New Owner - Used 2008 F250
 

First post on the forum, looking for service/maintenance advice. I just picked up a 2008 F250 6.4L Crew Cab with 35,000 miles. This is going to be a daily driver for me as well as a tow vehicle for a 25' camper/toy hauler. The dealer I bought this truck from couldn't really provide any service history, but they did an oil change. I called a local Ford dealer and made an appt to have the 40,000 mile service performed. The dealership is recommending the 30,000 service, and basically told me that they would have the truck for a day and it could cost as much as $900.

Wow, I was really just looking to have a certified Ford Diesel Tech look the truck over for anything potentially problematic while the truck is still under bumper to bumper warranty. The service manager that I spoke to told me that if I don't have all schedule maintenance performed and documented that Ford doesn't have to honor the warranty, esp on the motor. He said I should have the oil changed again if I don't know what type of oil filter was used. He also said that I might need an air filter already, which alone costs $60. A new air filter at 35k miles? Really?

I bought this truck because it had low miles and would be more likely to offer me years of problem-free service. It troubles me a little to think that the $36,000 price of the truck wasn't enough, and even though I've only owned it for a week I already owe $900 for maintenance and will need to do it again in another 10,000 miles.

What kind of service schedules is everyone following, and is this dealer trying to rape me with this quote? Not only do I want to get a good sense of what this truck REALISTICALLY needs, but I also want to find a dealer service dept that I can trust (in central Ohio).

Thanks in advance.

change your oil every 5,000 miles, fuel filters every 10,000 miles

tranny flush/filter supposedly at 30,000 miles.. I have just about 60,000 contemplating this... but seems a gouge..

I do my own fuel filters 30 min work..
there was a guy on ebay selling the motorcraft original fuel filters for $23 each.(set) I bought 4.. just have to key an eye out.

only use ford eom filters..

many do their own oil too.. ford filter and good diesel compliant oil..
rotella or some such..

don't let em gouge u.. take it to a different dealer..

also, record outside work in your profile.
https://www.flmowner.com
ford records their work there too..
so you have a service record they can see. if the dealer changed your oil (was it a Ford Dealer?), it should be there..

and welcome.. great place here.. I bought my 08, 6.4 DRW used as well.

also, for piece of mind, some get an oil analysis done of their used oil.. gives a good view whats going on inside the engine
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ seems to be one of the more common used


Sam

Cancel the appt....they see you coming.

Do you have the owners manual? Is so follow the severe maint schedule...period.

If you don't know what type of oil and filter was used, dump it. You need to only use motorcraft filters for both fuel and oil for this motor. Aftermarket will not do.

use CJ-4 diesel oil only on this motor. Don't use Amsoil.

On your air filter box is a air filter minder..that will tell you when to put a new filter on. For peace of mind you can open it up and take a look see.

Get your filters from an alternate source other than your dealer, seems like he wants alot of dollars.

Oil filters can be had at wally world, napa, autozone and more. Fuel filters are harder, I get mine from ed at www.partsguyed.com.

Also drain your fuel/water separator monthly, change filters at 10K.
Keep receipts and write down miles and hours when you do your maint and you will be fine. Does not have to be done by the dealer.

no manual? go here and download the PDF versions
http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi...d=&kevin=rules

Sam

Sounds a little high, but depends on what they are including. You could do most of it yourself for much less.

Good advice, and they may charge you between $100-$200 to do it. This is one you could/should do yourself.

Bad advice. The truck has a filter minder, and it will tell you when the filter needs to be changed. They probably are figuring $150 to do that for you. You can buy the filter for $55.

They are probably including a transmission flush, which runs about $200-$250. This is one you really should let them do. It is the only way to get it done properly, and you may be 10k miles overdue. Be sure to ask them if they will use the Ford heated flush machine, and don't accept anything less.

They should also be changing your fuel filters. They will probably get you $150 for that, and it is another one you can do yourself for about $35.

The rest is just general checking fluids, rotating tires, that kind of thing. It all adds up fast when you give them an open checkbook.

Problem is, if you can't or won't do it yourself, you are stuck at their mercy because you cannot trust any non-Ford shop to do it correctly.

Do yourself a favor and crawl under the truck. You need to check when tranny filter you have. This will determine what type and when to service it.

Some of the early builds had a small internal filter and an external. This trans needs to be flushed at 30K intervals.

To determine this, look at the pan and just in front of it i beleive will be a round type object, looks like a roll of t-paper.

The later version has a large internal and requires flushed at 60K.

There's no getting around the relative high cost of diesel maintenance, but whatever you can do yourself will save you some good money. I think your dealer is too high on price. Perhaps someone from your area will pipe up with a dealer they trust.

Congrats on your new truck and welcome to FTE! :-wink

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm not afraid to change fluids or do any of the work myself, although this is the first diesel I've owned. It just sounds like it pays to build a relationship with a trustworthy dealership if you can. Air filter meter looks fine, its barely moved. Oil change I can do myself, and I did notice that the level is a little high on the stick. I think I'll follow the recommendations here which say leave it half quart light.

I might go ahead and have them do the tranny flush and rotate the tires. I flushed tranny fluid on my last truck but it was a messy job. After that I guess I will just buy some fuel filters from the dealership and do swap them myself.

Service manager also mentioned something about a fuel additive that they and Ford both recommend. I haven't seen any mention of fuel additives on the forum yet, any thoughts on this?

fuel additives to me dont net any gains. If you wan to throw in it once in awhile because it has an injector cleaner then that is fine.

Be sure it is for 2008 and up diesels requiring ulsd.

Yeah, that's another money maker they will add on you.

I run an additive religiously, but you don't want to pay the dealer to pour it in the hole. The Motorcraft additive is a good one, but not so convenient to purchase. I think Diesel Kleen has the most market share, is available at Walmart and just about any autoparts store. That's what I run at 1.5 times the recommended dose. It is good for the Cetane boost, and the added lubricity.

Lots of threads on additives in the diesel engine forums. Not so many here in the general SD forum.

I have this same truck (2008 F250 super duty crew diesel with a 6.4L). And I'm sick and tired of being gouged by the 2 excuses of Ford dealerships that are both over 50 miles away from me for these service visits. Then when I try to pin them down and ask will my warranty be affected if I use Ford/Motorcraft parts and the correct oil and just do it myself, they just putz around and say things like "well......if something happens, they (meaning Ford I assume) could not honor the warranty....". It gets me so mad. This truck costed me a fortune, and I don't want to screw it up. I had a 6.0 2005 and after the third EGR cooler going down, I traded it. I must keep this truck a LONG time, and I'm tired of fighting this fight with these dealerships. Am I totally being jerked around?

add your service to the online record, regardless of who does it..
the warranty does NOT say that 'only ford' can do repairs..

https://www.flmowner.com

I don't understand the 'only motorcraft' filter crud either, having never had ANY problem with ANY brand filter EVER... but the folks here swear by them, so with attentive shopping you can get them at the same price as the next brand.

You make a workhorse of a truck that can do anything, anytime, and then you have to baby it with filters.. sheesh..
and wait after you start for the fuel pressure, and wait for the turbo to cool off..

Sam

As long as you use the correct type of fuel filters and oil filters, approved CJ4 oil then you are fine. Just save reciepts, document miles/hours, log it into ford owners website.

I have been well documented that they cannot deny you warranty because you did your own maintance.

Thank you. I am tired of playing this game with this bunch. I have almost always done my own work on all of my past vehicles. I ended up asking my wife to take it the last time to the dealership. They gouged me for a huge amount of money and then didn't have the common decency to pull the truck back around to the customer entrance of the service bay. She and our 2 small children had to walk out back behind the fence to get it when it was done. She didn't mind, BUT I DID. Let's just say the service manager and I had a pretty straightforward talk after that.

Took the truck in today, told them to flush the trans, rotate the tires, inspect brakes, lube chassis, and overall inspect anything else. Quote for all this was $300, which I can live with. Just got a call from the dealership stating that the inspection revealed that the brake caliper pins are corroded, they've seen it before, and that they need cleaned/lubed to make sure my brakes last. Quoted me two hours of labor for servicing all 4 wheels, so $170. Brakes seemed fine to me, and they said that the wear on the pads looked normal, so I doubt they are binding up. I let them go ahead and do it.

I'm going to try the oil/fuel filter change myself this weekend.