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5th Turbo in 120K!

4K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  dowmace 
#1 ·
No more Ford for me. 2003 F-350 is in the shop for the fifth turbo, one only under warranty. Ford customer support basically says we have no issues with turbos on this vehicle and stuff it in your hat. You just have bad luck. No problem - will "vote with my feet", spread the word to whomever will listen and NEVER buy another Ford product as long as I live. Last turbo was done in Corpus Christi - same song that its "so unusual" to see a turbo go on these trucks. OH, do you have a turbo in stock then - "Let me check, yes we do, we have 13 in inventory". If there are no issues why would you have that many? Am checking with my lawyer to see if I can take a full page add in the Toronto Star and not get sued by them. Their main plant in Canada is in a suburb of Toronto. Am livid with this last go round. For what its worth, STAY AWAY FROM FORD!!!!!
 
#4 ·
Maybe do an EGR delete and don't let it idle so much, let it cool off before shutting it down?
 
#10 ·
I travel back and forth to Texas for the winter and use two sets of keys - pull in for fuel, lock it running, fill, pay, roll on. It never gets shut down hot. In the end, its just a piece of s**t. If I wsa going to keep it I would do the EGR delete, but will trade it on anything but FORD.
 
#7 ·
First, second and third was huge black smoke, no power, pull over. First and third was a tow, second happened right in front of a Ford dealer in San Benito TX. Last was in Corpus Christi, needed tow for truck and trailer - turbo gauge was all over the map as it popped, banged, shook and rattled to expiry. This time it seems the EGR went and this took the turbo with it - all gauges were normal - black smoke from the turbo at speed, huge white cloud from EGR at idle. Have spent $20K on turbos and various other stuff needed when they go. Pile of junk!
 
#8 ·
Sounds like stuck veins for most, if not all of those times. A lot cheaper to clean the turbo,a nd use the truck like it was intended, hard. I'm not buying "the EGR went and this took the turbo with it". Someone fed you a line with that one :dunno:

The 6.0 needs to b ridden hard, and put away cool :thumb:. Good luck with your next truck though :thumb:
 
#9 ·
that doesnt explain what happened to the turbos. did you maintain the airfilter? could you have let dirt or something get in there? do you let the truck cool down for a minute after every trip? turbos dont just go on a regular basis. maybe the oil supply line to the turbo is faulty and not lubricating it. don't just replace the turbo, fix the cause of the problem. these turbos are made by garrett, not ford.
 
#12 ·
K+N is known for dusting turbos. We still don't know what specifically went wrong with the turbos :dunno:. The shop had to have told you something
 
#21 ·
I got a friend who runs a 48 foot stacker race trailer on a stock 04 F-350. He had a turbo replaced under warranty when he bought it used since it sat on the lot for a while and corroded up. But since then it's been good. And it sits 6 months out of the year.
 
#15 ·
:agree:

It it the same dealer for most of the replacements, Camp?
 
#18 ·
Dont bash ford products for something you could be doing wrong. You just said your neighbor is 75 and has gone through 3 turbos already and drives it soft. Well bingo, there's your problem. Don't drive it soft

To get rid of the whole truck over a turbo problem is your decision, but maybe its a simple fix. Someone can help you on here
 
#19 ·
I'll buy it from you. $2,000? After all, it is just a piece of crap Ford... Nothing but problems.
 
#20 ·
my truck is an 03 had 175,000 miles on stock turbo when went out your right fords a big pile sh*t thats why they have the most loyal truck following:icon_ford: it sucks that you have had problems tho
 
#22 ·
I agree with one of the previous posts. Sounds like a turbo oiling problem. Since yours is an '03 do you have the updated oil line? Have a friend that has an '04 and is on his 3rd turbo but it is due to he pulls up and shuts the truck off. Claims he lets it cool down but kinda hard to watch that without a pyrometer. Also pulling 18k is quite a load since that puts you at least 5k over your max weight. Running a K&N is just asking to dust your turbo.
 
#23 ·
OK , first of all turbo’s don’t just die they are killed and you as the operator have the most to do with how long it lives. Sorry about your” luck”

Change your oil not longer than 5K miles
Let the thing cool down when you are working it hard.
Get an EGT gauge.
Learn a little about your turbo and expect to clean it or have it cleaned once in a while.
Become an informed consumer or you will be soon calling the next truck you buy “junk “ as well.

You most likely got sold a bill of goods buy the turbo salesman , because you didn’t take the time to be an informed consumer. As a mater of fact 2003 turbos are a popular retro fit to later model truck so, whats really wrong here?
 
#27 ·
LOL good point, didnt really think about the retrofit aspect of things, good point though, if the 03 turbo was so bad not eveyone would be putting them in their later model powerstrokes like they are
 
#24 ·
If you wanted a sob thread, should have gone to Dmax forums or something, not where fords are preferred over others.


Sorry about your luck, but it sounds like the turbos weren't the real issue
 
#26 ·
all that smoke, sounds to me like a not so great tune, like many others said, these trucks are meant to be driven hard, my dads f350 has 120k on it and he doesnt maintain it in the least, oil changes every 8 to 10k if its lucky, my truck i dont baby either, i drive it hard, does get regular fluid changes but both are 03 6.0's and both on stock turbos. Not the right place to be telling people to stay away from ford IMO. Any and every manufacturer will have issues here and there, the egr is widely known as an issue and probably should have been addressed before it went, im gonna try to get mine taken care of but thats me, personally id take a ford over anything else diesel
 
#30 ·
My 03 6.0 has 190000 on it, stock turbo and will build 32 lbs boost if i let it. I have it restricted to 26 though. I LOVE my truck. I have spent about $4k so far fixing the dumb stuff that ford/navistar did to it but if you would have done your homework and become and informed customer BEFORE you bought it you would already know that it costs about $6-$7k to fix or "bulletproof" these engines. And yes i drive it like i stole it. Thats why i bought a PSD because of the power. Sorry about your turbo's IMO get the K&N off. I have a few buddies that have ruined 7.3's and 6.0's with a K&N and every one of them they found dust in the turbo/engine!!!!!
 
#31 ·
I have a 03 running stock and I am just now on my 3rd turbo . 2nd one only lasted 20 miles it came off a 04 and looked fresh and was told it only had 80,ooo on it .. Lucky for me the establishment I purchased the used turbo from made good and gave me another off the 03 .. could have been mine rebuilt who knows . I am clearing out the oil as we speak from exhaust and havnt pushed it but sounds good . starts good and we will see . My point is after 2 went bad back to back I asked myself ... WHY and dove in and checked regulator oil lines lpop before I installed another turbo .. Common sense . I myself refuse to allow a dealer to work on anything I drive or own and damn sure wouldnt pay a dealer to make 4 mistakes in a row . Just saying . The 6.0 is a good engine but I wouldnt mod it tune it or alter it without becoming informed about what you are doing .

Thats my opinion . I have to admit most of my problems have been from ignorance . But I am not going to dis FORD for my mistakes .
 
#34 ·
the 6.0 is a great engine and anyone who says it is not just does not know how to drive or maintain it. i have owned a 2000 7.3 and love my 2005 6.0 way more
 
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