2003 6.0L starts hard when hot...opinions....?

[DieselJuice]

I have an 03 6.0L and it runs really good but has a hard time starting when hot. Since I went from 15w40 to 5w40 synthetic the problem is slightly worse. Took it to the Ford dealership and they said I need a new engine because this one is "dusted"????????

I pulled the air intake hose right at the turbo and fins look fine...hmmm..dusted?? Plus when the engine is hot,no blue smoke coming out the tail pipes...
I have 37" 13.5 tires and I can do a burnout like I'm on ice....power seems good. When the engine sits ovenight it fires right up in the mourning. I can let it run for a few minutes,shut it off and try to start it again and it fires right up over and over again. If my engine was "dusted" wouldn't the problem be all the time instead of only when the engine is hot??
Also,some times the engine starts as normal when hot. I'd say 70% of the time it starts bad when hot but 30% of the time it starts normally.

Also when up to temp and sitting at idle,if I hold the throttle wide open "sometimes" white blueish smoke will pore out of the exhaust and other times the engine will rev cleanly with no problems.Under load it seems fine.Over 15,000 km of driving the problem hasn't gotten worse and my coolant level stays the same.

The other guy I bought it from had a chip in it but says he took it out of the truck. How can I tell if it has one or not??

I think it has something to do with o-rings leaking or a hi pressure pump...what do you guys think?

Next question is if I buy a scan tool could i fix this myself. Don't know if I trust these Ford dealerships anymore....

Any info would be appreciated.

[gfaststroker]

Few things came to my mind. One thing you could check is to make sure all your hpop o-rings were good. That being based on the oil weights being changed. The other I thought of was a weak hpop. Just some ideas that came to mind. Good Luck.

[DieselJuice]

ya that sounds about right. I should change all the injector o-rings and basically any o-ring in there I can get at.

[Devlin]

You could re-ring your injectors but I doubt that's it. It's more likely to be an IPR or ICP sensor issue. Check and replace the o-ring on the IPR and then swap out the ICP sensor as well.

If you have a high pressure leak at your injectors it'll likely be the o-rings that interface with the high pressure rail or the o-rings that connect the rail to the tube.

The tube o-rings can be replaced, if the injectors pull easily off of the rail you need reman injectors, those internal rings aren't easily replaced .

I'd start with IPR and ICP

Just so you're prepared, the ICP is at the back of your engine, a real nightmare to get to.

[Devlin]

PM me, I need to talk to you about your dealer. I'm in Calgary.

[DieselJuice]

Originally Posted by Devlin

You could re-ring your injectors but I doubt that's it. It's more likely to be an IPR or ICP sensor issue. Check and replace the o-ring on the IPR and then swap out the ICP sensor as well.

If you have a high pressure leak at your injectors it'll likely be the o-rings that interface with the high pressure rail or the o-rings that connect the rail to the tube.

The tube o-rings can be replaced, if the injectors pull easily off of the rail you need reman injectors, those internal rings aren't easily replaced .

I'd start with IPR and ICP

Just so you're prepared, the ICP is at the back of your engine, a real nightmare to get to.

Shouldn't some codes come up if these sensors were faulty? There are two egr codes that come up but that is it. scuffy thought that my white smoke issue might be the egr valve opening too soon and I think he's right.

Is the IPR hard to get at? I priced one out at Ford today and they said 400 bucks so I don't want to just go in there and start changing parts at that price.would like to pinpoint the prob if possible.

[m-chan68]

Originally Posted by DieselJuice

Shouldn't some codes come up if these sensors were faulty? There are two egr codes that come up but that is it. scuffy thought that my white smoke issue might be the egr valve opening too soon and I think he's right.

Not necessarily. There have been MANY times I've had a vehicle come in with a faulty sensor(s) or component(s) that DIDN'T set DTC(s).

Originally Posted by DieselJuice

Is the IPR hard to get at? I priced one out at Ford today and they said 400 bucks so I don't want to just go in there and start changing parts at that price.would like to pinpoint the prob if possible.

For what it's worth, on any 2003 model year vehicle that has had high pressure oil system leaks as you describe, it has pretty much ALWAYS led to a high pressure oil pump and IPR valve replacement. Do NOT replace just the IPR valve, if this is the route you go. Replace the pump COVER (it comes updated with a new IPR valve installed as well as an updated channel machined into it, to prevent the discharge tube from rubbing through the underside of the cover).

[m-chan68]

The part numbers from Ford are as follows:

3C3Z-9A543-AARM (High Pressure Oil Pump)

3C3Z-9G805-AA (High Pressure Oil Pump Cover with new IPR valve)

3C3Z-9T288-AA (High Pressure Oil Pump Discharge Tube)

[DieselJuice]

Originally Posted by m-chan68

Not necessarily. There have been MANY times I've had a vehicle come in with a faulty sensor(s) or component(s) that DIDN'T set DTC(s).


For what it's worth, on any 2003 model year vehicle that has had high pressure oil system leaks as you describe, it has pretty much ALWAYS led to a high pressure oil pump and IPR valve replacement. Do NOT replace just the IPR valve, if this is the route you go. Replace the pump COVER (it comes updated with a new IPR valve installed as well as an updated channel machined into it, to prevent the discharge tube from rubbing through the underside of the cover).

My Ford dealer tells me the reason it is doing this is because the engine is "dusted" and they can throw parts at it but it will just wind up like this again....?? lol They also said that 03's didn't have many problems with the HPOP and the doubt it is that...sounds like someone wants to sell me an engine pretty bad..haha!

There must be a way to diagnose this thing??? Rather than throw parts at it?

I 'm sitting in it right now,truck idles perfect and drives down the road just fine.I let it sit for about 10 minutes and it started up not bad but idles really low like it might stall then it builds up "steam" lol and runs great. If I let it sit for 20mins or more,it's really hard to start.Sounds like it wants to start and you have to crank it forever before it runs. wasn't this bad until I put 5w40 synthetic in it.

So if it is the HPOP,are there any aftermarket fuel systems to replace it or do I have to go to Ford?

[DieselJuice]

Originally Posted by m-chan68

The part numbers from Ford are as follows:

3C3Z-9A543-AARM (High Pressure Oil Pump)

3C3Z-9G805-AA (High Pressure Oil Pump Cover with new IPR valve)

3C3Z-9T288-AA (High Pressure Oil Pump Discharge Tube)

I have the service record of this truck. I believe Ford replaced the HPOP already and the ICP sensor. Is it possible they are gone again??