New 08 owner with a couple questions

[EOD-Dylan]

Hey guys,

Finally just traded in my not to be named import for an 08 F-250 Lariat edition and LOVING it. I'm picking up the truck tomorrow and I've got a big weekend of preventive maintenance planned, especially since the reason I got a great "deal" on it is because it has 87k miles. I'm bringing it to a local mechanic to have the transmission and differential fluids changed because it's just not something I'm comfortable doing yet as I'm a self admitted mechanical novice. After that I'm planning on taking it to an auto hobby shop I've got access to and flushing the radiator, changing the fuel filters, air filter, oil and oil filter. There isn't even an owners manual in the truck so I pdf manual from Ford's website and had it bound (considerably cheaper than the $65 option I found online). My questions:

Is there anything else right off right from the get go I should be thinking about?

I read the whole thing yesterday and just did a quick search here on the amount of antifreeze the truck should take and couldn't come up with anything. I was planning on getting a flush mix and then buying the 50/50 premix so there's no guessing and because I'm deploying for a year in January and I'd like that to be right since the truck won't be touched.

My other question right now was about the exhaust. I crawled under the truck front to back looking for obvious leaks or defects and I noticed the exhaust stopped right after the muffler. Nothing looks aftermarket just like somebody pulled the rest of the piping out. Any concerns dumping the exhaust straight down the middle of the truck?

Thanks y'all. Awesome forum and I've been crawling all over it trying to buff up on some diesel knowledge pre-purchase.

[mbot]

I just bought an 08 that had 99.9k on it when I got it, now at 102.5k

I would invest in a Ford ESP Powerstroke 7/200k engine warranty, which is only good if you do it *before* the factory powertrain warranty expires at 100k. Cost should be about $1750, which will definitely be worth it if you ever need injectors, turbo, head gasket, or similar work done.

Enjoy the new truck!!

Originally Posted by EOD-Dylan

Hey guys,

Finally just traded in my not to be named import for an 08 F-250 Lariat edition and LOVING it. I'm picking up the truck tomorrow and I've got a big weekend of preventive maintenance planned, especially since the reason I got a great "deal" on it is because it has 87k miles. I'm bringing it to a local mechanic to have the transmission and differential fluids changed because it's just not something I'm comfortable doing yet as I'm a self admitted mechanical novice. After that I'm planning on taking it to an auto hobby shop I've got access to and flushing the radiator, changing the fuel filters, air filter, oil and oil filter. There isn't even an owners manual in the truck so I pdf manual from Ford's website and had it bound (considerably cheaper than the $65 option I found online). My questions:

Is there anything else right off right from the get go I should be thinking about?

I read the whole thing yesterday and just did a quick search here on the amount of antifreeze the truck should take and couldn't come up with anything. I was planning on getting a flush mix and then buying the 50/50 premix so there's no guessing and because I'm deploying for a year in January and I'd like that to be right since the truck won't be touched.

My other question right now was about the exhaust. I crawled under the truck front to back looking for obvious leaks or defects and I noticed the exhaust stopped right after the muffler. Nothing looks aftermarket just like somebody pulled the rest of the piping out. Any concerns dumping the exhaust straight down the middle of the truck?

Thanks y'all. Awesome forum and I've been crawling all over it trying to buff up on some diesel knowledge pre-purchase.

[Charlie98]

Originally Posted by EOD-Dylan

My other question right now was about the exhaust. I crawled under the truck front to back looking for obvious leaks or defects and I noticed the exhaust stopped right after the muffler. Nothing looks aftermarket just like somebody pulled the rest of the piping out. Any concerns dumping the exhaust straight down the middle of the truck?

Thanks y'all. Awesome forum and I've been crawling all over it trying to buff up on some diesel knowledge pre-purchase.

First off... THANK YOU for your service to our country!

Although my truck doesn't have a diesel in it, I suspect there are going to be performance issues with the exhaust ending at the muffler. Besides, I wouldn't want all that heat and soot being dumped underneath my truck!

If someone here doesn't mention it, I would ask your mechanic. It doesn't sound right...

[mbot]

Originally Posted by Charlie98

First off... THANK YOU for your service to our country!

Although my truck doesn't have a diesel in it, I suspect there are going to be performance issues with the exhaust ending at the muffler. Besides, I wouldn't want all that heat and soot being dumped underneath my truck!

If someone here doesn't mention it, I would ask your mechanic. It doesn't sound right...

I agree, and would like to add that the 6.4 has a specially designed dual tip that is supposed to assist with the DPF regeneration.....

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by EOD-Dylan

I read the whole thing yesterday and just did a quick search here on the amount of antifreeze the truck should take and couldn't come up with anything.

8 gallons total. Yes, it's a huge cooling system. 4 gallons of antifreeze concentrate plus 4 gallons of distilled water.

I was planning on getting a flush mix and then buying the 50/50 premix so there's no guessing and because I'm deploying for a year in January and I'd like that to be right since the truck won't be touched.

There are several ways to change coolant in your rig, and most of them are wrong. 50/50 antifreeze is for use only for topping off your cooling system, or for doing a wrong change by draining the radiator and then simply filling it back up without flushing.

Do NOT use 50/50 premix coolant after a flush. And don't flush with anything except distilled water. After you flush with distilled water, your cooling system will have almost two gallons of distilled water in it that won't drain. So if you pour in 50/50 mix you'll have only about 40 percent antifreeze and 60 percent water in the cooling system.

So instead, use antifreeze concentrate. After the flush, pour in 4 gallons of concentrate, then top off with distilled water. Then you'll have about a 50/50 mix in your cooling system.

Click on the link below to read how you would do it in an older Ford diesel. The main way those instructuins change for your '08 is the kind of antifreeze you must use. First, be certain that you use antifeeze designed to be used in a modern turbodiesel engine. Most of the antifreeze sold in auto parts stores won't do. Prestone in the yellow jug is a no no. Ordinary Peak antifreeze is a no no. Wal-Mart's house brand is a no no. Ford says you should use G-05 antifreeze. The easiest to find brands of G-05 are Motorcraft Premuim Gold available at your Ford dealer, and Zerex G-05 available at some auto parts stores. And some folks say you can use a heavy duty extended life antifreeze such as Cat ELC or Rotella ELC, but Ford has not approved any ELC except G-05.
Cooling System Flush And Fill Methods For The Average Joe And The Perfectionest

My other question right now was about the exhaust. I crawled under the truck front to back looking for obvious leaks or defects and I noticed the exhaust stopped right after the muffler. Nothing looks aftermarket just like somebody pulled the rest of the piping out. Any concerns dumping the exhaust straight down the middle of the truck?

Yes, you'll probably die of carbon monoxide posioning. You have to have a tailpipe to get the exhaust out from under the truck. A cheap tailpipe will exit in front of the rear tire, but then you'll get black gunk all over the rear wheel. Do it right and install a proper tailpipe that goes over the rear axle and exits behind the rear tire. And yeah, because of the special exhaust system on your '08, I'd want the stock Ford tailpipe on mine.

And speaking of special exhaust, I hope the rest of your exhaust system is still stock, with the factory diesel particulate filter (DPF) still installed and working.

[EOD-Dylan]

Thanks for the input everyone, especially Smokey. When I first looked at that exhaust I could tell the muffler was still there but I had the truck on a lift yesterday and took a good look and as far as I can tell the DPF is still intact and all the factory connections are still made. I ordered a replacement exhaust immediately after reading everyone's replies and cancelled a trip down to Nashville this weekend since it doesn't make any sense to keep on dumping all that hot exhaust under the truck. All the above fluid and filter changes have been made with motorcraft products minus the differentials. I bought the gear oil but I'm putting that off for a while per the maintenance schedule. Again, Smokey your link to that article on coolant flush was really helpful and I feel a lot better about what's going on in the truck now. I'll be getting that exhaust together at the end of the week. I'm working on a hand calculated tank of in town fuel mileage but how accurate has everyone found the onboard computer to be at that?

[senix]

the lie-o-meter is usually off on most peoples. Mine always reads a few tenths better then it really is.

This truck, does it have bigger tires on it? With 87K if it is running bigger than stock take a look at the front hubs.

does the truck have a chip or tuner in it? I am kinda wondering since they chopped off the exhaust.

So you should have the CAT, DPF and muffler under there.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by EOD-Dylan

I'm working on a hand calculated tank of in town fuel mileage but how accurate has everyone found the onboard computer to be at that?

Most folks with Lariat or better trim that includes the overhead console refer to the computer readout as the "lie-o-meter".

But one reason is most folks don't have a clue as to how to do a "hand calculated tank".

Diesel foams easily. Very few diesel pumps will add fuel to your tank without lots of foam - and foam will turn off the automatic pump. If you don't see liquid diesel at the filler cap - not foam but liquid - both before and after your tankful, then you can't do a good MPG calculation. So you have to let the diesel trickle in slow enough so the foam goes away as fast as it is made. It takes about 10 minutes to put in the last 4+ gallons of diesel each fillup.

[EOD-Dylan]

Originally Posted by senix

the lie-o-meter is usually off on most peoples. Mine always reads a few tenths better then it really is.

This truck, does it have bigger tires on it? With 87K if it is running bigger than stock take a look at the front hubs.

does the truck have a chip or tuner in it? I am kinda wondering since they chopped off the exhaust.

So you should have the CAT, DPF and muffler under there.

Everything is stock and still there. All I ordered for the exhaust was piping over the axle and out behind the wheel per Smokey's input. I mean as far as I can tell there hasn't been any tunes made but with some of those tuners aren't they plug in, tune, remove and stow? is there any way to tell that that's been done?

[EOD-Dylan]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

Diesel foams easily. Very few diesel pumps will add fuel to your tank without lots of foam - and foam will turn off the automatic pump. If you don't see liquid diesel at the filler cap - not foam but liquid - both before and after your tankful, then you can't do a good MPG calculation. So you have to let the diesel trickle in slow enough so the foam goes away as fast as it is made. It takes about 10 minutes to put in the last 4+ gallons of diesel each fillup.

I'm convinced you need to write a book.

[thomasboyz]

repairs on these trucks are very exspensive i strongly recommend an extended warranty especially since you're buying it used. also common sense will tell ppl that the "lie o meter" wont be exact cause its an average for example if a vehicle gets 15 mpg on highway but you have been driving around in the city getting 10 you dont think you're going to get 15 as soon as you jump on the highway do ya?

[rock_doctor]

an owners manual can be downloaded here https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...ls/default.asp the diesel supplement manual is not here though.

[smotrs]

Do you know if the truck has all the flashes and/or TSB's taken care of?

[Pappy19]

Originally Posted by EOD-Dylan

I'm convinced you need to write a book.

If you get the ITP tank fix, it will save you 8 of those 10 minutes to fill up to the brim. Been there did that.

[seymour2008f350]

Smokey-You apparently have extensive knowledge of trucks, so I will pose this question directly to you. I own a 2008 F350 Lariat 6.4L 4X4 Crew Cab Short Bed Dually 4.10:1 with almost 90K miles. I am in the process of changing out all fluids and filters, but can not seem to find the quantity of brake and power steering fluids needed for complete refills. Could you help me with the quantities, and any alternate brands you would recommend? Thanks in advance. Sy Kaplan