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Old 09-14-2011, 10:25 PM   #1
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Ford diesels and what you need to know

Got tired of the very expensive class A repairs so decided to switch to a diesel dually and a 5th wheel. Bought a 2007 Ford F-350.

Well, I had heard the Ford 6.0 motors had problems but thought it was because of the EGR coolers. I found a truck that had the EGR cooler removed, a Banks inner cooler installed, a cat back 5" exhaust installed and new brakes and alt. I thought I was in fine shape,

I got on ford powerstroke forum and found out that the first thing you need is a Scan gauge II to see what is going on with your motor. I bought one. It showed my oil temps were reaching 240 degrees so a new oil cooler was needed or my head gaskets would go and so would the motor. That was the start. It seems Ford really screwed up this motor and you need a lot of after market products to keep it running. Different coolant, a coolant filter, banjo bolts, blue spring, EGR delete kit, stronger head bolts and the list goes on and on.

I suspect a lot of Ford owners don't know about this and just look at the stock gauges and think everything is ok. That is why so many are blowing up. If you own a Ford diesel 2003 - and up you owe it to yourself to check out the following forums and see what is going on...

Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

PowerStrokeNation.com

It will take you weeks to find out about ICP, IPR, SCT, EOT, ECT, and the rest of the lingo but it may save you a lot of $$$....
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Old 09-14-2011, 11:21 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billieg View Post
Got tired of the very expensive class A repairs so decided to switch to a diesel dually and a 5th wheel. Bought a 2007 Ford F-350.

Well, I had heard the Ford 6.0 motors had problems but thought it was because of the EGR coolers. I found a truck that had the EGR cooler removed, a Banks inner cooler installed, a cat back 5" exhaust installed and new brakes and alt. I thought I was in fine shape,

I got on ford powerstroke forum and found out that the first thing you need is a Scan gauge II to see what is going on with your motor. I bought one. It showed my oil temps were reaching 240 degrees so a new oil cooler was needed or my head gaskets would go and so would the motor. That was the start. It seems Ford really screwed up this motor and you need a lot of after market products to keep it running. Different coolant, a coolant filter, banjo bolts, blue spring, EGR delete kit, stronger head bolts and the list goes on and on.

I suspect a lot of Ford owners don't know about this and just look at the stock gauges and think everything is ok. That is why so many are blowing up. If you own a Ford diesel 2003 - and up you owe it to yourself to check out the following forums and see what is going on...

Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

PowerStrokeNation.com

It will take you weeks to find out about ICP, IPR, SCT, EOT, ECT, and the rest of the lingo but it may save you a lot of $$$....
A lot of what you say has some semblance of truth. Gauges are a good idea in ANY RV, not just those with 6.0 Power Stroke engines. The gauges that come with the truck from the factory are nothing more than glorified idiot lights. The fact that you have a 2007 truck means that you have a truck that has most of the problems that the early build 6.0 engines had eliminated.

The Achilles heel in these engines is the oil cooler. The oil cooler gets clogged with casting sand and silicates from the factory installed coolant.

But to say that ALL engines need ALL of the fixes you outline is going overboard. First and foremost, drain and flush the cooling system, replacing the factory coolant with coolant that meets CAT engine specs. Install a coolant filter, replace it first time out with 1000 miles, next time at 5000 miles, and thereafter at 10000 mile intervals.

Monitor the coolant temperature and the oil temperature, if there is a difference of over 15 degrees, you have oil cooler problems. There are aftermarket fixes for this, but if you are not experiencing problems, the only reason to replace the oil cooler is for peace of mind. Nearly all of the problems with head gaskets stem from a clogged oil cooler starving the EGR cooler of coolant, and the coolant that does make it to the EGR cooler flash boiling and weakening the joints inside the EGR cooler. When the joints fail, the coolant gets into the cylinders and hydrolocks the engine.

So, if you have a coolant filter and gauges, and you monitor the temperature delta between the oil and coolant, making sure that it stays less than 15 degrees, you should not experience catastrophic engine failure due to an EGR cooler breaking a seam. Spending thousands is not necessary unless you see the signs of a clogged oil cooler.

I have 110K on my truck, I work it hard regularly, have a coolant filter, and I monitor the temperatures. No problems so far.
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:15 AM   #3
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Having had 2 6.0s ('04/'07) and noting the equipment that came on your used unit, I would suspect that there was a tuner involved at some point in ownership before you. If that is the case, the engine may have been run at a higher power level than Ford designed for--in the case of my '04, I can tell you it is hard on the head bolts. I also had the oil cooler rupture out of warranty, and it is an expensive repair.
Have you obtained an OASIS report from Ford on what work has been done at a Ford dealer? If not, suggest you get one.
Keep to a tight maintainance schedule also.
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:45 AM   #4
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jumping on the bandwagon of bashing ; I had 2 ford diesels in 03 the first one bought back and the second I unloaded. According to the diesel stop website early on buybacks was at 25% because ford didnt want them to be lemon lawed. Its too bad the horsepower war made them go complicated. The 2000 7.3 was the truck I should have kept.
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:45 AM   #5
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Yes, a few years back there was much talk about the 03' to mid 05' build 6.0L Powerstrokes...From the fuel injection system problems to turbo's burning up.
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Old 09-15-2011, 08:58 AM   #6
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I'm not trying to bash Fords because every maker has problems. I'm just trying to point out that if you own one you had better have a good set of gauges and know what to look for.

The oil and EGR coolers aren't the only problem. The fuel rail is 1/4 inch and when you are under heavy load or stomp on it the rear injectors don't get enough fuel and burn up. (that's why the blue spring for more fuel pressure) The turbos have the vanes which if you don't get on them once in awhile they will soot up and fail.

I talked to a mechanic at a local garage and he told me every time a Ford 6.0 or 6.4 diesel comes in for anything they put the scan machine on it so they know what is going wrong and most of the time they find something that is failing and would cause a major breakdown sooner or later.

I just wanted to help out fellow forum members who have these engines and may not know they have a ticking bomb. How many are driving around and towing when their oil temp is 280 - 320 degrees? The truck doesn't come with an oil tem gauge.
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Old 09-15-2011, 09:21 AM   #7
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Your local garage routinely services Ford 6.0s/6.4s?
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Old 09-15-2011, 09:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billieg View Post
Got tired of the very expensive class A repairs so decided to switch to a diesel dually and a 5th wheel. Bought a 2007 Ford F-350.

Well, I had heard the Ford 6.0 motors had problems but thought it was because of the EGR coolers. I found a truck that had the EGR cooler removed, a Banks inner cooler installed, a cat back 5" exhaust installed and new brakes and alt. I thought I was in fine shape,

I got on ford powerstroke forum and found out that the first thing you need is a Scan gauge II to see what is going on with your motor. I bought one. It showed my oil temps were reaching 240 degrees so a new oil cooler was needed or my head gaskets would go and so would the motor. That was the start. It seems Ford really screwed up this motor and you need a lot of after market products to keep it running. Different coolant, a coolant filter, banjo bolts, blue spring, EGR delete kit, stronger head bolts and the list goes on and on.

I suspect a lot of Ford owners don't know about this and just look at the stock gauges and think everything is ok. That is why so many are blowing up. If you own a Ford diesel 2003 - and up you owe it to yourself to check out the following forums and see what is going on...

Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

PowerStrokeNation.com

It will take you weeks to find out about ICP, IPR, SCT, EOT, ECT, and the rest of the lingo but it may save you a lot of $$$....
The 6 liter "Ford "Powerstroke was so bad (when driven moderately hard or sooped up for towing)that the supplier of the engine (INTERNATIONAL/NAVISTAR ) & the end user (FORD) are presently in litigation over relibility & warranty issues.
The NEW Ford Powerstroke starting in 2011 is a completely new engine designed & bulit by FORD using urea injection not EGR like the old Powerstroke.
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Old 09-15-2011, 09:54 AM   #9
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Your local garage routinely services Ford 6.0s/6.4s?
Yes. They have a retired Ford diesel guy who was tired of not working. He is fantastic. He knows all about the problems and the fixes. In the time it took the other guys to change my 4 back tires he had the turbo off one! The best thing is the garage is 2 blocks from my house!

Anotherone "The 2000 7.3 was the truck I should have kept. "

You bet. One of the best motors built because it didn't have all the emission stuff on it. the same with the Rams and Chevy.
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Old 09-15-2011, 10:27 AM   #10
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I have a 6.0L diesel.

It has had the EGR valve and cooler replaced 3 times under warranty.

The diesel tech told me to occasionally step on it and let the black carbon soot blow out. I do that and have not needed to replace another EGR valve or cooler again in 3 years. He told me I'm babying it too much...

The diesel tech said the problem with the EGR system is, it gets a build-up of carbon and clogs.

The orginal turbo was replaced with an improved turbo. The old turbo fan blades can stick and burn up. The new turbo blades are Teflon coated or some coating. I have not had any turbo problems since.
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Old 09-15-2011, 12:27 PM   #11
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I had a `99 7.3. The Turbo was replaced when I took it in for an oil change. I had no complaint but the tech doing the oil change notice a noise he did not like. Dealer replaced the turbo. That was the only issue I had with it.

I then had an `06 F-350 Dually with the 6.0. I never had a problem with this truck. This truck towed my 5er all over the country from NJ to New Orleans and back, NJ to San Antonio and back, NJ to the Black Hills of SD then to Montana, then to Cheyenne, WY and back to NJ. Many, many other trips too.

The only reason we got my current `08 F450 is that the `08 had a much softer, nicer ride and did not bother my wife [bad] back like the `06 did.

All my trucks have always been completely stock and a tuner never touched them. Not sure of the significance of this, but I never suffered the problems that many others did.
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Old 09-15-2011, 12:50 PM   #12
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The 6 liter "Ford "Powerstroke was so bad (when driven moderately hard or sooped up for towing)that the supplier of the engine (INTERNATIONAL/NAVISTAR ) & the end user (FORD) are presently in litigation over relibility & warranty issues.
The NEW Ford Powerstroke starting in 2011 is a completely new engine designed & bulit by FORD using urea injection not EGR like the old Powerstroke.
navistar had this motor in a ton of trucks other than fords with their add ons and had practically no issues ; comparatively speaking. This is what they are fighting over ; each one blames the other. Similar to chevys old 6.5 with the battle over the fuel issue with stanadyne.
I used to keep up with the issues years ago when the power stroke website was tearing ford a new one ; which led to their name change , "The diesel stop"!
Now my interest is in the max force 7 eng ; fingers crossed
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Old 09-15-2011, 01:02 PM   #13
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yes. They have a retired ford diesel guy who was tired of not working. He is fantastic. He knows all about the problems and the fixes. In the time it took the other guys to change my 4 back tires he had the turbo off one! The best thing is the garage is 2 blocks from my house!

Anotherone "the 2000 7.3 was the truck i should have kept. "

you bet. One of the best motors built because it didn't have all the emission stuff on it. The same with the rams and chevy.
care to share his name address & phone ----i have a 2000 f350 and want to keep it running well
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Old 09-15-2011, 01:14 PM   #14
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navistar had this motor in a ton of trucks other than fords with their add ons and had practically no issues ; comparatively speaking. This is what they are fighting over ; each one blames the other. Similar to chevys old 6.5 with the battle over the fuel issue with stanadyne.
I used to keep up with the issues years ago when the power stroke website was tearing ford a new one ; which led to their name change , "The diesel stop"!
Now my interest is in the max force 7 eng ; fingers crossed
The Maxforce 7 is basically the same as the Powerstroke 6.0 but has been derated for use in motorhomes & school buses etc. for reliability purposes.--The same engine is used in the Tiffin Breeze and derated even more for better M.P.G.-each engine design has a limited number of Horsepower Hours life in it you can use them up all at once or a little at a time & increase it's life by better than required service intervals !
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