[MT_flyfisher]

I now have almost 10,000 miles on my Job #3 2008 F450 chrome edition King Ranch.

Other than the relatively low MPG that I get with this truck, the only complaint is that my tailpipes (inside and out near the ends - which are chromed) get very carboned up, and blacker than all get out. I clean them off when I hand-wash the truck, and before driving a few miles they're right back to where they were before I cleaned them.

I'm mostly driving my truck longer distances at a stretch (20 miles and up), so it's not a case of the engine not getting hot enough to burn off the carbon. It also doesn't matter whether I'm towing with the truck or just driving it on the highway - the results are the same.

I've asked my Ford dealer to look at it a couple times, but he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong. I understand that others have had cracked DPF's that have caused this, but as far as I know mine is okay.

Anybody else have this problem with your 6.4L's, or are your tailpipes clean?

Thanks, John

 

[chambers]

Definitely something wrong. The DPF is supposed to capture all the black soot. I have 21,000 Miles on mine, tailpipes are spotless, in fact cleaner than a gasser.
Bob

 

[dieselmankane]

Cracked DPF from what I understand causes the blackened tips. Time for a dealer visit!

 

[ryano2121]

The pipe on my 6.0 is black also. Does the 6.0 have a DPF?

 

[MT_flyfisher]

I had my truck in to the dealer this morning for a state inspection, and again mentioned this issue to the service advisor - that's the 3rd or perhaps the 4th time I've mentioned it to him, and another Ford dealer in Montana where I have the truck during the summer.

This time, the service advisor said he'd contact Ford to ask them about it, and when I picked my trcuk up a few minutes ago he said Ford had told him about tests they could do of the DPF. I'll have to make an appointment next week, however, when they have more time to do these checks.

I mentioned the possibility of a cracked DPF a previous time, or perhaps 2 times, I had specifically taken my trcuk to the dealer to check the cause of the black tailpipes, so this isn't the first time they've heard from me about this. Honestly, I don't get the impression, for whatever reason(s), that the dealer service advisors are very concerned about this.

To farther rub salt in the wound, another customer had his powerstroke parked next to me when I picked my truck up at the dealership just now -- his truck was much dirtier than mine overall, but his tailpipes looked practically new! And mine look, hummmmm, like CRAP!

 

[OMCUSNR]

The pipe on my 6.0 is black also. Does the 6.0 have a DPF?

NO. It was made before the Diesel Particulate Filter was required to meet EPA standards.

 

[2x6 Bulldog]

I agree your DPF failed. I have 36,000 miles and my tailpipes are clean and I have never washed them.

 

[sawtooth]

Well mine are black inside and have just a little black on the bottom edge but thats it. My truck runs good and has 4000 miles on it now. It has been this way since new. With the fuel mileage i'm getting and they way it runs i don't care if the dpf is cracked even though i don't think it is. For the guys that have clean pipes what job number is your trucks?

 

[dieselmankane]

Well mine are black inside and have just a little black on the bottom edge but thats it. My truck runs good and has 4000 miles on it now. It has been this way since new. With the fuel mileage i'm getting and they way it runs i don't care if the dpf is cracked even though i don't think it is. For the guys that have clean pipes what job number is your trucks?

What mileage are you getting?

 

[robbie505]

i have the black on my 6.4 chrome exhaust. i also have a question, my truck is 6 months old and 20k miles. the truck has gone into regen only 2 times since i've had it. i asked the service advisor at the dealer and he told me not to worry that some trucks do it more often then others "NOT A PROBLEM". i'm getting 14-17 mpg. (slow on the petal, under 1900 rpm, turbo under 20 psi and raised the tire pressures to 75. what is a reflash and do you request the dealer to do it and is there a charge.

 

[jandoe]

replaced dpf

I had mine into the dealer for being in regen all the time. They had to call Ford and was told to replace DPF it was bad. My tailpipes were very black also. I have not had a chance to clean my truck yet but I have had good results with the mpg I am up 1 mpg but i drive like I stole it. Was getting 11 and on last fillup went to 12.1 but I drive 78-80 on the highway and then in heavy stop and go traffic. After the snow and rain finally quit I will get to see what color my tyruck is and clean the pipes.

 

[sawtooth]

What mileage are you getting?[/quote

Normally i get 16-17 on hwy unloaded but have gotten 17.9 on a few occasions. In the city i'm around 12-14 depending on how much stop and go. I don't have the latest flash and i'm wondering if that helps the black pipe issue.

 

[slurrr]

I've had black tail pipes since the day i bought it. Currently have 30000 miles and average 16.3 on the lie o meter (approx. 15.5 hand calculate) and havent taken it in to have DPF checked to see if cracked or not.

 

[MT_flyfisher]

Thanks for your comments guys. Looks like some of you are in the same boat I'm in, and some of you aren't. That's really interesting!

A couple other things I can add to what I already mentioned. I put in a healthy slug of Motorcraft Cetane Booster additive at every fillup. You wouldn't think that would contribute to the black tailpipes though, but you never know? I also try to drive being VERY cafeful on the accelerator, rarely if every going over 65 mph.

My normal highway speed is 58-63 mph, where I calculated with my old 7.3L F250 that I got 10% better mpg than when I drove 65-67 mph, and since I'm retired and not in a hurry, that saved me about $20 per hour (last time I calculated it) for every additional hour I spent on the road.

I had the latest reflash the previous time I had it in for service a month or so ago, and it appears from a recent 350 mile highway trip I made that my mpg DECREASED by 2-3 mpg from what I was getting before the reflash. (My lie-o-meter always reads 10% +or- over the actual, and I haven't had a fill-up since the trip to calculate the actual mpg.)

Last October when I drove from MT to PA, I got 15.3 mpg overall on the trip (not towing anything), and I normally got a regen during every other fill-up or so (between 500-750 miles or so).

John

 

[dieselmankane]

My only concern with the black tailpipes, would be that a dealer could potentially void warranty with it. Isn't that something they look for to indicate that a truck has had a DPF delete kit installed?

 

[txmike]

i have a job 1 2wheel drive. i currently am at 42000 miles, just about 18-19 months. at about 2000 miles i started to notice it smoking like older diesels did. then the tips got BLACK, cleaned it off, and black again real quick. took it in and told them the DPF was broken. they checked it out and sure enough, replaced it. my worry also was warranty issues later. if your DPF is cracked and you get it replaced you will (more than likely) see a decrease in MPG as it will start to regen more(normal like it should) mine now regens about every 300-400 miles(if pulling load a bit more) i kind of quit keeping track of mileage as i dont really care, as i love my truck.

 

[wharrell]

Your Diesel Particulate Filter has failed. I had the same problem when mine failed with about 3000 miles on it and was replaced around 6000 miles.

The replacement DPF has 8000 miles on it with no issues with exhaust pipes staying clean of soot.

Take this article in to your dealer:

Diesel Technician Society

Failures of the after treatment can range from a check engine light to a plugged system that will prevent an engine from running. These faults can be the result of a fuel injection concern, or a base engine failure that has loaded or contaminated the system. It is also possible to detect a system that has been tampered with or modified by monitoring the temperature and pressure sensors however a simple visual inspection is all you need to perform to know that the Diesel Particulate Filter or after treatment system is not functioning as designed.

Since it's primary function is to eliminate soot from the exhaust, finding soot in the tail pipe or observing heavy smoke is a positive sign that the system is not working. Some minor staining may be considered normal but if you see a tail pipe that looks like the one pictured then something is wrong. That may be the only indication if the fault is a crack in the substrate. The picture shows the result of a broken DPF that has either cracked or has broken loose and is no longer anchored and sealed to the metal case. This article may be revised as more examples and conditions are documented.

 

[MT_flyfisher]

Your Diesel Particulate Filter has failed. I had the same problem when mine failed with about 3000 miles on it and was replaced around 6000 miles.

The replacement DPF has 8000 miles on it with no issues with exhaust pipes staying clean of soot.

Take this article in to your dealer:

Diesel Technician Society

Failures of the after treatment can range from a check engine light to a plugged system that will prevent an engine from running. These faults can be the result of a fuel injection concern, or a base engine failure that has loaded or contaminated the system. It is also possible to detect a system that has been tampered with or modified by monitoring the temperature and pressure sensors however a simple visual inspection is all you need to perform to know that the Diesel Particulate Filter or after treatment system is not functioning as designed.

Since it's primary function is to eliminate soot from the exhaust, finding soot in the tail pipe or observing heavy smoke is a positive sign that the system is not working. Some minor staining may be considered normal but if you see a tail pipe that looks like the one pictured then something is wrong. That may be the only indication if the fault is a crack in the substrate. The picture shows the result of a broken DPF that has either cracked or has broken loose and is no longer anchored and sealed to the metal case. This article may be revised as more examples and conditions are documented.

Thank you for your reply and the link to this article.

What really gets me is spending all this money on this truck, and getting such low MPG, but doing so with the understanding that one of the fundamental reasons for this is the sophisticated air filtering of these diesel particulates as required by the EPA.

Then, my dealer practically begs its customer to give them an excellent service rating, but yet when I bring this issue to their attention they seem indifferent to it.

I'm no mechanic by any means, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to suspect a problem when you see all this soot on your tailpipes.

 

[sawtooth]

Heres a good question. For the people that have 6.4's that are making oil do they have the inside or inside and outside black tailpipes? I'm wondering if this extra soot issue has anything to do with the leaky injector issues. I suspect mine making a little oil but hasnt been confirmed yet. I will know in another 2000 miles.

 

[Trapper-db]

Not sure if anyone knew this intel I read this from the Gentleman that postedDiesel Technician Society and found it greatly informative. Hope it helps. Also just an FYI, I recently purchased my 08 SD CC 4X4 with 39540 miles on it. My First big Rig... Anyway I starting getting the black smoke as soon as I drove it off the lot. took it in for a some other issues they promised to fix and wound up buying a new air filter ( $94.00 ) and I almost immediatley noticed that the smoke stopped I washed the soot off of the pipes (need to get down with a wire pad and scub ) and have not noticed any more soot or smoke, Other then whats there (kinda like stained onto the pipe metal). Anyway Enjoy hope it helps...


Regeneration
Regeneration is the process of burning the collected soot trapped by the DPF. This process restores or maintains the DPF's ability to allow exhaust gasses to flow through it while preserving engine performance and efficiency. Regeneration is achieved by elevating the exhaust temperature in the DPF to around 600ºC (1112ºF). The type and method of regeneration an engine is equipped with is largely determined by the way it is used and the conditions it is intended to be used. Most on highway and off road diesel vehicles will require some type of active regeneration capability. If back pressure caused by the collected soot is allowed to get to high, damage to the engine and the DPF itself will result. The use of low sulfur fuel and low ash oil is required for use in a DPF equipped vehicle otherwise the DPF will become clogged quickly causing frequent regenerations and decreasing the lifespan of the filter.