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Ongoing Thread: New to me 04' F250 XLT

2K views 31 replies 6 participants last post by  No_Dude 
#1 ·
Howdy all! I'm new both around here and to diesels. Just got a 04' XLT with 240K miles on it for $5K. Came with a 4in straight piped from the turbo back, a S&B Cool air intake and a nice brush guard. Figured I would do an ongoing thread just to record my experiences for kicks and giggles. Initial observations, truck is clean, no major exterior issues other than the brush hard is dented, and I have found 1 rock chip on the hood. Coolant was low, added 1 gallon and it was still short from the min line on the coolant tank, will let it run for a while to mix itself in then test it to see if I can add some more water in. The interior is nice and clean, only 1 stain I can find on the seats and I think I can get it out, we'll see. The cab does have a smell to it though that I am going to try to get out. The gentleman I bought it from did tell me that 1 injector is weak and needs to be replaced.

So list of things to do or read up on in no particular order
1) Change all my fluids and filters for peace of mind
2) Chase the stutter it has at around 45-50 MPH. Seller said it was due to bad injector, we will see.
3) Figure out if it has been EGR deleted. I dont think it has, but I also haven't had too much time to crawl around in it yet either. Then decide if I want to delete or go a better cooler.
4) Probably do a coolant filter for peace of mind.
5) Look into rebuilding all my injectors? Have them sent out?
6) Clean/rebuild my turbo for kicks? Also need to clean my air filter.
7) Look into head studs, I don't believe it's been studded.
8) And the one that will cause the most drama, look into buying a centrifuge for WMO/WVO fuels >:) I plan on trying out WMO, starting with a 10% WMO mix and working up to see if it gives me any issues. We'll see how it goes.

I'm sure I'll add more as I go on, any thoughts/gripes/congrats/suggestions are welcomed, just dont be a jack *** :grin: I'll try and keep a running count on fuel mileage too just to see how changes affect mileage along the journey. Attached are the pictures from the seller, I'll get more in the near future.
 

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#2 ·
I just made a similar purchase of a 2005 Excursion. Also has a lot of "unknowns" but it's a No Ruster from Larado TX. I'm starting with a coolant flush, new OEM oil cooler paid for by seller, and tracking down a high pressure oil leak. It's going to be a HUGE project!

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#3 ·
Made about a 300 mile trip tonight, averaged about 15.5 MPG with a lot of hills and curvy back roads, had cruise set to 65MPH for anything that was straight enough for it. Figure next steps to see if it helps any, is change all fluids and filters, as well as clean my air filter. Doubt I'll see any appreciable gains, but we will see. Guess I should check my tire pressure too.

Did top off my coolant last night with a gallon of half and half, still didnt quite made the min line on the coolant tank, which kind of concerns me as to why its low, but it did fix my issue of not getting heat to the cab while sitting at idle.
 
#4 ·
New thoughts for the night: Was looking around and saw that there are now new spool valves out there, do we know of anyone around here who has done a rebuild with these? I have yet to see any mention other than cleaning the old ones. It seems like everyone is either all in, or completely against rebuilding injectors. As for the stutter at around 45-50 MPH in 3rd gear, any ideas? Above and below it drives nice and smooth, but right in that window theres a jolt, probably about 4-5 times a second.
 
#5 ·
Used my first bottle of lucas treatment yesterday, almost completely eliminated the stutter I was getting cruising between 45-50. Hoping that a fresh oil change and oil additive will finish it off. I'll be headed off to Texas for work this summer, so I'll still probably get that #2 injector swapped before then. Thoughts on seeing if the Oil additive is enough to kill it off and leaving it at that, or just go ahead and change the injector now?
 
#6 ·
I think 15.5 MPG is all you can expect from the truck. You may get more buy making additional mods, but IMO you’ll never make back from diesel what you put in it.

I’m not a fan of rebuilding injectors. There’s more to those things than just the spool valves we can change. Everything else requires s[pecial equipment. There’s a couple of places on the web that check and rebuild if necessary, and I have no idea how good those places are. When the time comes, I will probably just go with OEM remans and hopefully turn the old ones in for some sort of core. A spool valve kit may fix Sri tip on, but everything else in that injector still has 195k on it. I may just treat myself to the OEM remans at 225k.

I also am not a fan of doing stuff like a turbo or oil cooler as preventative maintenance unless there are symptoms pointing to it. There’s no upgrade to an OEM oil cooler except an OEM oil cooler relocate kit or a Bulletproof diesel air cooled oil cooler. If its working fine, these 15 year old trucks just have too much potential for something breaking to be taking things in and out.
 
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#7 ·
I hear you on the rebuild kits, decided I'll get an OEM reman when the time comes. Hopefull me is pulling for about 16-16.5 with clean filters just letting things free up some, but thats probably just me being optimistic haha. Something interesting thats come about in the past few days, is that I'm getting low power from stops and blowing more black smoke than when I got it. I did get mired DEEP in mud and had a hard time getting her pulled out, and it seems like that was when it started. If I drop the pedal it lags longer than it did before and blows a good cloud of smoke. It feels like the turbo isnt wanting to really spin up right away like it did before I got stuck. Reason, why I think this may have been the turning point, is because I was heavy on the gas and was blowing some serious smoke clouds when we were pulling me out. Alternative reason past coincidence, is I dropped some Lucas in the tank, but I can't see that being the reason? I feel like I may have just fouled everything up and just need to run her real hot one day to blow everything clean? I'm not getting a check engine light as of yet.
 
#16 ·
In September I took the chance on rebuilding all my injectors. I had 3 needing Replaced and Revx was getting expensive every oil change. I got the rebuild kit from bitterroot diesel for $230.00 Bitterroot Diesel Performance. There is couple of great YouTube videos showing you how. At the same time I replaced the nipples and orings on HPO rail, oil stand pipes, GPs and GP wires. Now my 04 starts right up and runs like it was new.
 
#8 ·
Check the hot side turbo boot for cracks, might as well look at all the boots for oil and cracks. Sounds like your losing boost.
Might also try some stiction/friction juice like REv X, Archoil, or Hot Shots Secret, seems like the oil side of the injectors are where the spool valves get dirty.

I just downloaded ForScan and used it to run a test that clicks all the spool valves one at time, helped verify that my injectors are ok.

Changing all fluids and filters makes a drastic difference in my truck, especially the first fuel filter in the frame rail.

Download some kind of monitoring app like Torque Pro or ForScan and buy an OBDII bluetooth adapter so you can watch that engine oil temp, if it gets more than 15-20 degrees hotter than the coolant temp then you know your oil cooler is clogged....very common.
 
#10 ·
So good news, scanner, tranny fluid/filter, oil/filter/archoil, and fuel filters are on their way. Out of curiosity I took my EGR valve off to take a peak at it. Was a PITA to remove. Wasn't absurdly coked up, though I did notice it did have a bit of a gumminess to it on the top half. Also along the bottom o-ring, I MIGHT have seen the slightest bit of white crystallization, but I think that may have just been me getting inside of my own head. If it actually was, it was VERY minimal. Thoughts on the gumminess near the top of the EGR? When I touched it, it was just a touch thinner than grease we get out of a tube. I sure don't want to do an EGR/Oil cooler replacement, just realized how much work that is, but since I need to yoink injector #2 out, I suppose it aint too bad of a deal.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Got the scanner in the mail today. Went to plug it in and..... No dice :rolleyes: Turns out Fuse 2.12 was shot. Bright side, not only does my OBD port work now, but my cigarette lighter should work now too. Going to play with the Torque Pro app and see if I cant get her all squared off for a drive after dinner.

Edit*
Initial set of codes
P0265 - Cyl 2 Inj circuit High
P0266 - Cyl 2 Contribution/Balance
P0270 - Cyl 4 Circuit Low
P0674 - Read it was a glow plug?
P132B - Read it has to do with air, either fresh or exhaust. I'm straight piped from the turbo back, 4" and have a S&B intake. Just changed the filter so heres to hoping I get lucky, the last one was NASTY
P2269 - Water In Fuel
 
#14 ·
Well boys, I think my cooler is boned. Just took her out and about, gave her some steady highway driving with a few small-mid size hills, and then I really got on her up a good hill. My deltas are 35-40F :eek::eek:😥 Coolant temps really like the 176-186* range, spending most of the time right around 180-184 from when I was able to keep an eye on it, and oil temps were really liking the 220-225 range. So either I don't know how to work my handy little scanner and Torque Pro (Possibly, unlikely) or my cooler needs replaced (Highly likely) I logged my trip, is there a good way to get the data here?

Bright side I did get my fuel and air filters replaced, they were pretty groady, so atleast she can breath better. Still having the same issue of my turbo not liking life if I get on it real hard from a stop. Blows good smoke until about1600-2000 RPM and then it kicks in. Gives about 5-6lb of boost in the early stage, then JUMPS. In one update tick I'd jump to anywhere between 12-20 lb of boost depending on how heavy and if I was on a hill or not. Top boost number I saw was 27lb.
 
#17 ·
Good to hear about the rebuilds. I assume you did not jump for the new spool valves? I think if I rebuild I will opt for those, not sure yet. As for the bulletproofing, my only hesitation to do so, is that I don't see myself having this truck past 4 years from now, and I don't see myself hanging a lot of miles on it. 9 months out of the year it just ferries me from home to college and then work, which happens to be about 12 miles a day. The remaining 3 I'll be in Dallas for an internship, so my mileage is still up in the air there, but I don't see myself hanging much more than 30~ a day there. I do have the money I COULD bullet proof everything along the way, but it would bottom out my piggy bank, and my dad left my momma in a pretty bad spot, so there is a decent chance I'll be paying her bills. I was thinking OEM oil and egr coolers, and either replace injector #2, or for not much more just rebuild all 8 with the DIY kits. Depending on prices I may consider a coolant filter, but at that point it may come out to the same price as a BP job, so I'll just have to price it and see. Hoping to get in and out for $600~ but we know how that goes :cautious:
 
#18 ·
I wouldn't touch the Ford egr cooler period. Ford updated the oil coolers that is a lot better. If not the BP egr cooler, just make sure its a US made with the tubes. The coolant filter kit is a must on 6.0. I picked one up from Amazon for $120. I changed the filter about 30 days and unbelievable how much crap was in it. Replacing the injectors on 6.0 is a total pain and if you are already in there its best to take care of all 4. As for spool valves I took some 1200 grit paper and cleaned them up good. When you change the oil I would use a 5w40 synthetic. It makes huge difference
 
#19 ·
Yea, looking at this kit here. (Ford 6.0L EGR and Oil Cooler Package 2004-2010 | EGR500-3) I still havent verified if I have an early or late 04 model yet, on the list of things to do. Figured I'd grab the Mishimoto kit off the Amazon. Puts me at $700 total so far. I can swing it, but dang. I do have some Rotella and Archoil on the way, but I feel like I don't want to dump that in until after I pull the injectors and do all my work inside. No point in spilling my nice new oil on the ground.
 
#20 ·
So haven't posted in a while, but I'm in the middle of swapping my oil cooler and my goofy injector. Have everything pulled off to get to the oil cooler just about, EGR is all thats left in the way. Will be deleting that. Also bought a rebuild kit for my injectors to replace all the seals in them, that project has me a bit nervous but I'll get over it.

Big questions are should I service my turbo since I have it out? I imagine I probably should but thats another $100. Along with that, I have ALOT of soot along the firewall and top of the intake along the passenger side of the engine bay. I am thinking it is from the turbo to downpipe connection? If so would a new V-Band be the most likely fix? I'll grab a picture tomorrow to reference, but I really don't see where else it could be coming from. Any issues with this leak other than being smelly? I can't foresee any issues past that being that its past the turbo but figured I'd ask.
 
#21 ·
More than likely, the V-Band is fine, but the pipe was not seated right. The best way I found was to wiggle the pipe as you tighten it, and that seated it better. I got that from a KC Turbos video.
 
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#23 ·
I haven't check it out yet. Conveniently, that's the next part I'm pulling off. It's coming off for an EGR delete, so if it's busted, no worries. Any tips on getting the up-pipe out of there? I've bent the heat-shielding out of the way to get a better look at it, but I'm thinking this will be worse than the rear turbo bolt that had me stuck for a day.

Got the oil cooler out and replaced. I forgot that it would be holding some oil, so once I got the bolts loose I lifted straight up, and PUKED oil everywhere. :sick:
 
#25 ·
The heat shield doesn't need to be there. To remove use 1/4 ratchet and flex head ratchet. Go from under the truck for drivers side, from the top for passenger side. You can make a cut out, but you still need to reinstall one.
For me, it was the most difficult part of my cooler and stand pipe change. Mine was nut on bolt, not bolt to threaded ear.
 
#26 ·
I did not have to take the heat shielding off. What I did use was a set of half moon wrenches. They stayed in place as I torqued the other side. With the half moon wrench on the top bolt, I also got a long extension to get the two Y-Pipe to up-pipe bolts loosened from the bottom with a socket. I think the extension was at least 18". It was easier the second and third time I had to undo that pipe.

I'd be cautious about cutting the heat shield out. It actually gets used.

What I wonder about is how hard it is to take the windshield washer motor assembly out. I did that on a different vehicle and it made access to the parts in back very easy. For that particular vehicle it was 30 minutes to remove it. I'm not sure about our truck. At the very least, there seems to be more wire bundles.
 
#27 ·
Yea I was hesitant on removing the shielding. I'll try hitting it from the bottom tomorrow. I think I have a long enough extension, or can atleast plug 2 together to get my needed length. We'll see how it goes. If it takes me more than an hour and a half, I'll probably end up scalping the pipe just to get in easier. I dont like burning good parts, but I'm on a bit of a time squeeze.
 
#28 ·
Since I got a set of those half moon wrenches, I’ve found good use for them. I picked them up over the counter at AutoZOne. For me, I’ve got a spare vehicle, over than the truck that runs fine, so not in a I’ve time crunch whenever I fix the truck. I certainly like the truck a whole lot more.
 
#30 ·
My set is 8mm, 11mm, 13mm, 14mm, and 16mm. I think I paid around $25 for them and are duralast, but I don't se them listed on the website either on AutoZone or O'reilly. Maybe they were not popular and don't carry them. Amazon has them still.
 
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