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06 F350 6.0 - Old Farm Truck

3K views 41 replies 4 participants last post by  Treehick 
#1 ·
I’ll give a detail of how I got it, what has been done to it, and where I'm at now when there's a keyboard in front of me.

Currently have a post elsewhere asking if/how I can make the fuel tank think it's full of the cluster works according to the gauge test.
 
#2 ·
I traded a 2005(?) suburban with 250k miles and $1k for the truck on 7/11/2020 down in southern Indiana and at the time we were told that it didn't run or it wouldn't stay running.

We got there and my friend Wayne, who convinced me it was a good deal, looked over the motor, plugged in an obdII adapter, cranked it, climbed to the rear of the motor and snapped an injector back in, cranked it again and it fired right up.

With the passenger front fender well out we took it for a test drive, for about a mile, and came back and Wayne said good to go.

We did the trade with a bill of sale as the seller's father was there, but the seller wasn't able to make it.

We proceeded to drive the truck an hour home - but had to stop by the nearest town to top it off with a gallon of coolant and make sure the tank was full because the low fuel signal was on.

Got it home and swapped out the 2 batteries, gave it a good cleaning, and found the radiator was leaking quite bad.

Let it sit until I replaced the radiator, and on my first drive to work I blew an o-ring. Got it hauled back to my yard and bought approximately $500 worth of parts since I was going down to the fuel rails.

Got all that repaired and made it to work the next attempt only to find my driver's side tire flat. Bought some alcoa's while waiting on my new tires and got 2 installed up front only to find that the passenger side had a crack in the valve stem. I currently am trying to sell the 4 now, and had purchased 2 new steel for the front and that's what's installed now.

Been driving it since the o-ring overhaul. Had been driving with only the downpipe until 8/29.

Anyhow - you can see the list and progress in the attached photos. DD - 2006 F350 6.0

The main issues I'm dealing with now are the defueling issue (PRIORITY), no rear brakes (parts on the way), vibration upfront (hoping it isn't the hub assemblies but will know when I replace the u-joints), vacuum lines need replacing (mice chewed through them in-dash), and 4wd not clicking (knowing the vacuum is not operable, I should at least hear the transfer case, right?).

I have some slop in carrier bearing - but I don't think it's an issue - or priority. I think I can hold out for a little bit.

I noticed the rear diff was quite warm when working on the tank connection - could that be from worn fluids or maybe the exhaust? I may change the rear diff fluid when I do the rear brakes.
 
#3 ·
How many miles on the 2006?
What condition is the (body/bed/interior) in?What is primary use, DD orTowing?
How far do you plan to travel with it?
How much time are you willing to spend on this truck?
Just being honest—If it was me I think I would add up all of the expenses in parts and expected labor of those items you already mentioned, add on at least another 40% to that for issues you haven’t discovered yet, and decide will the truck be worth the overall investment. Sounds like the truck was not maintained very well—and chances are the engine didn’t receive its periodic required maintenance either. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
How many miles on the 2006?
What condition is the (body/bed/interior) in?What is primary use, DD orTowing?
How far do you plan to travel with it?
How much time are you willing to spend on this truck?
Just being honest—If it was me I think I would add up all of the expenses in parts and expected labor of those items you already mentioned, add on at least another 40% to that for issues you haven’t discovered yet, and decide will the truck be worth the overall investment. Sounds like the truck was not maintained very well—and chances are the engine didn’t receive its periodic required maintenance either. Good luck.
-About 220k miles (but speedometer says 82 when I'm doing 70 since I bought it, so there's a chance there's fewer miles.)

-Everything but the bed is in very good and solid condition. Bed appears to be a few years older and less taken care of. But, strong enough to last me the length that I have the truck.

-The truck is currently my daily driver, to and from a desk position. However, there is the potential of needing a 3/4 ton or heavier truck occasionally, and more so once I work the bugs out.

-i have family that I visit about 3 hours away, but if I'm able to drive it 8-14 hours about once a year, I'd be thrilled!

-I'm willing to learn and work on it as much as I'm able. I consider myself to be mechanically inclined (not gifted), however I have a good friend that is gifted and a mechanic that can assist when I'm in a bind.

-It doesn't appear to be in very decent shape as many of my past vehicles have been when purchased. However, I do believe that if this truck is repaired, than I should have a dependable vehicle moving forward. My goal, in the past couple years, was to get rid of all other projects so that I could help my family and friends out more. I've been trying to get back to a dependable 3/4 ton truck or heavier and at the time this truck had everything I was hoping for. I was not thrilled with the dually or the additional spring package, nor all the other issues that I keep finding, but it's got good bones and as long as the motor and trans is good, everything else that I'm currently fixing shouldn't need touched for another 30k miles or potentially 5+ years.

I may be receiving a daily driver, or maybe sometime next year I'll purchase a good mpg car, but I've been without a full-size truck and it sucks.

I have no interest in jacking it up or making it a race truck. Might do an updated ficm and change gearing to help mileage, but that would be after bugs get worked out and I know what mileage I'm getting. Right now it's resolving bugs, preparing for winter and wood gathering and figuring how to store tools securely.

I'm 35, owned around 30 vehicles since 16, and I have an idea of what I want in and with vehicles. Everything I've seen so far with the 6.0 is quite simple once you peel back the layers. As a machine mover once told me "it all boils down to nuts and bolts".
 
#5 ·
Treehick, I did get a chance to review the pictures, looks pretty solid! Don’t take what I said as critical— we have had several guys at work (a couple years ago) who bought trucks with 6.0’s, invested a lot of money, and ended up with the trucks broke down again and sold taking a loss. But, there are also a lot of good running 6.0’s I too have heard that once you learn the 6.0’s there not bad to work on.
Wasn’t trying to rain on your parade— this definitely is the place (TDS) to find help.

Also as RT said in the other thread, posting in the 6.0 category for engine / drivetrain should get you the experienced help you’re looking for. And, welcome to the forum—
Glenn
 
#6 · (Edited)
No worries Glenn. If you hadn't asked the question, someone would have. I've been around forums enough to see a pattern, haha. And it really is a very reasonable question for what it is and the work that needs to go into it.

During church today I was convicted about the cost, but after considering it more I realized that I could potentially be spending this money on any other vehicle that I paid a lot more for up front.

And thank you for the reassurance. The responses by members and moderators have been very quick here. It's always hard to find a new forum.
 
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#7 ·
I've owned several 7.3s plus the 6.0 in my signature. I've made a point of educating myself about the 6.0s because I like to do my own work and because I think its hard to find a mechanic who actually understands this engine. I think no matter what engine Ford had produced after the 7.3 it would have seemed a dog by comparison with that venerable beast. Having said all that I think the 6.0 is a very good engine if you understand it and don't hotrod it.

You said somewhere else that you have a buddy mechanic that you will rely on for assistance. That may or may not be a good idea. There's some really good 6.0 mechanics but there's many many more who haven't got a clue. I encourage you to develop your own knowledge about the 6.0 if you plan to keep the truck. The truck in my sig has 410,000 km on it and I'd leave tomorrow on a cross country trip in it without a second thought.
 
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#8 ·
Great to hear Bob!

My friend is a heavy equipment mechanic, who used to be a John Deere mechanic, who used to be a truck diesel mechanic. He's very knowledgeable about the idi's before he got into the 6.0 market. He now has 2 and works on them along with many of his friends' trucks.

I try and do as much maintenance as I can without bothering him as we are all REALLY busy guys who are married and have full time jobs, but if I'm in a bind, he's willing to assist with his specially tools, knowledge, and experience.
 
#9 ·
Is there a "What did you do to your 6.0 today?" Thread?

If not - upgraded my transmission pan and filter to the 2008 version - which is an actual filter and not just a screen. 10 qts of fluid (haven't had a chance to check when hot, but it felt good driving to work today). I changed the fluid and filter about 2-3 weeks ago and it was nearly black (in the pan - not on the stick) and the outter/front filter was black as night. Last night's change was a little lighter (thankfully with so few miles on it) but the front filter was still awfully dark. I'm hoping that this second change and the additional filter will help elongate the life of the transmission as I'm sure it has never had a change before.

Also changed out the rear diff fluid. It was also black as night when I opened it up. Emptied 2 cans of cleaner in it and wiped out as much as I could as well - including sopping up the pit with multiple lint-free shop towels. Took about 6 towels to clean off the lid because directly hitting it with the brake cleaner wasn't doing much. I feel much more confident in the rear end.

I'm getting in a bit of a bind with the wife with the costs going towards this thing, but I'm very tempted on buying new front timken bearing assemblies and taking a day off from work to replace the rear brake assemblies, lines, front bearings, and u-joints. It'll ride like a new truck, haha.
 
#10 ·
Can't find where I read that the hub assemblies can cause vibration as I can't find it now. It feels as if the front tires, specifically the driver's side, starts hopping at different speeds - but it's only noticeable at acceleration or cruising.

After reading/googling - it appears it might be the rear drive-shaft with the 3 u-joints and carrier bearing.

Question is - and I'll dig for it more later when I get a chance - what are the symptoms of a bad hub assembly? And/or - can completely rattly front axle u-joints cause vibrations? I'd REALLY like to not spend another $500 on parts at the moment.
 
#11 ·
Did you get anything figured out on the vibration?
 
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#12 ·
Well its just one data point but I had a completely pooched front axle u-joint flopping around for 3 or 4 months before I changed it and never noticed any vibration ever.
 
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#13 ·
Hey Glen & Bob -

Truth be told, I completely forgot about the rear driveshaft/vibration. There's a drivetrain shop locally that'll do the 3 u-joints and carrier bearing for $250 - labor & parts included.

Reason I forgot about it is because when I lenghtened my exhaust system from a downpipe to a more complete system on 8/30 I found that both sides of my rear brake line had been crimped by the PO. I decided to stop driving the truck and have been driving my dad's truck (02 Dodge gas 2500 retired DNR 4x4) since 9/9 until I can replace the rear brake assemblies and will swap the front u-joints out as well.

Last night I was able to pull off the driver's side dually wheels, driver's side front tire, and the outter dually on the passenger side. I couldn't get the inner wheel off - but I learned a few tricks after I got inside that I'll try when I'm able to work on it again.

I was planning on pulling the rear drive shaft off while doing the brakes and u-joints, but with everything else that I'm replacing - if it does go away - I won't be able to pinpoint it.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Pickup truck Automotive tire
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Pickup truck Automotive tire
Iron Rust Serpent Auto part Metal
Rust Rock Auto part Automotive wheel system Wheel
 
#14 ·
The inner wheel was loose Friday night - 3 nights of soaking with penetration oil really seemed to help. So - all 6 tires are now off and in the shed.

Was able to get the driveshaft removed last night. Only took about 2 hours. Had to cut the center support bolts off with a reciprocating saw. :-( It appears there are lock brackets for the nuts that were supposed to be removable but a PO decided to weld just below the bolt holes. So...not sure if I should grind the weld or cut the bracket?

Carrier bearing is terrible. U-joints are loosy goosy - so probably need replaced. Have the driveshaft assembly in my temp truck (dad's truck) and plan on dropping it off at a driveline shop at lunch.

Marked the driveshaft and the diff and the transfer case with white out - but I only really needed to do that if I were assembling it myself and not getting it balanced by a shop, right? The whole purpose of marking a driveshaft is to insure that the shaft remains balanced, correct?
 
#15 ·
Per the driveline shop: The stub is bad on this shaft under where the carrier bearing presses onto. Getting a new stub and carrier bearing - $250. He said my u-joints might have another 100k miles, depending on what I do with the truck.
Auto part Fuel line Metal Automotive engine part Pipe
 
#16 ·
Yeah that's what's known as "wallered out". That would definitely cause vibration.
Since you have the driveshaft out, replace the u-joints. Not something you want to do over shortly.
The carrier bolts in to J-nuts (aka clip nuts). If someone has welded to those, they're available to replace, If they've welded the bolts on to the bracket, then you should replace the bracket also.
 
#17 ·
Yea - I thought about having the u-joints replaced, but I'm having someone do them so it'll be $150 (parts and labor) to do the 3 u-joints. My costs are adding up so even though it may be an inconvenience further down the road - if I can get by for 3 months or 6 months or more, than it'll be alright. Thankfully the headroom under the truck is a lot better than my HHR - so working underneath it isn't as bad, haha.

The J-nuts and bolts - where might I find these parts? I tried rockauto, but I didn't know what they were called at the time, but I also don't know where to look. Do you have a part number I can work with?
 
#18 ·
Ford calls them u-nuts. I think the bolts are M8 size (coarse thread) - you should match them to the old ones. The nuts should be available at any parts store
 
#19 ·
I will do that. Since the brackets that, I would imagine, were to hold the nuts on are welded, I think I'll cut them off and when I install the new bolts I'll use lock washers and blue loctite.

I've replaced the carrier bearing on 1-3 of my previous vehicles and this is the first that had a cool locking mechanism for the nut. Why someone would ruin it by welding it is beyond me. The carrier bearing is just as much of a maintenance item as u-joints. Welding those brackets is like welding the straps of the u-joint onto the yoke. Ugh.
 
#20 ·
Those u-nuts are mainly used so the assembly line folks don't have to use a back-up wrench. Using standard nuts and lock washers is OK. I don't understand why anyone would weld them either. That just doesn't make sense unless they were captive hex nuts that are pressed into the spring clip, which have a tendency to spin in the clip. I've had to burn one or two of those off to get things apart.
 
#21 ·
So...got the rear driveshaft installed, exhaust pipe is clear of the transmission pan (I think) and got both front axle shafts out. How I was stopping - only God knows. The inner brake pads disintegrated when I hammered them from the nearly frozen calipers.

But - not the reason I came here. Dropped the axle shafts off to the driveline shop to get the u-joints replaced for $20/ea and found out that my F350 U-joints "SPL553X" were in fact - too small! That my axle shafts require 1550's or SPL70-4X which is found in F450's and F550's.

This is quite concerning because I haven't attempted reassembly of anything and am now wondering, as I've purchased everything F350 on RockAuto - if I should've been purchasing everything as F450 or F550.

Question is - A 4x4 F350 cab and chassis with payload capacity of 5900 lbs - what all components would have been upgraded, other than the u-joints. I'll find out when I start reassembly - but thought I'd reach out here first.
 
#24 ·
Decided to start on rear brakes - thought since I had more time, I could potentially actually get them back together, but that was too hopeful.

Is it true that you don't pack the bearings with grease? That they are lubed with axle gear oil? I find that hard to believe.. (2 youtube videos)

The inner bearing and seal on the driver's side track back to a RWD dually. But I have a 4wd cab and chassis dually. Can anyone explain this? Can a rear hub be swapped? Would it be safe to order the bearings and hubs for both sides, or should I tear down the passenger to confirm the bearings and inner seal?

Is there a place I can reference cab and chassis part references? I wonder if that's why..

And what are the clips for, with the the brake hardware?
 

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#25 ·
Can't answer all your questions but yes, diff oil is what lubes those bearings. I like to drive the vehicle on a hillside after changing bearings - tip it each way to ensure the bearings are full. I have no idea what those little clips are for but I wouldn't sweat it. If I had a nickel for every random unknown useless part that has come packaged in a parts shipment I'd buy me a 6.7.
 
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#26 ·
Thank you for your response @bobofthenorth ! I found one of those clips in my old rotor, lodged in the heat sink vanes. But, I figured it had just fallen from the innards of the old parking brake assembly and weren't supposed to be in the vanes.

Also - should I lube the gears in any way, or top the diff off, before driving? The closest decent hill is a few miles away. Would it hurt to pack the bearings - after all, would grease really hurt anything since it's a closed system?
 
#28 ·
I can't imagine why grease would hurt anything but I'm just some goof on the interweb and I'll be long gone if your bearings puke. I do know that some busnuts pack the front wheel bearings on their buses rather than running them in oil baths as they were designed. Their logic is that grease packed bearings withstand long idle periods better than oil-lubed bearings.
 
#29 ·
Haha - well, I would hate it if you left because you gave your opinion on a forum of thousands of other people that can give the same or different advice. Anyone that doesn't cross-reference or take any advice on their own shoulders should probably take their stuff to a mechanic where they have the guarantee or warranty in writing...

With bus nuts - if the wheel is idle, than it doesn't need lube.. Unless they think that the vibration of the bus running would wear on the bearings? Anyhow - I'm good with fluid lubrication - just didn't know about the initial lubing.

I do appreciate any beneficial help, and even some sarcastic help - depending on if my questions are answered or not, haha.
 
#30 ·
This is from the '02 Ford Service Manual (latest I have handy), but the axles are the same for later trucks.

CAUTION: Lightly coat the spindle and pack each rear wheel bearing with Premium Long-Life Grease XG-1-C or equivalent meeting Ford specification ESA-M1C75-B.

The thought here is that the grease provides initial lubrication to the bearings until axle lube gets to them. The normal level of lube in the axle is typically below the level of the bottom of the axle tubes, and if you didn't prelube the bearings, they'd be dry for quite a while in normal operation (short of getting the truck on a giant slant to both sides).

Bottom line: Pack the bearings with grease.
 
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