soot in 2008 6.4 tailpipes - Diesel Forum

goneon66 · 07-18-2008, 12:39 PM

i have about 2600 miles on my job-3 2008, f350, 6.4, psd. the tailpipes used to be clean. today i noticed they were mostly black with soot all over the insides.

i took it to the tech at the dealership who said as long i didn't have any check engine lights, everything was o.k.

the engine has been running fine and i haven't noticed any smoke or lack of performance. anybody else with soot in their pipes???

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NBhunter80 · 07-18-2008, 12:47 PM

I have a 6.0, and I just put new dual exhaust 2 weeks ago. I picked up the truck and drove around for about 2 hours loving the sweet new sound of my truck. When I got home my sparkling stainless pipes had black soot all on the inside. Wiped it out and it was clean. I have repeated this process every single time I have drove my truck and there is a slight black buildup that won't come off with just a rag, maybe need a solvent or something but I havent bothered. Anyway, I dont think there is any way of avoiding soot on the exhaust pipes, so I have recently switched to just keeping the outside of the tips clean, not the inside. I wouldnt worry as long as you arent seeing excessive smoking or experiencing any power loss. I think diesel and soot go hand-in-hand.

dieselwhisperer · 07-18-2008, 01:40 PM

NBhunter, we're talking about 6.4s. Your 6.0 doesn't have a DPF. 6.4s are not supposed to smoke or have soot in the tailpipes. However, my 6.4 has had black soot in the tailpipes since the day I brought it home and it will puff out a little black smoke sometimes.

rlchv70 · 07-18-2008, 01:55 PM

Soot in the tail pipe means that the DPF is cracked.

goneon66 · 07-18-2008, 02:21 PM

word on the street is that soot in the tailpipe = cracked dpf. in 3 weeks i'm gonna be driving from northern arizona to pensecola, fl and back. i would like to get ford to resolve this before i leave so i don't get screwed with any major problems 1500 miles from home............

i have heard there is a tsb regarding soot in the tailpipe and cracked dpf's. if anybody has any info on ford's documentation about this please post it. i'm gonna print all this stuff out and make sure the "stealership" reads it before my trip.................hopefully ford will do something. thanks for all your input.

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Hydro · 07-18-2008, 04:26 PM

I would go on the trip without fixing it. You'll probally get better fuel mileage since you may not regen as much. All the soot on the pipes means less getting trapped in the filter and needing a regen. I'm hoping mine cracks so I can see if there is really a difference with less regens. Just don't bring it up to your dealer and say you've never noticed it. Plus, they'd probally rather not fix it anyway.

wharrell · 07-18-2008, 07:53 PM

Could someone post a link to the TSB that deals with the Cracked DPF soot in tailpipe issue?

Right after 2500 miles, my tailpipes went black as a 6.0l also. I have cleaned them twice only to have them soot up again.

Useful life of DPF: 2500 miles.

dieselwhisperer · 07-19-2008, 06:09 AM

goneon, I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said in the post above, I've had sooty pipes from day one and getting close to 30,000 miles on mine. I've had no serious problems so far. I did ask my service writer about it when I first got the truck in June of last year and of course he said "It's a diesel, it's supposed to smoke". My plan is to wait until I get close to the end of my warranty before taking it in for a new DPF. Also, I'm getting decent fuel mileage. I drove from WV to Sunset Beach last Monday night and got 17.4 MPG and on the trip back got 16.4 MPG and I average around 13.5 to 14.5 running errands here in the hills of southern WV.

goneon66 · 07-19-2008, 12:24 PM

for those interested,

tsb 07-8-9:
-6.4L diesel engine lacks power, leaks fluid from exhaust pipe, ABNORMAL TAILPIPE SEDIMENT, white smoke, exhaust smell.......

slurrr · 07-19-2008, 03:32 PM

Same here dieselwhisperer, black soot from day one, runs great, currently regens around every 600-700 miles. Recently did a 265 miles trip pulling sea doos (2000 lbs.) at one point before steep grades was averaging 18.4 on the lie o meter. Trip ended up at 17.3 hand calculated. Around town does suck the fuel though...

Hydro · 07-19-2008, 07:37 PM

[quote=slurrr;1599515]Same here dieselwhisperer, black soot from day one, runs great, currently regens around every 600-700 miles. QUOTE]

See, that's what I'm talking about. I want mine to crack so it doesn't regen as much. Right now it regens every 300-350 miles. At 2-4 gallons of fuel used for a regen that adds up to a lot of saved money not wasted on a regen.

RT76 · 07-20-2008, 11:59 AM

i had some black smoke. Tok it to the dealer, they found the DPF cracked and replaced it. No more soot and my mileage has increased.

torino73 · 07-20-2008, 01:08 PM

My first regen was at 6600 miles- it's the only one I have seen. I run the truck hard and often.

CMB430 · 07-20-2008, 08:01 PM

I have about 21,700 miles and my pipes are still clean. I regen around 400 to 1800 miles, depending on how I drive it. When I drive around town for a weekend, I am sure to have a regen right after. When I only drive to and from work (all highway), I get one every two to three tanks.

goneon66 · 07-22-2008, 12:07 PM

the dealership just called me. they called a ford hotline and were told some soot in the tailpipe would be normal. i told them MY TRUCK'S tailpipes look like somebody sprayed them with black spraypaint......

now they are going to keep the truck over night and do tests on it for the rest of the day.......

thank you to everybody who posted here. i copied posts from 3 different forums regarding soot in the tailpipes and defective dpf's, totaling at least 30 pages and gave it to my service advisor. at least they are attempting to see if there is a problem with the dpf. i'll post the test results when i get them.

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