I bought a 2015 F-350 sight unseen with the damage listed as "mechanical" which could be anything. Great idea, I know.

I've already looked it over and the body and frame are in great shape as expected. Looking over the engine bay I've noticed a few things not quite right - firstly it was missing the PCM, both batteries, and some hoses are not clipped in properly. So already I am thinking someone has been in the engine and slapped everything back together hastily, as if they found something bad and decided to unload the truck.

So question to you all- where would you start looking to see what shape the engine is in?

I drained the oil and it looked mostly normal. No chunks or metallic bits I could find, and the quantity seemed about right. I did take a sample to send off to Blackstone for analysis.

I'm tempted to just start digging into it, pulling parts off until I find some smoking gun, but I am wondering if there might be some 'usual suspects' type things to look at first, so I have a target to aim at. My first diesel, first super duty, but I've been wrenching for a while so I'm not afraid of pulling it apart.

 

Stick a magnet in the end of the fuel rail. If it has filings you have a blown cp4 .

 

^^

More than likely the fuel system has been compromised and the PO didn't want to pay the price. Pull the regulator off the CP4 and check for metal, if you see some, you know what the damage is. If you have the mechanical skills and tools you can tackle it yourself and save a few grand.

 

Most certainly sounds like a failed CP4 pump, a $10,000 repair, for most people.

DIY will be cheaper, but a lot of work.

 

Odd that the PCM is missing.

 

My thought as well, makes me suspect electrical issues.

 

Good advice on the fuel system, that's what I was thinking too. Is one side easier to access than the other? I flipped through the service manual but didn't see any obvious procedures on how to get to the fuel rails nor did I see any exploded views to see which side has a plug or sensor or anything.

I was a bit confused by the missing PCM too. I wondered if the truck sat in a junkyard for a while before getting auctioned, or if it was at a shop that decided to borrow some parts. Who knows.

In other news, I dropped the lower oil pan last night because the drain plug threads are chowdered, and I think I may have found bearing material floating around in there . I'm going to take the old oil filter apart and see if I can see anything in there.

I'll add some pics when I get home later. The truck looks amazing but yeah it's starting to feel like the repair's going to get expensive, heh. My wallet is getting scared.

 

If the PCM is gone, is the DPF gone too?

 

I think we would benefit from some detailed pictures of the engine bay.

Also the underside and inside the cab.

I would almost bet fuel system problems, a tuned truck and wanted the pcm for the tune.

 

Alright some updates are in order.

I did find some metal chunks in the oil pan- pic below. Bummer, but not terribly surprised. I took the oil filter apart and didn't really find anything, its black but no chunks or glitter I could see.




Here's some more pics of the truck overall. Let me know what you see

 

Yup, DPF and SCR gone. EGR stil in place but they probably had it disabled. I sincerely hope you didn't pay much for it and that you can get it running for a reasonable amount of money.

 

Out of curiosity, what did you pay for the truck?

 

I paid about 10k for it, that includes auction fees and everything. Shipping was extra. I planned on spending a good bit more because I expected issues.

I'm currently looking at getting a parts truck, like a roll-over or something with running engine but smashed up body.

 

Yep, metal like that in the pan means that engine is toasted. Probably run hard and put away hot. As long as the rest of the truck is solid, no rust, and mechanically sound, it would be worth rebuilding the engine. Pull the flow control valve off the CP4 and check for debris, if it's clean you can probably get away with a long block and swapping out the fuel system and manifolds.

 

I see a body and drive train parts that look ok. Top of the motor, not too bad, but wiring will need to be fixed. Battery cables are the big ticket it I an see.

Drop another motor in it. That one is toast.

With the emissions gone, the tune it has if any is unknown and not to be trusted. So a PCM and the associated DPF/SCR and probably DEF tank and nozzles.

there is alot of work ahead on this one.