never used a scanner. I haven't ordered one yet. Is there a retail store that I could buy from and get a little tutoring on it? Parts store? Just a question.
Or, is it so simple that it's idiot proof?

 

I know a lot of people have replied but it honestly sounds like a injector stiction problem. Just do a oil change with Rotella T6. Get some Archoil Ar6200 in the fuel. And Ar9100 in the oil. Theres a video on Youtube I can link for you.
Its a 7.3 but that should help

 

You don’t need a scanner, you need an app for your cellphone and an adaptor for the port. You can do that for under $40.

Going back and reading what you originally wrote, if you are not mechanical and have to outsource labor, this motor can be tough financially. Especially if you have a poor choice of mechanics. They can part swap you to ruin.

 

Please, not a PowerstrokeHelp video.