Happy New Owner

[Hazzardousmat]

Just picked it up this morning. Everything works except the fog lights. 241K miles on the clock, runs nice and smooth, shifts just as good. Typical rip in the driver seat where the PO slid out. A couple of dash bulbs need replaced and has some rust over the fenders on the bed. It also has a crack along the drivers side bedrail. Have no idea how that happened.. But
I"M A HAPPY CAMPER

 

[Sparky83]

perty truck...

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Thank you. I'm apparently stupid, as I asked the Ford Dealership about the fog lights, didnt know that the knob for the headlights, you pull outward to turn them on.............
I thought it had an exhaust leak as I could smell some smoke in the cab while sitting still or with the windows up and the ac going. Had the exhaust checked out, its in great shape. However, the valve covers are leaking onto the exhaust and filling the cab with smoke. Been calling around about getting it fixed. The diesel shops around here only work on Semi's, not pickups. Found a couple of shops in other towns that would do the work but want 500.00 or so (depending if its more than just the kit for the valve covers). Got to get my F250 sold so I can get this done as soon as possible. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is nothing to ignore. Especially while going down the road.

 

[Sparky83]

i dunt have the fogs so never knew how the switch worked... always thought there was a button or something to activate them...

technically theres actually 2 "valve cover gaskets" on these trucks... an upper and a lower... the lower is pinched between the rocker box and the heads... the upper is just sandwiched between the actual cover and the rocker box... unfortunately the only way to do the lower one is to pull all the head bolts which isnt a fun thing to do... especially since you run the risk of popping the head gasket when the pressures released from it...

the upper ones easier to do... you could actually do it yourself if you wanted to... shouldnt take you more than 2 hrs with basic hand tools... just be careful when tightening the m6x1 bolts back into place as they snap easily... some kits come with new bolts others dont.. but most people replace them when they pull the covers because of how brittle they are... it runs about 30-40 a piece from ford... which youll need 2 if you want to do both sides... just make sure when you pull the bolts you make note of where which ones went where... youll thank yourself later because some have a top mounted stud for things to bolt to as well and need to go back into that same spot.. if not youll be installing and uninstalling till you do get them back into the right places lol...

my driverside one has a persistent leak i cant seem to ever get rid of... ive changed the thing 3 different times and still leaks...

id be willing to bet either the down pipe from the turbo or the up pipes to the turbo is where your getting the exhaust leak from... its the 2 most common places for it to leak... they can look seated but actually arent under the clamps.. rust has a tendency to build up between the connection of the downpipe and the turbo causing a leak... and the issue with the uppipes comes in whenever the turbos been removes... the up-pipes have to sit in a recessed groove inside the inlet for the turbine side.. if its not lined up perfectly the connection wont seat letting the gasses escape under the hood.. its also possible that either the seal on the evaporator cover has deteriorated or the cover wasnt installed properly to begin with letting the engine bay gasses into the ducting as well..

 

[Sparky83]

also to save your back some frustraition.. ntm your knees... go buy one of these to work on the front of that truck...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Werner-1-71-ft-x-1-ft-x-20-56-in-225-lbs-Aluminum-Work-Platform/999946108

im 5'10 and love that thing... its alot nicer than trying to climb up the tow hooks to stand on the bumper... unfortunately i still end up kneeling on the radiator cross member to reach the far back of the engine bay... but its nice for doing oil changes and things like that...

btw got any underhood pics??

 

[Hazzardousmat]

I'll check that out. Question. What is exactly "bullet proof ". If the truck has to be torn down and new head studs, as part of the valve cover repair, shouldn't I just have the rest done while it's that far into it?

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Here is a couple more pics as requested

 

[Sparky83]

glad to see its still got the correct sized oil filter cap.. which was the main reason i was asking about the underhood pics... but did see another potential problem there youll want to upgrade before it leaves you on the side of the road... your truck still has the prone to melt "cold" side CAC pipe... youll want to upgrade it to the metal one that wont melt and blow out on you going down the road...

6C3Z-6C640-AA is the part number... itll run you about $100... the places that offer it for about $80 dont include the shipping which tends to be 10-20$ others that offer free shipping are 100-110$

if you go through Xtreme Diesel Power i have 2 possible discount codes you can use with them... usually the one works year round... the other is hit and miss through the year...

 

[Hazzardousmat]

glad to see its still got the correct sized oil filter cap.. which was the main reason i was asking about the underhood pics... but did see another potential problem there youll want to upgrade before it leaves you on the side of the road... your truck still has the prone to melt "cold" side CAC pipe... youll want to upgrade it to the metal one that wont melt and blow out on you going down the road...

6C3Z-6C640-AA is the part number... itll run you about $100... the places that offer it for about $80 dont include the shipping which tends to be 10-20$ others that offer free shipping are 100-110$

if you go through Xtreme Diesel Power i have 2 possible discount codes you can use with them... usually the one works year round... the other is hit and miss through the year...

It would be very helpful. If you could PM me those codes, I would really really appreciate it.

 

[Sparky83]

I'll check that out. Question. What is exactly "bullet proof ". If the truck has to be torn down and new head studs, as part of the valve cover repair, shouldn't I just have the rest done while it's that far into it?

missed this post earlier... bulletproofing is a subjective term... if you want to do everything thats in the "major" list people keep throwing around your looking about 10K in parts to "bullet proof"... personally id leave the truck alone modification wise until you have problems (other than replacing that tube i mentioned earlier)... work on it when it breaks down instead of tearing apart good things to do "preventive fixes" that may never need done... theres a ton of factory trucks running around problem free...

being that yours is an 06. youll have the newer style oil rail for the injectors with has problems with the stand pipes and feed tubes... theres also a fitting on the back of the High Pressure Oil Pump (hpop for short) that the original design has a tendency to break apart leaving you stranded on the road... theres an update for this as well.. but requires you to rip the top half of the engine apart to get to it...

at the most basic its going from the torque-to-yield bolts and replacing them with ARP Stud kit, updated blue spring kit which regulates your fuel pressure, adding a coolant filter and/or converting the coolant over to Rottella ELC (the factory gold coolant breaks down into silicate sand that plugs things up in the cooling system, most commonly the egr cooler and oil heat exchanger)... upgrading the FICM (Fuel injector control module) to a stronger one from BulletProofDiesel... not power wise but circuitry wise...

then you have the ones that get rid of the EGR cooler, replace the Oil heat exchanger with a remote oil cooler, some junk the factory variable geometry turbo for a regular turbo with a waste gate, straight piping the exhaust.. ect ect... list goes on and on...

personally i had problems with the blue spring kit... which i couldnt get the factory black spring to work again and had to go to a regulated return to solve the issue... this also gets rid of the factory regulator spring and the dead head at the rear of the block...

one thing you will want to do is get something like Scan Gauge II, Edge Insight CTS, or download the app Torque Pro or Forescan and purchase a $12 bluetooth OBDII adapter that your smart phone or tablet can connect to in order to monitor the trucks sensors... the biggest 2 are the Coolant and Engine Oil temp... with the factory oil heat exchanger cooler in place you dont want to see the temps spread more than 12*... which signal a problem of a clogged oil cooler... youll also want to get a gauge to monitor the fuel pressure... on the factory black spring your fuel pressure at idle should be around 55psi... if someones done the blue spring itll be more around 65psi... but you dont want to see the pressure drop under 45psi under load.. this signals a weak fuel pump and if it goes for too long youll end up destroying your fuel injectors...

This is just the tip of the ice burg... you may also want to replace that yellowed coolant tank when you can... that way you can actually see the fluid level in it... fluid level drops is a good indication of a cracked oil cooler, egr cooler, or head gaskets (depending on how it fails you can either burn it, lose it out the back of the head or it can actually end up over pressurizing the coolant tank and puke it out the cap)...

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Wow. Thank you for the info. I am a bit stupid when it comes to diesel. Never owned one till now, granted I drove semi trucks for 14 years and have a little knowledge about them. However that was Caterpillar and Cummins engines and that was 10 years ago

 

[Sparky83]

Wow. Thank you for the info. I am a bit stupid when it comes to diesel. Never owned one till now, granted I drove semi trucks for 14 years and have a little knowledge about them. However that was Caterpillar and Cummins engines and that was 10 years ago

your not the only one... feel free to ask questions... if i dont have the answer right away i know a few people that do and can probably get you one pretty quick...

prior to buying my 6.0 i never worked on a diesel other than the 1 i did an oil change on while i was doing a summer internship in high school... come to think of it i did work on a school bus with a 7.3 in it too at the school... but all it had was a split fuel line at the rotary pump.... so wouldnt really count that as "working" on the engine...

now i got 2 diesels to play with lol... the one in my truck and the one in my tractor... lol... once you get to playing with them youll realize outside of one having a spark plug and the other having a glow plug theyre really no different in working on them than a gasser... the basics are still the same... the only other real difference with a diesel is the higher torque values associated with all the bolts... youll want to get yourself some 3/4" drive tools and a 3/4" drive torque wrench to cover those higher torque values... miles come in handy lol... originally bought my 3/4" torque wrench for the mustangs spindle nut which had a torque spec of 250ft-lbs... (most 1/2" drive stop at 180-200ft-lbs)... ive ended up using it alot more on the truck than i did the mustang lol...

ive always wanted to drive a tractor trailer... my dream one would be 1994 Peterbilt 379 with the kitty cat under the hood.. course i wouldnt turn down one with a model 60 Detroit diesel under it either...

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Changed a couple of bulbs in the instrument panel. Followed the video on YouTube and now my check engine light is on, rear tire acts like its trying to lock up when I make a sharp turn...

 

[fatherdoug]

Nice truck!

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Thank you. Transfer case actuator was stuck between 2 high and 4 high. Removed it, shifted manual into 2 high and I'm rolling again

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Replacement part is 200.00 at autozone and napa. Rockauto has it for 75 plus 35 core.. Ummm, think I'll go rock auto lol

 

[Sparky83]

Replacement part is 200.00 at autozone and napa. Rockauto has it for 75 plus 35 core.. Ummm, think I'll go rock auto lol

dont forget the $20 shipping that always pops up when i try to order from them....

 

[Hazzardousmat]

Of course, still cheaper than autozone or napa