Problem with 2004 F250 6.0 Diesel - Fixable?
 

In February of '07, I bought a 2004 F250 4x4 6.0L Diesel Automatic Crew Cab with 96,628 miles on it. Production date was July '03. Whatever the previous owner towed required a gooseneck hitch.

I've driven the truck about 500 miles, towing nothing. It has run great, and is a pleasure to drive. Last week I drove it to Bakersfield, CA (about 200 miles) to pick up a horse trailer (2 horse bumper pull, weighs about 3100 lbs). Coming home, friends following me said the truck was blowing black smoke. It seemed to run OK - just a little rough toward the end of the trip. The next time I drove it (2 days later, towing nothing), it ran fine on a 20 minute trip, was shut off for about 2 hours, then about 10 minutes into the trip home it lost power, died, and wouldn't restart. After about 45 minutes I was able to start it again, and drive it home. I tried to drive it to a dealership I trust, but it died again, and this time the check engine light came on. So I had it towed.

At the dealership, the service writer ran the OASIS report, which showed several previous repair attempts for this problem (wish I'd known to have this report run before I bought the truck). These were:

• June 2005/46,666 miles: turbo and EBP sensor replaced . At this time the alternator was also replaced.
• October 2005/58,155 miles: Replaced ICP sensor and connector end.
• May 2006/75,734 miles: Replaced cylinder #4 injector and camshaft position sensor.
• December 2006/94,382 miles: Replaced FICM modules, replaced #1 fuel injector.

The above repairs were all performed at the same dealership. I had the truck towed to a different dealership that I've had good experience with in the past. No word yet on what they've found.

Ideally I'd like to keep this truck, since it is otherwise perfect for my needs, but I'm concerned about ending up with an unreliable and expensive problem. I don't do my own repairs, and don't want to start.

I'm looking for some experienced opinions - is it realistic to expect that the problem can be solved once and for all (before the warranty runs out, in another 2000 miles), or should I bite the bullet now and trade it?

Thanks in advance for your help -

silver_eye,

First off welcome to FTE lots of good people and info around here.

You have a 2004 SD with a 2003 6.0 PSD engine. The 2004 SD did not get the updated 2004 engine until Sept 30, 2003. That being said there are alot of 03 SD running the roads with alot of miles on them.
One of the weak links on the 03 motor was the injectors. Your truck has had 2 replaced in 7-months. You could be having additional injector problems this time or more than likely it sounds like your EGR valve is sticking.

Have your dealer trouble shoot your truck and since you know and trust them have them give it the once over and tell you what they think of the truck as a whole. Then based on that info decide wether or not this truck is a keeper for you. Just remember it is mechanical and it can be fixed.

Good luck

Also remember you still have engine warranty until 5yr/100K on the clock with a $100 deductable. So hopefully they found the problem. I had something simular but it turned out to be wiring harness problems (both harnesses went bad)

Your truck will not up and die with a bad EGR. A stuck or clogged EGR will make the truck buck upon acceleration and blow black smoke.

Your tech has something to work with since you threw a code. A few possibilities.

1 Plugged fuel filters or low fuel pressure
2 Sensor
3 Low pressure oil pump wear, not supplying the oil needed to the high pressure pump
4 leak in the high pressure oil system.


Arm chair diagnoses at its best......:-D

Let us know what you find out after you take to dealer

not really a bad OASIS record & I would say youre definatley fixable as most of those issues have been worked out in subsequent production engines without major changes, just be very picky with youre choice of dealer as the knowledge & ability of the diesel tech can make youre ownership experiance a enjoyable dream or a severe nightmare!

Do not pay attention to the weak injector comment. The 2003's built before mid April 2003 had the original design injector. All engines built since have the new design. A common cause of injector failure is low fuel pressure. Either from a failing fuel pump or due to clogged filters. The dealer can test for adequate fuel pressure. You need to change fuel filters at 15,000.

Hope everything works out.

RoyC

It's usually cheaper to fix the truck instead of trading it in...Since I have been in this forum though I have heard about numerous probs with the 6.0 and after that 100k warranty it's all on you.... I have personally had a turbo and tranny and 3 main seals in 21,000 miles, thank God it was under warranty!! I could have dropped thousands of dollars had it not been under warranty! Your call, my truck is getting traded or sold as soon as the 100k warranty is up because I know injectors pumps engines, turbo's are exspensive!!! It's a risk that you need to decide if you want to take with your warranty ending. Tough decision... Hope the dealer can get ya fixed up though!!

Thanks to those of you who responded. Hopefully I'll hear something from the dealership tomorrow - I'll let you know what happens.

Update - The Plot Thickens
 

Heard from the dealership yesterday - they were able to get the truck to stall. They found that the fuel filter cap was cracked, and that the truck has a large aftermarket fuel tank. They think whoever installed the large tank used the fuel fender (? part that sucks up the fuel) from the original tank, and that this isn't long enough, and so when it gets below 1/4 tank, it sucks air. Their recommendation is to go back to a stock tank. The fuel gage and heads-up display would then read properly, and they can replace the fuel fender if it has become damaged.

Alternatively, the service writer said they could pull the tank and see if anything is damaged, and if not, just be careful to keep it well above 1/4 tank.

I know nothing whatsoever about diesel engines (except what I'm learning from this site - thanks!), but this all doesn't quite make sense to me. The fuel gage read just below 1/2 tank when the stall first happened. I am pretty sure I've run it to just above 1/4 tank before without problems. I generally fuel it before it gets to 1/4 tank. And if I recall correctly, when I test drove it at the dealers, they had to run it to a gas station so I'd have enough fuel for a test drive. It ran fine.

It also doesn't make sense that installation of a large fuel tank would require the owner to guess as to the amount of fuel left, and keep the tank mostly full to avoid stalling. What's the point of a large tank then?

Any insights will be most appreciated -

when a a/m tank is installed it comes with a matching pickup tube (sender is usually attached to this tube at the time of installation) however if the installer is not very conteiensious they will skip the seemingly unimportant & time consuning task of this tube change over & you will have a high capacity tank but cannot use the extra capacity! if this is youre case then you simply need to contact the mfg of the tank and I am sure they will send you a tube & the dealer should install it as it was not correct at the time of sale, as far as the gauge goes I belive there is a procedure for recalabrating the tank sender to read the increased capacity witch also corrects the DTE function, however I cannot find it (not where I thought it was) Blackhat will probably remember it>:)

The tank should have a manufacturer label.....find out who it is and get the right pick-up tube for the unit.

How can I find out the production date of my '04 F250 PSD?

For the engine build date, look on the FICM module and there will be a sticker. FICM module is on the drivers side valve cover back by the firewall.

If it is a "Transfer Flow" fuel tank it uses the stock sender and pick up, if it is an "Aerotank" then the stock sender has to be cut and lengthend. I bet that the tank works properly and was installed by the previous owner who put 50K miles on the truck in 18 months.

The cracked fuel filter cap can allow air into the fuel system causing the truck to run rough and lean.

The black smoke you were getting is from a rich mixture or the EGR valve is sticking or one of the other sensors is acting up.

The stalling could be from a high pressure oil problem. Could be a leaking fitting or a defective check valve. The defective check valves can be difficult to diagnose.

If it was me i would take it to a different dealer that has a better trained and qualified diesel tech. Telling you to remove the A/M fuel tank and go back to stock is pretty lame.