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Ive been looking up some threads here and there in this forum. Im usually on the bumpside forum though. I got this truck off my father in-law last year around September. It had right around 24000 miles on it when I got it. It was used mostly for pulling a 21 foot toy hauler for hunting. He bought it new in 06. I used it last year during hunting season and occasional driving. About the last 4-5 months it is a daily driver now. The truck now has a little over 30000 miles on it. This is the first diesel I have had and driven. The truck is all stock and I have no plans for upgrading or tuning. Ive read it might be time for a transmission service and a coolant flush. On the coolant flush reading material, the majority recommend staying away from the gold coolant. I found the zerex with the cat EC-1 spec for coolant. I would like to stay ahead of anything that will cause more problems for myself if at all possible. I would like to hear about some of the fluid and filter change intervals from others and/or should I just go straight out of the ford maintenance manual. Thank you for the help.
Look into the 2008 transmission pan and filter. It much better at filtering and during the change you will also be putting in some fresh trans fluid.
The 2003~2007 filter is not much more than a screen.
I would like to stay ahead of anything that will cause more problems for myself if at all possible.
Do you have a way to read live PID data and Fuel Pressure??? There are several things most of us like to monitor while driving. Has helped point to issues that need addressed.
Look into the 2008 transmission pan and filter. It much better at filtering and during the change you will also be putting in some fresh trans fluid.
The 2003~2007 filter is not much more than a screen.
Thanks for the heads up on the trans filter. A friend of mine had an 05 that he just got rid of last year that has also been giving me some tips on the ins and outs of the 6.0.
Do you have a way to read live PID data and Fuel Pressure??? There are several things most of us like to monitor while driving. Has helped point to issues that need addressed.
I havent figured out how to link two quotes into one reply yet. This truck has no aftermarket gauges added on for monitoring, only the factory instrument panel gauges. Would those be for checking the fuel filters and when they need to be changed? Is this something that needs to be checked after a certain time or just consistent filter changes. Or most likely both. It is time to take a little break from my 72 f250 I have been restoring and get to some maintenance in the 06. I want to flush the cooling system first and the get to the transmission and fuel system. I am not sure when the fuel system was services last and pretty sure the transmission is still in factory form.
I use an app called Torque Pro for monitoring PIDs, along with a wireless dongle plugged into the OBD2 port. Here is mine:
Elm327 Launchh OBD2 Professional Bluetooth Scan Tool and Code Reader for Android and PC,Interface OBDII OBD2 Car Auto Diagnostic Scanner，Not Support J1850 VPW & J1850 PWM https://a.co/d/fjau2Ao
Monitoring fuel pressure cant be done with that... alot of guys on here Monitor the same stuff i do, tbe same way. $25 my way, or hundreds the other!
I havent figured out how to link two quotes into one reply yet. This truck has no aftermarket gauges added on for monitoring, only the factory instrument panel gauges. Would those be for checking the fuel filters and when they need to be changed? Is this something that needs to be checked after a certain time or just consistent filter changes. Or most likely both. It is time to take a little break from my 72 f250 I have been restoring and get to some maintenance in the 06. I want to flush the cooling system first and the get to the transmission and fuel system. I am not sure when the fuel system was services last and pretty sure the transmission is still in factory form.
In the lower right corner is a box that says "multi quote" You use that on the first one and
any others that you want in a multi quote. Then for the last one you just hit the quote one.
The transmission has two filters. The internal one is not a particularly "fine" filter. The one that really does the work is the external filter. It is located by the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side. It should be changed out every 30k miles (minimum). I do it every 20k miles. I also believe that you should change out the transmission fluid every 30k miles. There is a good flush procedure that you can find with a forum search, or you just do a series of 3-4 drain-and-fills (with enough driving in between to fully mix the system).
I decided to give the drain-and-fill process a test when I bought the truck. I am at 237k miles and all is well.
Fuel pressure is important because injectors can be damaged with low fuel pressure. 45 psig is Ford's specified minimum, but I consider 50 psig absolute minimum. You need to watch the pressure at WOT to get an idea of the minimum. A Ford dealership can simulate WOT in their shop. I am still on my original injectors. I have immediately caught two problems with fuel pressure in that time (one was a failed fuel pump, another was a "flaky" fuel pump relay). Monitoring fuel pressure is important ONLY if you want to avoid premature injector replacement.
Change oil and oil filter at 5k miles and the fuel filters at 10-15k miles. Use only OEM filters from a reliable OEM source to get the best chance at reliability. Make sure you NEVER use a tall aftermarket oil filter cap with an OEM filter. Some say the tall caps are OK if you use the tall filter that came with it, but they aren't as good - period. We have enough issues with our engines....this point does not need to be "pushed" IMO.
As indicated by Theboneskes, there r several options for monitoring, depending on yur budget. ForScan is another low cost mobile app and free software used by some. Others use digital gauge monitors. I use an Edge CTS when driving and ForScan for troubleshootin/background data. I got the Edge a long time ago. Not sure I would replace it, given the available mobile apps now. There are numerous threads here on the different options. Once u figure out which way u want to go, let us know and someone can help u set it up, if needed. Personally, ForScan is easier to use for me, is a great diagnostic tool and I can manipulate the data easier.
I have a home brew of the WOT simulator. You hook this in at the test port and pun a line from the orifice to the tank of a catch can
to chatch what bleeds off when you open the ball valve. The ball valve needs to be a good one that is safe with diesel. All the piping
and the drain hose need to have a low restriction do the diesel can flow without any restriction when your doing the test.
Hook this thing up and put the drain line where you going with the fuel and prime the system. Start truck and idle. Open valve and note pressure.
Thanks for all the tips. I will look deeper into the Elm 327 from the link and the OBDMONSTER ELM327( I think this is the froscan). It showed two manufacturer #s(MS-327 and PRO-001). Looks like I have a lot to do being at 30000 miles. Is any cat ec-1 spec coolant good? Or are there some preferred brands. I found plenty of the zerex brand and many others. My friend also mentioned batteries that are getting low is bad for the injectors as well. And, I would definitely not want to be replacing injectors.
If you use the forum search tool and restrict it to the 6.0L forum you can find a few threads on coolant.
There is a lot of info on this engine on the forum and the search tool is your best friend.
Then you need to open the block drains and remove the lower radiator hose to get all of the remaining fluid in the cooling system out. It hold about 1.5 gallons, so pre-diluted coolant with be diluted more is you used water to flush.
