I bought my first diesel, 2008 F350. I am wondering what exactly you have to do for maintenance. I was told 7,000 miles for oil change/filter. I have read about a water filter? drainage, fuel filter? What other things do you have to do/check/replace and when. I know on a gas burner 3 months/3000 miles oil change with filter and lube and check air cleaner. But diesels are a different animal. Really dont need one( dont haul anything) just have always wanted one. Do you guys use ford parts from stealership or is there a better place?

 

The owners manual will list service intervals. I change oil/filter every 5K, fuel filters every 10K, transmission fluid and filters every 30K, air filter every 30K. Personally we use Wix filters in all our diesels but I know many think motorcraft is the only way to go.

 

here is what I do and recommend to everyone.
Oil changes at 5K, regardless of duty cycle. Use only motorcraft filters. This is important as they are the correct size for the oil bypass springs. Make sure the oil you use is CJ4 oil for diesels.

Fuel filters should be changed at 10K intervals. Fuel/water separator (located under the drivers door) should be drained monthly. Do not use anything over B5 with this motor and I suggest not even that. No energy and will make your truck go thru a cleaning cycle more.

Air filter has a AF minder on the box so all you need to do is look at it.

Coolant: Check nitrates every 20K miles. Test strips can be had at NAPA or Ford.

Watch your fluids weekly and more often when towing. Never let your coolant get below the lower hose as then it will suck air. go to Napa or Ford and get a bottle of Gold coolant with the Ford spec # on the bottle. Keep in truck.

Extra set of fuel filters to keep in truck is a good idea too.

You should have the owners manual with diesel supplement. Read it.

 

What is B5?

 

B5 stands for 5% bio-diesel. The max you are allowed to burn on this motor.

Two things to look for when fueling, the label that indicated ULSD for 2007 and newer diesels and if there is any bio content. Usually a label with a B followed by a number.

Also get your fuel at high volume places to ensure better quaility.

 

What they said plus a good diesel supplement. Diesel Kleen seems to work for me but there are several others including one from Ford. I use it every tank and I believe it's working. My truck runs great.

 

Good advice already posted above.

When I got my first diesel; a 95 K2500 6.5 Chevy; I was advised to carry spare fuel filter as you never know when you might buy bad fuel. I ignored that suggestion and after limited power across three states I finally found a dealership parts open on a Saturday to buy a filter! They were dealer only items at that time for that model. I figured with new truck; why bother

I bought the bad fuel at a Mobil station in California; bought the filter in New Mexico. Truck ran, but would miss at hard or full throttle.

Also good idea to have changed the filters before you might ever get in the position of having to change them on the road too. Carry the right socket and wrench along with the spare filters.

I have been draining for water since 95 and never have found any until last month. You don't want to let it go as Ford can deny warranty if there is corrosion damage internal to the fuel system downstream of the water separator as it will be an indication of lack of maintenance. Ford also marks the original factory fuel filters and a technician can tell if the original filters have never been changed.

If you ever have to add coolant; be sure to only use the Ford specified coolant; don't use anything else. Don't mix with tap water, only use deionized water or distilled water.

You can look at your owner's manuals at motorcraftservice.com; save the pdf files, etc. Lot easier if you want to use search function for something specific rather than thumbing through.

Or checkout fordowner.com for the manuals, tracking your maintenance and service history, offers, etc.

One last point; as was suggested regarding use of a diesel fuel additive; a good reason is that it helps reduce soot and promote longer maintenance free operation of your EGR valve system. It can insure that the fuel has adequate lubricity which the ULSD process can remove but the distribution channels are suppose to correct. Third, it can improve the fuel mileage slightly. I use same for the first two reasons.

Hope your truck does all you hope for and welcome to the diesel ownership.

Bob

 

Thanks for all the info everybody. There is a lot more to maintenance on a diesel than I thought. I am sure the cost will be more than I thought also.

 

It really isn't that bad. We are just making it seem that way. If you are a do it yourselfer, there really isn't that much added cost.

Rather it is being diligent.

 

I know exactly how you feel. I bought this truck with the impression that diesel engines last longer (300k+ miles) with less frequent oil changes. Sure, the fuel costs a little more but they also get better mileage than gassers. I wanted it for towing a camper a couple times a month, but also for my dailer driver. My last truck was a Ram 1500 that was a great truck, all regular maintenace performed and never had a mechanical issue. Never once thought about buying an extended warranty or doing any maintenance beyond what was recommended in the manual, all of which I performed myself. However this truck didn't have all the guts that it needed to pull the camper I bought a few months ago, so I looked into the diesels and liked the Fords, but I should've spent more time looking.

Somehow Ford has found a way to negate the benefits of diesel in each category with this truck. Seems like if you own one you should plan on at least one radiator failure, constanst regen issues, or likely fuel or EGR problems.

Its recommended to change your oil as frequently as a gas engine because the motor keeps dumping fuel into the oil and diluting it. You'll get no better gas mileage than a gasser either by the way, and if you don't spend at least $1000 per year in maintenance costs, much of which is required to be performed by a Ford dealer, there's a good chance that your warranty will be negated by Ford. Oh and by the way, this is the first vehicle that I've ever owned in which everyone recommends buying an extended warranty because the cost of repairs for the most common problems are so high, and the inevitable need for a repair so certain.

I did my research before buying this truck, but I wrote a lot of the comments off as people just being cautious. But I'm starting to realize that these trucks have a lot of problems, and require A LOT of care and feeding to keep them running. I can't help but to feel now that buying this truck was a mistake. Thankfully I bought it used at a good price, so within a year or so I'll have enough equity back in it to be able to trade it in on something else, but I'm certain it won't be a Ford Superduty.

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, I know there are some very loyal Ford owners on this forum. I'm sure I share the blame for not understanding more about maintaining a diesel before I bought it. But I would point out that Ford (or any of the other manufacturers for that matter) isn't going to be gaining any new Superduty customers unless they are able to better engineer their trucks in the future. Simply put, the truck is supposed to work for its owner, not the other way around. It just shouldn't be this much work or expense to maintain a vehicle.

My advice is that unless you have a very specific and significant need for the diesel capabilities, such as towing or plowing, or if you use your vehicle as part of your business and can categorize your maintenance costs as a business expense, you are better off if you go with a gasser. Your overall maintenance costs will be less, and you won't be gaining any fuel mileage with these diesels anyway. I would definitely suggest spending time on some of the forums for trucks of other manufacturers as well to get a sense of what the owners of each are saying.

 

Well I hate to admit it but a couple reasons for buying truck was less frequent oil changes and fuel mileage. I do also like the sound of a diesel and the ability to pull whatever I want to plus everything is more heavy duty for lift and large tires. I am still considering Spartan for mpg. I have not made up my mind if it is worth the hassle yet. Seems not worth it if you don't delete DPF but then you have to put DPF back on when taking back to dealer for any work. And that seems like it could be a pain. Although not sure of actual time involved to take pipe on and off.

 

For me, consider this:
40K miles =8 oil changes at a cost of around 50 bucks is $400.00.
If it were a gasser I change at 3K interval=13 oil changes for about $260.00

Fuel filters at 10K would mean 3 of those so far at I think $54.00 bucks or $162.00.

that is really about it besides fuel. So $302 bucks in additional expenses in the two years I have owned it.

I will add this as well. It gets better mpg's then my 06 with the 5.4.

I also got it because I needed it for towing.

 

I initially considered the DPF delete and module as a way to bypass this whole regen nonsense. My daily commute is about 8 miles each way, so I'm a little concerned about what people are saying about short drives in these trucks causing the engine to "make oil" (which is a ridiculous thing to have to worry about by the way). But from what I've read in the owner's manual and on this forum I'm not going to touch anything on this truck to change it from stock. My assumption is that Ford is losing their short on warranty expenses from these trucks, therefore they are going to use every opportunity available to deny warranty claims.

Also, the owner's manual states that the computer recognizes if a programmer was ever installed but removed. So even if you swap your DPF back and remove the programmer Ford could still deny your claim. It's not worth the risk to me. I can't afford a $15k motor swap and would rather not have to be in that position. I will stick to the letter for maintenance for as long as I have it, cover myself with an extended warranty, and move on when the time is right.

 

I have not read or heard about this "making oil". What is this and how do you fix it.

 

Others know more about it than I, but from what I understand the way the regen cycle works is to dump fuel into the cylinder during an exhaust stroke. The goal is to increase the temp in the exhaust and DPF to burn off the soot collected in the DPF. The problem is that if the RPMs aren't high enough much of the unburnt fuel stays in the cylinder, makes it past the rings, and ends up in your oil pan diluting the oil. Over time as much as a couple of quarts can be added to your oil, which is why so many are recommending more frequent oil changes, and discouraging city driving or long idles.


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