2006 6.0 Problem Child- Please Give advice!

[Tattooed in NM]

Hello All,
I am new here, but am hoping with all of your experience that you can put me on the right track; I will make this as short as I can.
I bought a 2006 6.0 F250, I pull a 39' fifth wheel with it now, but even before I started towing in had begun; at 1500 miles I was getting 13 MPG, one day it just lost power, barely running, took it to the dealer, they say it blew the turbo, 2 weeks later I got it back, but then just driving around I was getting 4 MPG, took it back to the dealer, they say it had a cracked intercooler and replaced it, at the same time they upgraded the computer programming, I got it back, best milage I could get was 9 MPG-2000 miles on the truck. It went back to the dealer 5 more times, due to very low MPG, never above 10 miles per gallon, towing or not. The final kicker, I got a letter from the dealership saying that Ford does not guarrantee milage, ok, but never higher the 10 MPG??
It has always been a slug off of the line and before 2000 miles on it, it had been to the dealership 7 times, before it blew the turbo I was getting 13 to 16 Miles per gallon. We had a trip planned with the fifth wheel, so it was a 5000 mile trip, towing at 4 miles per gallon,, wow,, no dinners out, it cost a arm and a leg.
After returning from the trip, we took it to the dealer, same story, "We checked it out it's running like it is suppose to- 4 miles per gallon!!
"Fed-up"!! Took matters into my own hands;
Total after market upgrades: I intalled:
A. 4" stainless steel 4" exhuast from turbo to tip-5" tip.
B. Air Raid air intake and filter.
C. Edge Juice platnuim chip and in cab controler-exhuast manifold temp gauge
D. Propane injection
Now even towing I was getting 17 miles per gallon, and 18 to 24 miles per gallon on the freeway---worked perfect for 7000 miles.

Current problem; acts like its loading up major black smoke, very very slow off of the line, till turbo spools up, then all is great, milage is ok, but not great, 14 to 19 miles per gallon.

I think it must be a fairly simple,, a sensor?? I don't seem to ever get above 14 pounds of turbo boost-is this normal? There are NO major issues, such as water in the oil, turbo tubes coming off ect. I do live in New Mexico, and we are at 6000 foot alltitude.

Overall, at city driving speeds it feels like a gas driven car with the choke on.

I would really appreciate your ideas, Thank you so much, in advance!

Sincerely,

Paul and Trish Gibson

[Evil Eye]

First off, to the org! Sorry you are having problems with your rig, but there are some really good people on this forum that should be able to help you out. I have heard that some programmers limit your boost, but I agree that sounds like something is wrong.

[Dave]

I also agree something is up have you considered taking it in to a different Ford Dealer in your area to get another tech to look at it. Also be very careful with the propane injection. Things can go pop with that rather easily

[Tattooed in NM]

Thank you, I had not really thought about trying another dealership, ofcoarse now I have all of the mods on it,,, I should remove them first, huh? Thats a bunch of work, hmmmmmmm. Is it possible that an indepentant shop could troubleshoot it? I love my truck, but it has sure been a pain,,,,,,, Thank you all for your advice, I have been doing a lot of reading on the site here, lots of help and ideas, great site!!

[Dave]

To have it covered by warranty a ford dealer would have to do it. But i would definately check out another dealer and make sure that they have a diesel tech on staff. Some dont have one

[howardtm]

I know its a long way to go, but if you can spare the time, get your rig over to Scott @ Trucks Unlimited in Winston-Salem NC. He'll get it fixed rightTHE FIRST TIME and won't overcharge you in the process!

[iFIXthisjunk]

Best of luck with an attempt at warranty. Ford will not offer replacement warranty on parts or labor as a result of failure caused partially or wholly by aftermarket add-on accessories.

[Tattooed in NM]

Thank you all for the ideas and help,, after talking to ford and a couple of the local dealers,, all I got was a bunch of BS. I have found a way to handle my problem child and Ford,, I have found a buyer for it.
My faith in Ford is at a very low point, I can't believe that I bought a $ 50,000.00 truck from Ford, and they just don't give a darn, that this product that the producted wasn't even worth scrapmetal,, I have fought them for 2 years now, I give up.

Thank you for all your help.

Sadly,

Paul

[willholl79]

Good call. Get rid of that piece of crap.
I would recommend trying to find a 02 or 03 7.3.
They may not be as fast as the 6.0 but they are reliable.

Its a sad day when a new truck cost $50k+ and you can't keep it out of the shop.
I'm a Ford man all the way, but could not even consider a 6.0 or 6.4.

[6.0Sean]

Im sorry to hear of all your trouble with the truck and Ford. I hope you have better experiences with the next truck. On a side note, how did you like your propane injection? Did it use a lot of propane? I havent been able to find anyone with it to see how they liked it.