powerstroke 6.0 problems

yes i have had a few problems over the past 6 years but nothing like the ones i have read in the forums ... when the forums could not answer i turned to this forum ...
one issue i have been fighting with is the rolling idle .. seems to be a simple fix but every time i try to get it fixed no one can find an issue... or the truck does not act up .. for truck and diesel forums have mentioned the blue spring kit for the 6.0 ... that might fix that problem .. so no worries there ... one guy (back yard mech) offered to install the kit for a case of beer and a dinner .... the shop down the road from one of my jobs wants $130 to do the work and it is guaranteed... i know i have to take that hit ....

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the new problem that has cropped up is when i fire up and let it run for 5-10 min .. when i start driving down the road once i hit the higher gears .. it feels like it is hitting a dead hole (cylinder) 10-15 min of idle before i drive ... does not feel like that .. after a dose of hot shot diesel extreme .. it did not misbehave for 5-6 days ... or not that i noticed ...
now on another tank of fuel and it is back to the same ...
letting it warm up for 10+ min it does not jerk when getting to the higher gears ...
but in a hurry for the past 3 nights .. i have only let it idle for 5- min .. as i am pressed to get to the FT and contracts ...
i have and oil change .. and fuel filter change coming in the next week or 2 ...
i have hot shots sitction eliminator for the oil change ... ready to go ... and was told by a co worker to buy shutter fix ... for the trans ... but hot shots TSE seems to be the better pick since it is made for diesels ....
and i do not know what that tube of shutter fix is made from ... and the torque shift trans is fussy about the fluids .... as i have had the trans serviced in april 2016 . it seemed to act fine till the radiator went out this year ... and i lost 1/2 a quart of fluid .. but every time i checked it is was in the safe op range ...
not saying the loss of a 1/2 quart of trans fluid is the cause ... and if it was .. why would it wait 6 months to show a problem ... ..

all the forums i have been to have pointed to a injector.. or a speed sensor for the rear.. but then again i am no mechanic .. ... and as they say .. even a blind squirrel finds a nut ... so where i can work on the truck i do so ...

any thoughts to fix this problem are welcome .... as for now i cannot afford a big repair bill .. ... just need to keep it running without a fear of breaking down ...
all out of favors ... and borrwed to the hilt ... ... trying to get caught up .. and working 3 job to do so ...
thanks in advance ....

 

I've seen injectors play games as they warm up...some are good cold and drop out as they warm up, and some will drop when cold and then pick back up when they get warm.

Now the bad part...the FICM (fuel injector control module) can duplicate this same behavior! Using a known good FICM as a test will narrow it down, but you still need to do a buzz test or cylinder balance test to verify which cylinder is actually missing.

Btw, the blue spring kit is simple to install, but you need an accurate diesel fuel pressure gauge so the spring can be trimmed to the correct pressure range. Sometimes you can end up with 100 psi...not good!

 

That is a fuel additive that might work, on old injectors it's usually just a band-aid. Unfortunately, most 6.0 liter Powerchoke injectors that are tired usually are failing on the high oil pressure side and/or the 48 volt solenoid is acting up.
Been there done that.

I'd like to know where an injector service is $300. Ever pulled injectors on a 6.0 liter there's more than $300 labor just getting to the injectors.

 

I've watched the 48 volt supply start out @49 volts, and a mile down the road it was @25volts and sounding like a box of rocks...again, FICM issue.

 

Agreed, sounds like a possibility of a multitude of problems.

Injectors, FICM and/or fuel pressure diaphragm.

The truck needs to be hooked up to a Good scanner to verify the FICM has the proper voltage in and out of the FICM. If those Injectors aren't receiving 48 volts for very long the solenoids will start to degrade and not function properly.

A bad FICM can ruin injectors. Bad batteries and/or an alternator that doesn't provide a constant 14 volts to the FICM can ruin a FICM. Things start to snowball.

A buzz test needs to be done also.

I installed the upgraded Ford blue spring kit in mine and never cut the spring, neither has my buddy who owns a diesel repair shop that specializes in Powerchoke"s. I've honestly never heard of people doing this.

A reputable shop that actually has a Good reputation working on and diagnosing a Powerstroke should be able to do this for a nominal fee.

These 6.0 liters can be a biotch to diagnose.

 

Yes sir been there done that. Bad FICM makes them run like sh!t.

Don't ask me how I know how one item can take out a multitude of items.

 

To the OP the diesel truck forums are a w wealth of information and usually have guys that actually work on These for a living.
You probably Don't want to hear this but if the truck has never had the injectors replaced, it is probably time. Hopefully, you can get more out of them, being the injectors alone without labor are about $2000.

A FICM is about $600 without labor.

Blue spring kit is about $50 without labor.

Your truck needs to be hooked up to a scanner and a drive test to make sure things don't change from an idle versus driving down the road.

A buzz test and contribution test needs to be done on the injectors.

Fuel pressure needs to be checked

FICM needs to be tested

 

I'll try to remember to take picture of my Fuel pressure diaphragm tomorrow in the daylight they are extremely simple to replace.

 

While its hooked up to the scanner, check the duty cycle on the ipr also. Warmed up, it should be about 24% at idle, 33@55mph. Anything much higher than this indicates high pressure oil leakage...which can be caused by injectors, oil feed tube orings or injector feed orings leaking...if you have to go into it, fix it all at once to avoid future headaches.

 

The FICM is an easy fix, there are Utube vids on how to repair the cold solder joints, I replaced mine before I read up on it.
First 6.0 failed at 500 miles, supposedly the ball bearing fell off one of the push rods... really?
30 days + in the shop, I hired a Lemon Lawyer, that was the only way Ford would respond.
Second 6.0 lost the FICM, Turbo went belly up. I did add all the Banks Stuff to it, and it hasn't blown a head gasket yet.... yet.
I'ts now my work truck instead of the wife's horse pulling truck, so it will probably last another 100,000 miles, it's now on about 95,000, 2004 club cab, dully.

Rancher

 

Sounds like it's time to ditch that truck and buy something that you can fix yourself (for the most part), without a bunch of fancy diagnostics and expensive shop work. Once you nail this problem down it'll be something else.
Don't know much about Ford diesels but from what I've heard, the 6.0 is quite problematic.

The only other experience I've had with Fords dates back to the 90s when a friend of mine and I each bought new Ranger pickups. They were a year apart (mine was a leftover from the previous model year) and each had different size engines. When cold, his would start, rev to about 2500 RPM then immediately shut off. He'd have to start it a half dozen times before it would idle. The local dealer would take the truck, keep it for several days and return it saying they couldn't do anything. Eventually he had financial problems and went bankrupt, the truck was repossessed.

Mine had ball joins go bad after 27,000 miles and when the mechanic tried to realign it, the camber on the right front could not be adjusted to spec. By then the truck was out of warranty. By 50,000 miles the engine was burning over a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Traded it in.

I have not purchased any Ford product since.

 

I hate to say it but it may be time to fix it up somewhat and sell it.
I actually like ford diesels aside from the 6.Oh no.
You should consider down grading to a 7.3 power stroke.

 

Rangers always were junk, most F-series are good, I had a 78, and then a 79 F250, the 78 was stolen by the dam Mexicans in Las Cruces NM, and I still have the 79, but it's mothballed, or squirreled balled so to speak...

Rancher

 

Youtube has lots of videos on the 6.0 I remember one site saying a major problem was something as simple as a radiator cap! it had bad effects on the engine.Good luck!

 

Powerstroke help dot com.

 

Yup...radiator cap goes when surge tank cracks, egr cooler leaks or head gaskets start leaking...Youtube needs to come with a warning - the advice given here is only worth what you paid for it

 

as i check the ford truck and the diesel forums before tackling a problem .. i try to research as much as i can to see if the problem is something i can handle on my own .. before paying a over priced diesel shop .. and only resort to that if i have too .. i have avoided costly repairs and i have been driving this truck for 6 years now ... it has only stranded me one time ...when the egr valve stuck open .... got the truck to 5k ... ... so i cannot complain too much .. other than money is tight right now esp since i am working on catching up bills ... from the truck breaking down and the mower breaking down ... and lost accounts ... ... i always look for the easy "fix" not the band aid ... and only use the band aid till i can get the fix ...
plan of action so far ... :
clean the rear diff speed sensor
fuel filter change / with better filters
oil change with hotshots secrets stiction eliminator
blue spring kit (avoiding the back yard mech)
had the FICM checked proper voltages ..
need to get fuel pres system checked but doing the blue spring kit anyway
....
it did not act up this am ... but acted up in the afternoon ... but whats weird it after so long it runs as if there is no troubles .... ....

 

If you haven't recently done it, consider removing the side cover of the fuel conditioning module when you change the lower fuel filter...debris will build up in there like you wouldn't believe. Make sure the rubber gasket stays in it's groove!