Need advise with 04' 6.0L Powerstroke

[tirekickin]

I have a 04' 6.0L Powerstroke with 30K. I have done no mods to this truck and have always had the oil and filter changed at regular intervals. I have had zero problems with the truck until last Friday. I took it to a local mechanic to have the oil and filter changed as well as both fuel filters before towing my boat to the lake. After picking it up from the mechanic I drove it 2 miles back to work. When it was time to leave, I tried to start it up and it cranked over several times before "barely" starting...it has never done this before. One the way home (prbably another 2 miles into the drive) it started sputtering and jerking acting like it was not getting fuel. I pulled into a parking lot where it died. My dad came to the rescue, he got under the truck and pulled a wire to the frame mount fuel filter and then turned the key for power (didn't crank it over) and listened to the fuel pump prime I assume. It started right after that but almost dies again when I got it home. I let it sit the weekend.

This morning I took it back to the mechanic. He has had it all day and says he has no clue what is wrong. Again I have had no problems what so ever with this truck since new until now. The mechanic says is scanner will not read my truck and asked if I had chipped it...I have not. I'm not sure what to do at this point except maybe have it towed to a Ford dealer. I have a 75K extended warranty. Could something the mechanic did have screwed this thing up and if so will Ford try to deny my warranty. I'm extremely frustrated. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[mschn99]

kickin......there could be many things going on here......

the only think i can think of that your mechanic could have done to cause this would be either put the wrong weight oil in, or an oil that wasnt a diesel formulated oil....or he overfilled it. the latter two would cause the oil to foam which makes it not function correctly in the high pressure oil system........

other than that, i guess its possible that a bad o ring on one of the fuel filters is letting air into the fuel system....but thats HIGHLY unlikely cause the fuel should leak out......not air leak in.......

there are a multitude of things that can cause these concenrns and i would think your best bet would be taking it to the dealer......you should still be under your 3 year 36k warranty so you should not have a deductable to pay and my guess just based on what you said is that unless your mechanic doesnt know about what oils to put in diesels.....then it probably wasnt caused by him........Marc

[tirekickin]

Thanks for the reply Marc...that gives me some hope. The mechanic I took it to isn't a rooky so I doubt he put the wrong oil in, though I don't know for sure. I had my truck towed to my local Ford dealer today but they won't be able to look at it for another day or so. Well, there goes my weekend trip to the lake. Anyway, the Ford dealer told me it may or may not be covered under warranty depending on what they find out. If it's a defect then it's covered but if not, I will have to pick up the bill. I specifically asked them that if it is not covered by warranty that they clearly outline why and what was done to cause the problem. That way if they determine something was done improperly then I can go back to the mechanic and ask them to help foot the bill. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you informed.

[tirekickin]

Oh, here is another bummer. Now down to one vehicle (02' Tarus), my wife and I get in the car this morning to drop off the kids at the sitter and go to work. Her car starts sputtering and the check engine light was blinking. I open the hood to find a nice little pack rat nest made of the stuff under the hood. So now that's in the shop too and we had to borrow my brother in laws beat up dodge to get around in. Man, what a bad way to start what was suppose to be a short work week.

---

Last edited by tirekickin : 04-18-2006 at 12:49 PM.

[tirekickin]

OK, the verdict is in. I got my truck back from the dealer yesterday and all that was wrong with it was there was air in the fuel line. The mechanic at the dealer said all he had to do was bleed out the air and road test the thing...everything checks out now. So apparently the first mechanic (not a Ford dealer) just didn't know what the heck he was doing. I also say this because he advised me to change my air filter. I told him to go ahead taking his word that it needed it. Well, come to find out from the dealer the stock air filter is designed to go up to 100K miles and the replacement cost at my dealer is well over $100 . Now I'm really feeling like I got the shaft. I paid the original mechanic over $400 to change the oil and filter, air filter (which did not need to be replaced), and fuel filters. Then I had to go more than a week without my truck which ruined our river trip, have it towed to Ford, and pay another $85 to Ford to bleed the fuel line. Word to wise, if you find a "good" mechanic stick with him and go nowhere else for ANYTHING.

[wesjones]

thats a very interesting problem...these fuel systems are supposed to self purge when you first run the truck with the new filter. perhaps your mechanic forgot this step, or let it sit for a while or something...beats me, thats interesting though.

wes

[mschn99]

somethings fishy here....ive replace hundereds of fuel filters and have never had a probelm with them not self perging.....also, as far as the air filter....they are 100k filters "depending on use" which means they can vary anywere between 30 and 100k for life depending on how dusty it is where you go......Marc

[tirekickin]

I'm beginning to think I drew the short straw here. I am the only one who has ever had this problem? The Ford mechanic claimed my truck had to be run until all the air was purged / bleed from the fuel line...that simple. I don't claim to be a mechanic by any means so what can I do but take his word for it...and he did get it running like new again. So does that mean that I should have just kept driving it and every time it died stop the motor, let the fuel pump turn a few seconds, start it and drive it over and over until the problem simply went away? Hmmm, that sounds a little like what my wife might say when I jump in her car and hear a strange noise and when confronted about it she says "oh that...well I figured it would just go away eventually." I haven't contacted the original mechanic yet and from the counfusion here it seems maybe I shouldn't be so quick to point the finger for what seems to be an uncommon and unexplained problem.

About the air filter...I drive on dry pavment about 97% of the time. I did not personally inspect the air filter so I can't say for 100% certianty that it didn't need to be replaced. However, from what the dealer has said and knowing the conditions that I drive my truck in I'd put good money on saying that it probably did not need to be replaced.

You're right, something is fishy here but I have yet to figure out where the smell is coming from.

---

Last edited by tirekickin : 04-19-2006 at 08:04 AM.

[tirekickin]

Another thing I am still confused about...the original mechanic claimed his scanner could not read my truck. This is why he asked if I had put a chip on my truck...I have not. The Ford mechanic never mentioned anything about this. So what the heck is up with that?

[fastred450r]

it depends on how uptodate his scanner is. i myself have a snap-on scanner and it wiil not scan my or my dads 04 f150 because it is out of date and it cost to much to update it because i dont use that much the cost is not justified.