[Gunnar Garness]

I just purchased an 04 F250 superduty. I knew when I bought it that it had some issues but I got it for what I thought was a steal and left me plenty of room to fix the issues.
The problem I'm having is that when I start the engine I have absolutely no or very limited power and delayed shifts until it warms up and then it is just fine. No smoke, sometimes it will start hard but that's just if it's not plugged in. Just wondering if anyone has some advice at what to look at. I've read a lot of people suggesting to run rev x with the oil but in my knowledge that is just a bandaid for an injector problem. Did switch the oil to T6 and put in new motorcraft oil and fuel filters. Thanks in advance.

 

[Nitro6r]

Mine did that when I bought it. It wouldn't run or shift well until almost full temp. Pull the codes. I had two bad glow plugs and a dirty turbo. Once I fixed those it runs much better. If you wrench it yourself, these can both be done for about the cost of a bottle of Rev-X, which I don't use anymore and my truck still runs fine cold. Pulling the codes cannot be overstated.

 

[Gunnar Garness]

Just had Napa run the code as I don't have a scanner yet. Only code that came up was a front right wheel speed sensor. Not totally sure that guys scanner was working correctly, it didn't even recognize the pickup, he had to manually enter the info. Might take it to ford tomorrow.

 

[Phil G.]

I'm betting your issue will likely be FICM or injectors, may have glow plug issues as well.

 

[Nitro6r]

I'm betting your issue will likely be FICM or injectors, may have glow plug issues as well.

This^. So when you get it on a good scanner look for the obvious - each glow plug has its own code. Also, ask if the FICM is drawing 48v. If it is much below that it can signal failure. I haven't dealt with injectors yet, but ruling out the other options will logically factor into assessing their condition.

 

[Phil G.]

Also note that just because you have 48V on the power side of the FICM, that is not a definitive guarantee that there aren't other issues with the FICM on the logic board side. Swapping in a known good one is the best way to rule it out as the issue

 

[Gunnar Garness]

Well not the news I was hoping for from the dealership. Dead cylinder and 3 bad injectors.

 

[Phil G.]

Well.....the injectors are no surprise but dead cylinder...didn't see that one coming. I don't think its all that common on the 6.0. Do they know what's causing the it?

 

[Gunnar Garness]

Not sure yet. They didn't dig into it too far till I went in there and met with the mechanic. They are going to dig into it a little deeper tomorrow. Probably need to make a decision on how much money I can stick into it. It's got 190k on it. I suppose if I'm replacing 3 injectors I should do them all. What's that run these day? Couple 2-3 grand? Dead cylinder, god knows what that will cost...

 

[Gunnar Garness]

I have about a million different ideas running through my head tonight about what to do with this truck. Say I get a used motor to put in it anyone have an idea what it will cost to do injectors and head studs before it is installed?

 

[Phil G.]

Used engines can be risky, I bought one for my truck and it ended up having metal shavings through it from a failed lifter. I has just had 4 new injectors, new coolers new GP's & harnesses and I got it cheap so I guess I got what I paid for.

If the truck is clean and you love the truck, maybe consider a bulletproofed reman. If it turns out to be a head issue or something other than the block, rebuild the top end, the bottom ends on these 6.0L are very stout and should give you 400-500 K miles no problem. All of the issues are normally from the head up...Like a couple women I dated back in the day...

Heads run (if you need them) about 2500 with gaskets, injectors just under 2K, studs 500. Misc maybe another 1K for any coolers they want to replace or GP and harnesses. Then the labor.

 

[Ford06]

Injectors are $200+each plus labor.