I think I have been had

[MNCarpenter]

Ok, so here's the story. Two weeks ago I noticed I was having problems with my 2004 F350. It seemed to be lacking power.

I posted on here looking for advise. So I reached out to some people to see if anyone knew of a shop that would work on my truck. I located one close by my house so I drove it down there and talked with one of the mechanics. After a quick chat about that was going on he believed the "knew" what was wrong. He thought it was one of the inter cooler boots. So they replaced the boot, took it for a drive and still acting the same.

So they decided to run a few "test" to see what was going on. So they first believed the injectors were bad, 5 of them. Next they thought it was the turbo, so they decided to check them both out. Much to their surprise there was nothing wrong with either of them.

So after working this over they come to the conclusion the the FICM is bad, sure enough it is. Apparently the batteries went bad and they were still strong enough to turn the truck over but not strong enough to supply power to the FICM.

So they replace the FICM and take the truck up to the local Ford dealer to have it flashed. Ford does their thing the shop picks the truck up and drive it back to their shop, the tech who drove it back said all was good, not power problems, ran it at full throttle down the interstate. No issues. Parked it at the shop, didn't bother to pug it in or put anything in the tank, just parked it outside and called it a day.

So this is Monday, last week which happened to be the coldest day of the week -30. So they said they started the truck up and it ran for about 20 minutes and it dies so they start it up again and let it run for another 20 minutes and take it on a test drive, make it to the end of the block and it dies completely.

So they bring it back to their shop and put some Diesel911 in the tank and let it sit in the warm shop overnight. The next morning they go to start it and nothing. So they check the fuel pump relay, its ok. There is power to the pump, go to check the pressure at the pump and nothing.

So long of the short between Monday and Wednesday my fuel pump "dies". Now this just happens to be the coldest week here and they claim it died?

I feel as if I have been taken for a ride here, I feel its a little coincidental that the pump dies after sitting outside for an extended period of time without any fuel treatment.

Perhaps I'm overreacting but something seems fishy.

Thoughts?

[SCUFFY828]

how many miles are on this pump?

[95powerstroke5spd]

But the fuel pump was bad, correct ?

[Six0~Stroker]

You're being taken for a huge ride buddy!!!
I would not let them touch it anymore!

The first sign of being taken for a ride was the guessing of the turbo and 5 bad injectors... That clearly means they have no idea how to check/diagnose the truck.
For some reason I'm doubting it is the fuel pump.

[usnavyad]

Agreed do u know wht kinda test were done Nd what they used to test it

[95powerstroke5spd]

Just wondering cause I have heard that the injectors can take a dump, on a 6.0, if a guy gells up the fuel.

[Six0~Stroker]

I've never heard of that!
It's either a rumor or a VERY rare issue


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[southend]

You've been had, i'd be surprised if the fuel pump is bad, and not just another geuss. The warning signs are there. Ford manual says to plug in the block heater at -10°, iirc. I personally thought that was too low, but i'd have to check again.

Sent from my phone that somebody didn't help me get.

[twoicebergs]

Originally Posted by southend

Ford manual says to plug in the block heater at -10°, iirc. I personally thought that was too low, but i'd have to check again.

That is what they say. It's probably for the EPA points. But everything on the truck needs to be operating 100% or it probably won't go. As many know, short trips with multiple start cycles will make the batteries pretty useless at those temperatures unless they are near full charge.

It is possible your fuel had some water in it and that could have created the fuel pump's problem, but that isn't the shop's fault. Same for fuel gelling, you live in MN, you should have good winter diesel. If you're not sure, you should be adding fuel conditioner with anti-gel properties.

Some problems can be masked by others. If they don't have all the kit or knowledge to track problems down, a lot of parts could be thrown at it. Sometimes the parts might be needed to rule out a problem. However, the shop should be able to test the simple things for rough running (FICM, HPOP pressure, fuel pressure, EGR, and perhaps the turbo) and do a contribution/balance before moving to parts. Whether you were taken for a ride, depends on how they proceeded. From what you are saying, there may have been more guessing than following the bouncing ball. You need to find out what tests were done and in what order. That is the only way to determine if you were over-charged or taken for a ride.

[MNCarpenter]

Originally Posted by 95powerstroke5spd

But the fuel pump was bad, correct ?

Well they replaced the pump after they had the FICM Replaced and Reflashed by Ford, the tech who drove it home said it ran great. So my guess is no.

Originally Posted by Six0~Stroker

You're being taken for a huge ride buddy!!!
I would not let them touch it anymore!

The first sign of being taken for a ride was the guessing of the turbo and 5 bad injectors... That clearly means they have no idea how to check/diagnose the truck.
For some reason I'm doubting it is the fuel pump.

Yeah I was a little shocked when I was first told that 5 of my 8 injectors were bad, kinda made me wonder how I was able to start it and drive down the road at all.

Originally Posted by southend

You've been had, i'd be surprised if the fuel pump is bad, and not just another geuss. The warning signs are there. Ford manual says to plug in the block heater at -10°, iirc. I personally thought that was too low, but i'd have to check again.

Sent from my phone that somebody didn't help me get.

I was thinking the same thing. I plug the truck in every night and have since it got down to the mid 20's. I allow it to warm up for at least 10 minutes before going anywhere. I was a little surprised to hear that hey didn't have it on the heater at all. Considering that this is a predominantly heavy truck shop, you'd think that would have been common practice.

Originally Posted by twoicebergs

That is what they say. It's probably for the EPA points. But everything on the truck needs to be operating 100% or it probably won't go. As many know, short trips with multiple start cycles will make the batteries pretty useless at those temperatures unless they are near full charge.

It is possible your fuel had some water in it and that could have created the fuel pump's problem, but that isn't the shop's fault. Same for fuel gelling, you live in MN, you should have good winter diesel. If you're not sure, you should be adding fuel conditioner with anti-gel properties.

Some problems can be masked by others. If they don't have all the kit or knowledge to track problems down, a lot of parts could be thrown at it. Sometimes the parts might be needed to rule out a problem. However, the shop should be able to test the simple things for rough running (FICM, HPOP pressure, fuel pressure, EGR, and perhaps the turbo) and do a contribution/balance before moving to parts. Whether you were taken for a ride, depends on how they proceeded. From what you are saying, there may have been more guessing than following the bouncing ball. You need to find out what tests were done and in what order. That is the only way to determine if you were over-charged or taken for a ride.

I agree that yes, there were quite a few things that could have lead to to the demise of my fuel pump but the story I had. Truck was taken to ford to have the FICM flashed, Driven home with no problems. Truck is parked no heater, no anything. Next morning they go to give it the final inspection they let it run for 20 minutes. The truck dies. Right there something should have been like a light turning on. But instead they started it again and it runs for 20 or so, they go to take it on a test ride and it dies completely, has to be towed back to the shop. It isn't until then that they put Diesel911 in the tank. Set it inside over right and lone and behold the pump is "Dead". I'm not saying that it couldn't have been weak or on it's way out, but the timing and situation point at a more likely case. Fuel gelled they attempted to run the truck on something that was thick as snot, and that pump burned out trying to pump it.

So thanks for all the responses on all this, just making sure I wasn't over thinking this.