Recommendations For F350

Reading through the threads it looks like we may have spent some dough that was not necessary. On the trip back to TX from OR (where my Dad lived) we were passing through Hurricane UT when I noticed the front brakes smoking....going uphill. We turned around and limped it back into town. I did a down and dirty brake job in the Napa parts parking lot (and didn't even get kilt by the hi-lift jack....those two 6x12x18 blocks of pine I threw in the boat sure came in handy). New calipers, rotors and pads on both front wheels. After tearing it apart I figure it was actually only the front right caliper that was sticking. Going across the desert towing the boat with the camper on we weren't going to take any chances. Both fronts got swapped out with Napa premium parts. Had I known ahead of time, just pumping/jabbing the brakes a few times may have cleared that up.

The truck clearly didn't get a whole bunch of miles driven on it and I have read that can cause the brake fluid to absorb moisture and cause rust inside the caliper...thus the sticking. Is this the issue we experienced?

Also wish I had known about the turbo cool down when making a stop. Been here only a few hours and have learned a lot......and seen stuff that causes me to have more questions.

I already own a Scangauge II, (used on a different vehicle....till after reading here) but it sounds like the Insight gizmo might be a dandy. (Figuring out post #51 in the "monitoring the 6.0" thread has got me scratching my head on how to set it up. AFAIK that device only allows 4 points of reference to be monitored at one time....seems like that is not enough of the critical info to be monitored.

Going to do more reading to try and keep the repetitive newb questions to a minimum.

Dad also told me about the VGT turbo.....and to stick my foot in it from time to time to keep the vanes running in their full range of motion and advised to continue using the Diesel Kleen Cetane boost.

I have no idea what a compounds are.

Do all posts require moderator approval? Or Just edited ones? This is a test.

ETA: My above post is still in limbo....If I edit this one will it go into the pokey also? Another test.

ETA: 2 Edits

ETA: 3 Edits.....still testing.

ETA 4 Edits

ETA: 5 Edits

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Okay.....I have no idea why my last post ended up needing Moderator approval 15 hours ago. Can someone please let me know what the parameters are to avoid being censored?

ETA:......Reposting below.

Reading through the threads it looks like we may have spent some dough that was not necessary. On the trip back to TX from OR (where my Dad lived) we were passing through Hurricane UT when I noticed the front brakes smoking....going uphill. We turned around and limped it back into town. I did a down and dirty brake job in the Napa parts parking lot (and didn't even get kilt by the hi-lift jack....those two 6x12x18 blocks of pine I threw in the boat sure came in handy). New calipers, rotors and pads on both front wheels. After tearing it apart I figure it was actually only the front right caliper that was sticking. Going across the desert towing the boat with the camper on we weren't going to take any chances. Both fronts got swapped out with Napa premium parts. Had I known ahead of time, just pumping/jabbing the brakes a few times may have cleared that up.

The truck clearly didn't get a whole bunch of miles driven on it and I have read that can cause the brake fluid to absorb moisture and cause rust inside the caliper...thus the sticking. Is this the issue we experienced?

Also wish I had known about the turbo cool down when making a stop. Been here only a few hours and have learned a lot......and seen stuff that causes me to have more questions.

I already own a Scangauge II, (used on a different vehicle....till after reading here) but it sounds like the Insight gizmo might be a dandy. (Figuring out post #51 in the "monitoring the 6.0" thread has got me scratching my head on how to set it up. AFAIK that device only allows 4 points of reference to be monitored at one time....seems like that is not enough of the critical info to be monitored.

Going to do more reading to try and keep the repetitive newb questions to a minimum.

Dad also told me about the VGT turbo.....and to stick my foot in it from time to time to keep the vanes running in their full range of motion and advised to continue using the Diesel Kleen Cetane boost.

I have no idea what a compounds are.

Turbo Cool Down.

From this post.....and this is not the only place I have seen this while perusing the forums. If I recall correctly it gets discussed quite a bit further on in the thread.


So now that you know you need to give your turbo a regular work out to keep it happy, give it a proper cool down as well. Just whipping into your parking place and shutting it down will lead to coking the bearings and again major turbo issues. Running a good synthetic oil will help here immensely because it handles heat so much better and resists coking. But always let your turbo have time to cool down. This is one of the reasons you need a Pyrometer (EGT gauge). Let the EGT come down to 350* before shutting your truck off. This only takes a couple of minutes, especially if you take it easy on it for the last couple minutes of your trip. If this is too much hassle for you get a turbo timer that will automatically delay shutdown when you turn off the key to allow the turbo to cool down.

So what is the answer here?

kbnw15 said:

Yeah that's interesting that a new guy shows up and isn't just questioning one of the more seasoned members but essentially saying he doesn't know what he is talking about.

Click to expand...

The following is taken directly out of the INTERNATIONAL® VT 365 DIESEL ENGINE 2004-2006 Model Years EGES-295-2 Service manual. I will let you be the judge as to what you think it means.


The VGT increases power output by supplying
compressed air to the engine. The internal
components are oil and air cooled. Engine oil is
circulated through the housing, which acts as a
heat barrier between the “hot” turbine and the “cold”
compressor. Sleeve Bearings are lubricated by
engine oil. Oil is pumped directly from the oil filter
base, circulates to the VGT housing, and returns
to the sump through an oil drain in the VGT center
housing.

Lube oil moves through
passages in the crankcase to lubricate all internal
components and to supply the piston cooling tubes
and high pressure pump reservoir. The VGT and air
compressor use external oil lines.

The oil filter base directs filtered oil in four ways:
• One passage supplies filtered oil to the oil
temperature sensor, oil pressure sensor, oil
supply tube for the VGT, and oil supply for the air
compressor (optional).

Vanes mounted around the internal circumference
of the turbine housing are connected to a unison
ring. When the unison ring moves, all vanes move
to the same position. The unison ring moves, when
either side of the actuator piston receives pressurized
engine oil,

It seems pretty clear that the recommendation to allow one's turbo to cool off prior to shutting down the engine to prevent oil coking is solid advice, regardless of whether the oil sits there around the bearing or drains back into the pan after shutdown. Cutting off your engine (and thus your cooling system) while your turbo is excessively hot is clearly a bad idea. Installing an EGT gauge and taking steps to keep your turbo and your engine healthy is both simple and wise.

Good advice is just that.......and is generally better than bad advice....regardless of who is giving it to you.

Is this a hairy knuckled Diesel Forum? Or a bunch of delicate feelings Prius owners? Good grief.

kbnw15 said:

So where in all that does it tell me to idle my engine to let my turbo cool?

Click to expand...

The service manual clearly indicates that oil both lubricates and cools the turbo as well as articulates the variable vanes.

If you know anything about internal combustion engines you would know that removing lubrication and cooling from something that is excessively hot is not a good idea (What happens to oil on an excessively hot surface?....It ain't rocket science)....Thus the recommended cool down process....

Which is mentioned here:

And Here:

And Here:

And searching "cool down" on this site produces 480 hits on the subject (some relevant some not).
Read, comprehend and use the obvious good information......or not.

But don't listen to me, I am just a newbie that don't know sickum.