Basically this story end in I am screw and stuck with the total bill. Back in Feb I complained of a whistle noise while under warranty, Dealer said it was normal. Fast forward to September and truck would not run right. Turned out to be the FICM, then 2 weeks later similar issue. Fuel pump was not putting out enough fuel so it had to be replaced. Between these 2 repairs my whistle started pushing coolant out. I complained to Ford about the FICM module since I was not even 3 months out of warranty and not over mileage. The cost was $1100 to replace it and I thought this was ridiculous to go bad so soon. The first and second dealer could not find the whistling problem so I took it to a third dealer. They found a clogged oil cooler and blown HG. I again contacted Ford since I originally reported the issue in Feb but they said it is not their fault. All dealers are independently owned and it is the dealers problem. The 2nd dealers prices were astronomically high and I argued with them about this, another reason I left there. I received a check from them in the mail with no explanation of why it was sent. Turns out it was Ford assistance, less than $300 for a $1100 repair. Now they are also stating nothing can be done for any assistance for 60 days. Here I am now left with the full bill to get my truck fixed for their poor design. I know there are others that had a harder time with their trucks than I but this has been the worst one I have ever owned. It has more trips to the garaged than all my vehicles combined. I have taken this fight as far as I could including contacting the regional manager and he has not responded at all so I can only assume this means no assistance. I also can't get anyone to install the ARP studs so I have to go back to Ford's junk. I don't know what the answer is but I will think very hard about ever buying a Ford truck again. I still love the truck so it is not worth trading it in especially since it is almost paid off. Unfortunately this might be turning into a love/hate relationship.

 

First off, let me say that sucks!

That said, if Ford refuses to do anything to honor the warranty, then I would suggest going elsewhere. If you gotta pay anyway, might as well get it done right. Find a local diesel shop, get the ARP's done, maybe the EGR delete. I know, easier said than done, costs a lot of money. But I bet if you spend the money now and get things done right, you'll get a lot more years of reliable service and can go back to loving your truck. Good luck.

P.S. Didn't notice your location, but if you post it up, somebody could probably suggest a good shop nearby.

 

Same boat brother. Same boat. I have had no luck with return phone calls from anyone
at Ford either. I am about to go pick my truck up and take it back to the dealer who
performed all of my oil changes, maintenance and the EGR coolant leak repair. Maybe
I will have some better luck there.

 

Castrol,
That is what Ford customer service told me to do. Take it back to the dealer I originally took it to in Feb when this problem started while under warranty. There are 2 problems with that; 1. They are going to go off of what they originally stated as it being normal and 2. It is now 5 hours from where I currently live as I had to move due to job loss. It is a no win situation for me.

 

Jayme, sorry to hear about your troubles. Sounds like you just had a string of bad diesel mechanics. Some dealers only have 1 or 2 guys certified for diesel work and if they aren't doing it everyday they just don't know how to fix these vehicles right the first time. Any good Ford diesel mechanic would have known that the 2004 model year was the worst year for head gaskets. Just about everyone of those trucks of that year will need headgaskets at some point. Also, when the economy tanked Ford pulled some of their customer assistance from the dealers. Ford dealers used to have a lot more money(assistance) to play with. Now, they get a certain amount for a 3 month period and no more. Its up to the dealer to decide who they are going to help with the money.

Long story short, it is unfortunate that a series of bad dealerships caused you to lose faith in your truck. The 6.0 does have issues but in a competent diesel mechanics hands, those problems can be fixed for good.