Hello - sorry for the mixed bag of questions here, but some of this is hard to search for.
I just got an '05 F250 4 door, 4WD (FX4), mint condition, with 65K miles. I'll use it for some daily driving, some hauling of building materials in the bed, some vacation driving, occasionally hauling a horse trailer with one or two horses. So, in short: no interest in burnouts or sled pulling or recreational 4 wheeling or extreme heavy hauling. I could have gotten by with an F150 but I got a good price on this one and I love diesels.
I plan on bullet proofing in the next year. Should I do it all at once, or if I'm on a budget, is it feasible to do it a bit at a time?
Other than skid plates, does anyone know what else was with the FX4 package in the '05 period? I "feel" like both rear wheels locked in a slippery mud situation yesterday and don't know if I have a locking diff or not.
What else is particular to the '05 period trucks? I know for instance that that was they year they got coil springs up front...any other tricks or goodies?
It came from a Ford dealership. I am assuming they used Ford Gold coolant - this means an immediate flush and fill with ELC - am I correct?
Also, they say their shop does a fair number of "bullet proofings" and use the kits from Bullet Proof Diesel. Has anyone ever gone to the dealership for this work? Makes me nervous, but I'm open to new ideas...hnoes:
I am really glad to have found this forum and excited about my truck. I hope to bullet proof it and keep it for 20 years. Thanks for your help.
Gauges first - always (this includes adding a fuel pressure sending unit). Check the ECT vs EOT split as soon as you can (I would definitely do this before flushing the coolant system)
If you do head studs, choose the shop that will do your work carefully. Find one with a good reputation. You really do need a shop that properly checks the heads for flatness, and one that will send them out (to a quality machine shop) to be milled to within .002 (IMO anyway). There is an upper limit to how much can be safely taken off also. Some say it is 0.008, but this seems like a lot to me. If too much is taken off, it may be more suceptible to cracking. Also, use OEM gaskets and not the Black Onyx.
The 05 weaknesses are:
STC fitting on the HPOP
Dummy plugs and standpipes in the high pressure oil system.
weak fuel pressure spring (all model years have this weakness)
A coolant filter is always a good idea.
There are different opinions on the EGR system. Some say delete. I chose to install a BPD EGR cooler and leave the EGR system intact. Both work just fine.
As far as coolant goes - check the delta as stated earlier. Since you don't know how the engine was maintained and treated, a change of ALL the fluids and filters is wise. I agree that ELC coolant is most likely better than the Gold, but I know lots of people that are running the Gold with no issues. That being said, since the mechanism for the Gold to gell up is not completely understood, it is probably safer to go w/ ELC.
I just got my 2007 6.0 yesterday. I already ordered a new Edge CTS monitor and a coolant filtration kit from Performance Machine Manufacturing. They have it at a good price right now and there is no need to cut the coolant lines like other other models available. Performance Machine & MFG. 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel Coolant Filtration System
That is the same one I got off ebay and I love it. Only took me like 10 minutes to install. Also you should look at the EAS Turbo timer and make sure you have the EAS EGT. I love my CTS. I have it next to me right now putting custom backgrounds on it...lol
Pretty much spot on up top. If you are going with head studs and you have the money, might as well do injectors, turbo, EGR delete/upgrade with a new oil cooler and flush the system. If you are already taking the cab off of the truck to get that far down and assuming you have the $$$ to do it that would be the perfect time to do so. At the very least if you are doing the EGR system and head studs it would be best to knock it out at one time IMHO.
There is no reason to do studs if there 1 isnt an issue with them and 2 your not going to be running crazy tunes. Definatly DONT flush after the new cooler. do it before but after 7,000 miles running with the coolant filter.
None - I am aiming for durability and longevity. The only thing I might do is look into a tune that maximizes economy for long distance vacation travel.
The turbo on these are prone to clogging with soot. Tunes will slow that.Most will use the computer to shut down the EGR valve so little if any exhaust fumes get run back thru the turbo.I have a 04 work truck.I have a SCT tuner and custom tunes as mine was a chassis truck and store bought tunes would not work. Went with the Bullet Proof oil cooler and EGR cooler. With that, the type of coolant really doesn't matter as much.Use Ford Fuel filters as they are the only ones I found that will absorb water.The BP oil cooler comes with a "real oil filter" rather than the wimpy Ford one.Wasn't cheap.But your oil cooler could be plugged by now anyway, so you may be ready to change a oil cooler.And welcome to the org!
Oh, and if you delete and stud it like you mentioned earlier, you will be perfectly fine. They make (if you want) even higher hp 'studded' versions the tunes I just mentioned.
1 The exhuast can force the valve open. 2 filters dont not absorb water. 3 the BPD oil cooler is way more expensive. It you buy a new oil cooler and get a coolant filter you will never have anymore issue and you will still be way under what it cost to buy a bpd oil cooler.
The exhaust can force the valve open, but at a much less often rate than stock tunes.Ford claims to have a membrane on the filters that does absorb water,but then they claimed the 6.0 had no problems,so who knows? and yes a new oil cooler and filter is cheaper, but for me the BP was a cure, not a fix that may need to be redone later.And at some point a larger oil filter and more oil volume can't be bad. I know the BP oil cooler versa stock with filter has been beat to death here on other threads.But for me the peace of mind knowing my cooler can't clog is worth the extra bucks.
Not to steal the OP's questions, but what if the truck already had the stock Oil cooler/EGR replaced with yet another stock replacement? I would assume those are prone to failure just as the first ones, correct?
Don't mean to nit-pick, but the primary fuel filter membrane is called an aqua-bloc. It prevents water from passing through it (like Gore-Tex). It really doesn't absorb it.
Are the SCT preloaded tunes on the Livewire any good or would it be better to get a custom tune for it? Also are they safe for a truck that has not been studded? I want a good FE tune and a good tow tune (nothing drastic maybe 50 to 100 more hp). I was informed they have programs that are head bolt safe but I don't really understand how it all works.
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