[ryannjessie]

I have a 2006 F350 Harley Davidson Crew 6.0L with 115,XXX miles. When the engine is cold(like the first start of the day) the steering wheel and dashboard will vibrate and shake a bit and when that happens i notice blue smoke coming out of the exhaust(not much though) and i will notice the rpm gauge twiching and sputering until the engine gets to normal temp(about 10 mins worth of driving). After that its fine and the motor runs and sounds pretty smooth. All the front end componets were just replaced thinking it was that, traction bar, steering stabilizer, etc... BUT when i contacted the dealer that did it they said it might need a high speed balanceing?? I dont know to me that wouldnt explain the enging putting and blue smoke during cold motor temps. Now weather temps in my area now are around 50-60+F(the start of summer) so its not like the middle of winter at -temps which at that point i would just think it was to cold out and thats why it was running like that ya know. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! THANK YOU

 

[worldwide73]

Sounds like injector stiction to me.

 

[ex mounty]

Sounds like injector stiction to me.

Me too.

And whatever dealer told you it was "high speed balancing", never go there again. They are incompetent.

 

[ajbkid]

i have had the same issue with my 2006 for almost a year. Bucks and jerks and drives like crap when its cold and blows blue smoke. But mine dosent blow smoke till im driving it. it can idle for 10 mins while warming up and blow no smoke but once on the road, it pours out. iv never gotten a strait answer on what the problem is with mine. i have run oil additives but it hasent changed much. Im sure many people on here will tell you to run a product called "Rev-x" in your oil. i never have but some people say it helps. So im gunna keep up with this thread.

 

[2 Stroker]

Me 3 You might try switching to a Syn oil and getting something like Rev-X to add to the oil they say it is a pill in the bottle to the 6.0 when it comes to injectors.
2 stroker:ford:

 

[a19berning]

my truck does it too. The dealer I go to is amazing and they think it might be the injectors. They are going to check it next time i have it in.

 

[akmantei]

I bought a ‘05 van from a rental fleet. Come to find out their maintenance wasn’t all that great.

It started running rough till the engine temp was to around 100 °F then it smooth out and run good. It was at 5 years on the warranty and 60,000 miles. When I brought it to the dealer it was late early May, and in Alaska it was still cold in the morning so it always ran rough. When they finally tested it, in late May, 25 days later, they told me it was a bad battery that took out the FICM. They replaced it and the batteries and told me it was fixed. I explained it may not have the issue because the engine would be up to 100-120 °F with in minutes as the temp in late may is in the 60s. As soon as I picked it up I fired it up and drove away while it was still cold. It ran rough. I called them back and they told me it would have to get worse before they could do any thing. It was out of warranty when I picked it back up after 25 Days at the dealer.

Bottom line I replaced the injectors my self a few weeks ago, that is a whole other story I lost HP oil last week, and it runs (ran) like I never knew it could. The dealer did try to compensate me by offering the fleet service rate to replace only the bad injectors that I paid for at full price. I passed on that.

When they test for bad injectors they need to do it cold and only test for 5-10 minutes or they will not catch the bad ones.

 

[a19berning]

So yours was actually bad injectors?

 

[Ebardall33]

Similar issues with my truck, ended up being injectors #5&6 being bad and fuel pump only pushing 40psi.

 

[Ebardall33]

Also to add my truck runs amazing now! So I know it was diagnosed right.

 

[a19berning]

Ebardall33, Did you do it yourself or take it in?

 

[ryannjessie]

my mechanic said it might be the egr cooler or a head gasket, he said nothing about the injectors but i agree that i think it might be injectors. Does anybody think it could be one of those he mentioned? Also my truck was sitting for about two months before i bought it, do you think i should just try some injector cleaner to see if that helps. Thanks A Lot Everybody!!!!

 

[ryannjessie]

Oh ya also bad injectors would cause all the vibration??

 

[ryannjessie]

ajbkid: thats the exact same thing with mine, it wont blow blue smoke on idle, only once i start moving down the road it starts doing it along with the bucks and jerks, at idle it runs perfect.

 

[ex mounty]

my mechanic said it might be the egr cooler or a head gasket, he said nothing about the injectors but i agree that i think it might be injectors. Does anybody think it could be one of those he mentioned?

I fail to see how an EGR cooler or head gasket failure would present it self in such a way that the issue clears when the truck is hot. It is neither of those things. Find a competent Ford Diesel mechanic. Trust me when I tell you that they are few and far between.
The typical guy will be grasping at straws and draining your bank account while he guesses at what the problem might be. You need someone that can PROPERLY diagnose the problem and fix it.

Also my truck was sitting for about two months before i bought it, do you think i should just try some injector cleaner to see if that helps.

Don't waste the time/money or chance further damage. This isn't a gas engine and the injectors do not run anything like gas engine injectors. You will not be able to get "injector cleaner" anywhere near where it could possibly do anything.
The injectors in this engine uses High Pressure Oil (up to 4000psi) to force the plunger down to inject the fuel. You do not want to add "injector cleaner" into your oil, all kinds of bad things can/will happen. :nono:
The stiction problem is caused by not changing your oil when you are supposed to and running regular "dino" oil.
Regular oil has varnishes in it that can/will stick to the metal plunger on the top of the injector, making it stick.
As the oil gets hotter, the varnish will become less sticky and allow the plunger to operate as it should.
If you have ever taken apart an old engine and saw the brown haze stuck on everything, that is the varnish that will work its way into the injectors.

In all seriousness, find a real diesel mechanic that knows THIS engine.
Head gaskets and EGR cooler failures are well known and expensive, how would you feel after dropping those thousands of dollars to fix something that is not broken? AND have to pay another mechanic to fix what was really wrong.

 

[ex mounty]

Oh ya also bad injectors would cause all the vibration??

Yep. Just so that you get how that could happen, go start an old V8 truck with spark plugs, unplug 2 sparkplugs on either side of the block. How does it run? Does it shake?
That is basically what is happening. You have a few injectors that are not injecting fuel into the combustion chambers, the result is the same. No combustion occurring in a few cylinders.


By the way, I MUST ask. This mechanic that said it was the EGR or headgaskets, is that the same one that says you needed the "high speed balance?"