Hello fellow enthusiasts, I am new to this site and I am sharing my experience with my truck. I have a 2003 F250, 4x4, lariat with 13 K miles , long bed with the early 6.0 diesel. I first started noticing problems with lack of power about 5 k miles on the engine. Dealer suposedly fixed problem but I had to take it back a couple more times. While reading one of these websites, I read something about the common problem of oil leaking from rear engine oil seal from these engines, so I checked mine and sure enough mine was leaking. The site also said that the real problem was not the oil seal but the crankshaft the was out of round and was causing the oil seal to leak. Anyway, i took it to the dealer and they dropped the tranny and replaced the seal. I eventually took my truck back to the dealership a total of about five times for related problems (lack of power, engine noise, etc...) The last time I took it in for an engine surge at 3200 R.P.M's. The dealer kept my truck for over two weeks and changed numerous parts, but eventually told me that they could not figure out what was making it surge. I then took the truck back to the dealer where I initially bought the truck and after 1 week the mechanic finally diagnosed my trucK with a BAD CRANK. THEY HAD TO REPLACE MY ENTIRE ENGINE WITH A 2004 ENGINE. The dealer initially tried to convince me that the truck would be fine with the new engine, but I consulted with an attorney who said that I had a lemon based on the number of times I had attempted to have it fixed. He was eager to take may case. After hearing this, Ford has decided to replace my truck. Don't get me wrong, I love my truck and wouldn't buy anything else. That's why I just want it replaced and not my money refunded. These trucks are awesome when they are running properly. Ford is supposed to call me next week to start the process for the replacement.

 

The best of luck to ya'

 

Code three, in the future, develop a good relationship with the service manager. With the number of problems you say you had, you should never have gone to an attorney. It makes me wonder about the dealer telling you that they would put an 04 engine in an 03 truck. There are many differences between the two. So much so that it would be a lot of extra work to do that.

What is your VIN# so I can see if I can get it run and see what they claim under warranty.

 

"The site also said that the real problem was not the oil seal but the crankshaft the was out of round and was causing the oil seal to leak."


Is this true ?????

Have I been under a rock... this is the first I've heard of that reason ????

I question this.....

 

No, there really was an issue with that one some of the early engines (not a lot though.) Unfortunately, there were about a dozen different reasons you could end up with oil at the same low point on the crankcase, and with the engine being so new and no techs knowing much about it, there were all kinds of unecessary fixes being performed, rumors going around about what the problems were, etc.

Mine had a slow steady seep there, but I never had Ford do anything about it, because as slow as it was spreading, the cure was sure to be worse than the disease. After a few thousand miles it stopped and never came back. So mine must have been due to reason #3 (assembly lube coming off of the torque converter.)

Sounds like this guy will be happy with his new truck though. It's nice when Ford steps up to the plate like they're supposed to.

Duncan

 

There was a report a few months back of some crank journals not being finished correctly. There was a specific number coming out of a specific plant.

Part of the rear main seal repair procedure is to measure the endplay on the crank.

Also when Ford assembled these things they used plenty of assembly lube. On almost all 6.0s with the Torqushift tranny there is a thick oil looking stain that looks as if it is an oil drip. It is assembly lube. The only way to tell if your rear main is leaking is there will be a puddle on the ground and then they need to put dye in the oil. You come back about a week later and they look at it with a black light to see where it is coming from.

Code Three, there are people who will come to these sites and post horror stories. They do that because of a variety of reasons. They usually have a subject line of the 6.0 being a bad engine. Don't believe these stories until you dig into it a little.

 

Congrats on the new truck and I hope it works out well for you. I'm not sure why some think you need a better relationship with your service mgr, though. It sounds like you worked hard to get the problems resolved and you had to resort to using an atty to get ford to do the right thing. This is not an atypical scenario at all. I'm glad for you that you didn't have to go to the next steps.

 

Jeb, you can get some conclusions out of a post that I just don't get. Where did he write that he hired the attorney? He went back to the dealer 5 times. Does that equate to "working hard"? There is no mention of the service manager. Working with the service manager and general manager to resolve problems is the prescribed method. He just writes "dealer". "This is not an atypical scenario at all." So this is a typical scenario for problem solving? Where are the numbers to back this up.

 

Code three, I had my truck replaced also.
Here are a few things I requested and did not have any problems getting.
Free loaner while waiting if truck was out of service.
Waved milage cost for old truck.
Ext Service Plan on new truck.
I got into my new truck without spending one extra dime.
Good Luck Sonic PS : I ordered new truck only took a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks for everyones response, I think this site is an excellent way of discovering issues with our trucks (both good and bad). Let me just say that I have not hired the attorney yet and will only do so if I have a problem with the dealer replacing my truck. Ford did provide me with a rental for a couple of weeks and I just picked up my truck with the new 04 engine replacement. The manager told me that I could drive my truck temporarily until next week when the paperwork is done for the replacement. I initially met with some resistance from the dealership, but the seervice manager and director seem to be willing to work with me. Anyone with the early 03 engine must look for these oil leaks as a possible of a bad crank (too much end play in the crank is the cause). The surging of the engine is what finally gave it away. Most techs can not properly diagnose the problem so be aware.

 

Vin # 1FTNW21PX3EC14643. Let me know what you find. Thanks