Man am I mad!!! [Edited by kw5413]
Took my 03 350 to have some body work done...replacement of front right fender and passenger door due to my stupidity in a parking lot.
Anyway, the shop manager calls me the day they take it out to check for door seal and says "hey, did you know your truck is running kinda rough and it is shifting hard?" My reply was "that's funny, when I dropped it off it was running the best it ever has." I figured they didn't let it warm up long enough and chalked it up to their lack of experience with diesels.
So, I just picked up the truck...OH MY GOSH!!!...kinda rough is an understatement! While I was on the expressway, I punched it...no power. It down-shifted but it had no power to increase speed. I pulled into the nearest parking lot I could find, and it nearly stalled while waiting at the light, like it was running on 4 cylinders. I shut it down and disconnected the batteries to reset the idle strategy and started it back up. No change. I noticed the turbo doesn't sound like it did when I brought it in, I can hear some whistle, but no where near like I used to, almost sounds muffled.
I got it home and looked around the engine compartment for signs of something not getting plugged back in and all looks ok. If I press the excellerator down the rpms come up but when I get over 3000 it starts blowing smoke, not black, not white, kind of a blueish color which goes away when it returns to idle. The check-engine light is not on.
Anybody got any ideas?

 

EGR valve....

 

The connector fell out many miles ago.

 

Did you get the wire chaffing recall done?

 

Didn't apply to my VIN.

 

I can name that tune (bad EGR) from 2,000 miles away!

 

Maybe this:

2003-05 Various Running Problems, Check Engine Light; New EBP Sensor:
Trucks built before 1-17-05 that exhibit buck/jerk, hesitation, lack of power, stalling, stumble, black smoke, surging, rolling idle, changes in engine sound at idle or when driving at a steady speed, or with the trouble codes P2263 or P0299, may have an exhaust backpressure sensor signal that is incorrect or erratic. A revised EBP sensor is available if this is found to be the case. Part number 4C3Z-9J460-A. Broadcast Message 3815.
Normal EBP signal reading should reflect atmospheric pressure with the key on/ engine off. Typically, this is 14.7 PSI/0.88-0.9 volts at sea level, decreasing one PSI/0.10 volt for every 2000 feet of elevation. It should be within 0.5 PSI of BARO and MAP sensor pressure

Even though your VIN may not have qualified you may want to have them check for wire chaffing:

Wire Chafing Issues:
A variety of driveability issues can arise from chafing/shorting wiring, such as crank/no-start, stall, running rough, misfire, buck/jerk or lack of power. The most common location for this is the valve cover/cover bolts near the FICM or the intake manifold bolts where the harness routes under the air intake hose. The harness should be rerouted and any chafe points insulated with rubber vacuum caps. Other chafe problems can occur where the sensor harnesses route around the valve covers, thermostat housing, idler pulleys, glow plug relay bracket, and near the accelerator pedal assembly (adjustable pedals), and also near the PCM by the battery and near the relay box brackets at the left rear corner of the engine compartment. On Econolines, also inspect at the top edge of the computer, along the oil dipstick tube bracket and auxiliary A/C lines. Broadcast Messages 1407 and 3077.

Wiring Harness Chafing:
Some 03/04 trucks with the 6.0 may exhibit a crank/no start, rough running, misfire, buck/jerk or lack of power. This may be due to the FICM harness chafing on a valve cover stud near the FICM. Other potential locations for chafing are where the harness routes past the EBP sensor, the belt idler on the driver side of the engine, the glow plug control module bracket on the passenger side of the engine, and the accelerator pedal sensor wires at the steering column (adjustable pedals only). Reroute and repair the harness as necessary. Broadcast Message 0918/1374, SSM #17522

This is an old one, but you never know...
ICP Sensor Problems:
This is now covered by Customer Satisfaction Program 03B05. It applies to trucks build through 2-3-03. The program will be in affect until 12-31-05. Ford is authorizing a free oil and filter change under this program until 12-31-03.
Some 6.0 PowerStroke engines may exhibit rough/rolling idle, poor idle return, lack of power, injector fault codes or excessive smoke. This may be caused by the ICP sensor reading incorrectly. The ICP sensor and connector terminals should be inspected for damage (the ICP is at the rear of the engine, under the turbo), and the sensor circuits checked for opens or shorts. With the engine at operating temperature (engne oil above 180 degrees), the ICP sensor signal should be 0.16-0.28 volts (less than 70 PSI) with the key on and engine off. The engine needs to be off for at least two minutes for this test. If the ICP signal is not within this range, replace the sensor with P/N 3C3Z-9F838-EA.

Good luck

 

The EGR has been disconnected for many miles. How can an EGR that has been disconnected, and still is, cause this problem?
Also, I forgot to mention it has run flawlessly since the Oct 03 flash (odometer read about 500 miles) and has 35250 miles on it now. The last flash was done in January of 05.

 

I would be checking every wire bundle anywhere near where they were working. Remember they might have used a grinder and thrown sparks up onto a wire bundle a good distance away. It wouldn’t take much to burn a little hole in some of the insulation. (Real PITA to find).

 

I guessed and (from 2,000 miles away) was wrong- My bad. The good news is that you have about 750 miles to get your engine repaired for free... After that it is $100. I'd guess (again) that a 6.0 Certified Tech should be able to make short work out of trouble shooting the problem. I was given a firsthand demo of Ford's 6.0 diagnostic laptop that plugs into the dash and (through a series of tests) usually isolates whatever is causing the engine to not operate properly. Good luck

BTW You should probably plug in the EGR prior to bringing it to the dealer

 

Thanks for all the input, it's nice to have a place to go where there are other 6.0PSD brethren to bounce problems off of, and in quick time.
I just finished looking over as much as I can reach/see over the past 2 hours and everything looks fine.
When I am driving it, it feels like something is holding it back when it gets to the upper half of the power curve, and runs like crap when it comes back down into the lower part.
When I start it cold it sounds pretty close to normal, but not quite, as you guys know, after you've had one for a while you can just tell when there are subtle changes in performance. Seems to get worse as it gets warmer.
Anyway, I called my local Ford dealer and scheduled fuel filter change after they troubleshoot the problem, needed that anyway. The guy in service spoke like it was no big deal figuring out what's wrong with these things now...wasn't that way 2 years ago.
Thanks again everybody!

 

Keep us posted to see what the dealer finds out and what they do to fix it. Also are you going to get the latest flash?

Good Luck

RubenG

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure the service scheduler said I'll be getting the 06E17 based on my VIN. I'm not worried about that though, I just want to know why it crapped the bed, literally overnight, and am hoping it won't cost me anything to have it fixed; oh yeah, fixed fast, I've already been without it for a week. I'm probably asking WAY too much.

 

Something that came to my mind while reading the description of what happend was the fuel inertia switch may have been tripped when they were doing the body work. It is located in the pass. kick panel area. I have heard that diesels will run with them tripped, but have never verified it myself. It's something you might check.

 

Tell me more, I've never heard of it.