Need A Mechanic

[chancegrayl]

Im new to Diesels, and will admit i have dont know how to work on them, though i want to learn, i love my truck its my baby, but the last two days have driven me up the wall, I didnt plug it in one night when i had duty, so it wouldnt start and had to have it town home, i plugged it in and finally got it started, went for a drive and when ever i would take off it would lunge and jerk like it was out of gas and was going to die, i plugged it back in and and figured id try again in the morning, drove to work and every thing was fine, let it sit in the cold for five hours while i was at work when i went to go to lunch it started fine but started to blow lots and lots of black smoke, but after about 25 seconds it went away and stop, went back to work, and now that i came out to go home it wont start and is going to have to be town back home to be plugged in and jump started, so im going to replace the glow plugs, but i dont know where to go. any one have any ideas?

[capcalvin]

Tell more about your truck. What engine, what year, what mods, etc. Where exactly are you located?

[chancegrayl]

Its a 05 super duty,. with the 6.0 i dont have any mods on it yet i was planning on starting but now looks like im going to need to spend that money on glow plugs and what ever else is wrong with it. i live in great lakes

[capcalvin]

Well, start small and work your way up. With the cold weather, gelling is an issue. Do you use any fuel additives during the winter? I would pick up new fuel filters and an oil filter from ford and replace fuel filters and change oil. Maybe get a lighter oil for winter months like rotella 10w30 or the synthetic 5w40 especially if you cant plug it in at work. I would try that first before throwing money and time into glow plugs. Glow plugs are rarely an issue on these trucks. Sounds more like a fuel or oil issue. Hope my 2 cents help. Good luck!

[chancegrayl]

ill try that as soon as i get it home tomorrow, Thanks

[chancegrayl]

so i couldnt change the oil today but i did get it towed home and tried to get it started, when it did start it it bellowed black smoke but then stopped, so after letting it warm up for 20 minutes i decided to take it for a drive, up and down the neighborhood it was fine but when i got on the throttle when i got on the major roads it sputters like its out of gas and blows black smoke again, i parked it at the house and revved the engine up and it sounded good, no sputtering, so it only does it when i really get on it trying to get on it and moving, any suggestions

[capcalvin]

You can check your egr valve. I think a stuck open egr valve can cause this. Also if your turbo is stuck it could cause the sputtering and smoke under load. Pull your EGR valve and see what it looks like.

[chancegrayl]

Capcalvin if your ever in great lakes at the end of the month let me know as of right now i owe you a case of beer, or a bottle of jack, i cleaned the EGR and i blew smoke right when i started up but after that ran like a champ, so as of right now i owe you some beer, thanks so much

[capcalvin]

I'm glad to help when I can. You don't owe me anything. If I were you, and plan on keeping the truck, these are some mods to consider to make your truck happy.

1. EGR delete or replace with bullet proof cooler and block off. Rebuild or replace oil cooler at the same time. Install coolant filter and flush and replace coolant with a extended life coolant like CAT EC-1, Fleet charge, John deere cool-gard II, etc.


2. SCT programmer with a tune to shut off EGR function and add a little HP and economy. If your gonna run a hot tune, you'll need some gauges. EGT, boost, tranny temp, etc.


3. Exhaust. You can do a DIY and straight pipe or you can buy a aftermarket kit. But get that Cat. outta there!


If you are still inside factory warranty, you are limited to the mods you can do. If thats the case, at the very least, flush your cooling system annualy.