Just Bought A 05 F250 Got Alot Of ?'s

[LILJohnSVT]

I just picked up an 05 F250, because my 02 burnt to the ground monday. This is my first deisel and i know nothing about them. First i can not find where the keypad numbers are for the door. I need to find where is the plug to plug my electric brake box for my travel trailer. Is there any do's and dont's with these trucks? What about programmers, some say yes and some say no? I really want a programmer for the fuel mileage. What about oil changes, how many miles in between and what type of oil to use? Sorry for all the questions, i just want to enjoy the truck and do whats right. Feel free to add anything that i might need to know. Thanks for the help Lil John:beer:

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

you have to wire your electric brake in yourself, it's pretty easy, 4 wires, brake light switch, hot, ground and and a wire running to your 7 pole (I hope you're using a 7 pin connection instead of the ancient 6). Oil use only 15w40 every 10,000 miles. I use AMSOIL or ROYAL PURPLE on my trucks and a few customers' trucks I've been 22k on this oil change and instead of changing I take samples for oil analysis. Programmers for 6L's I use DJ's tunes and sometimes DPtuners for them. I've been through and tested several other programs and DJ has it together. You should get intake and exhaust. As a starter. Coolant/egr mod and headstuds WILL be necessary as soon as possible if not already done. Overall I like the 6L's better than the 7.3's that people swear by. They're quieter, faster, sound better and once fixed they're more fun.

 

[Lord Tauk]

I wouldn't use Rotella in a 6.0 for engine oil, a few friends of mine that have 6.0s swear that when using Rotella there's all sorts of weird top end RPM noise that doesn't sound good and when switched to a different oil, Valvoline Extreme, Amsoil, etc. etc. the noises don't seem to be there.

I've ran Rotella in my 7.3 when I first got it and I didn't noticed anything unusual, but I also have been using Amsoil for a long while now.

I agree, custom tuning for the 6.0 is the way to go - there are several good tuners for the Powerstrokes that are all really good, most of them which use SCT for the driver. Once you get a taste of the tuning, you won't just want tunes for fuel mileage.

I'd get gauges if I was you, analog style autometers, isspro, etc. etc. The digital gauges are nice too, the Edge Insight is a really nice unit. Exhaust is nice to have as well, for just a tune only truck.. you probably really don't need it like everyone else, but a 4'' straight piped system sure does sound good.

I also agree as well, read up on the EGR system and problems you can have with it, along with head studs.. that way you can choose what route you want to go with eliminating any future issues you may run into.

 

[03shadowgreygt]

change your oil every 5k miles, people that go longer than that have more problems because the oil is used to fire the injectors and they begin to sludge up and have cold start problems. maintenance will prevent this, change fuel filters at 15k also. get a bullydog or sct programmer, not the edge, I have had to remove a couple of these for shorting out and killing the truck.

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

change your oil every 5k miles, people that go longer than that have more problems because the oil is used to fire the injectors and they begin to sludge up and have cold start problems.

if you have no clue what you are talking about just lurk and don't post your false information. :nonono:

 

[WhiteFoxGT]

I'm diesel certified, so ask away my friend.

When you start getting into tuners, you run into lifting the heads (ARP studs will fix it)

EGR valves get carboned up all the time and stick. EGR coolers pop and leak coolant. Also, injectors like to go dead on occasion, and if you keep running on a dead injector, the cups will fail. Theres a few other minor issues, but I dont want to make you worry. Most people dont have problems...but there are some trucks that spend more time at my work then in their driveway.

Oh, and make sure you had the snap-ring recall done on the trans..

 

[20SVT03]

if you have no clue what you are talking about just lurk and don't post your false information. :nonono:

03shadow is absolutely right so maybe you should get a clue about what you are talking about. i ve been working on the 6.0 since they came out in 03 and you can definetly tell a difference between the customers who maintain their vehicle at the recommended 5k interval and those who dont.

 

[20SVT03]

the 6.0 diesel can be a disaster or the greatest engine youve ever own. you will have problems but they can all be fixed. hopefully you have a friend thats a ford diesel mechanic so he can fix or "take care" of any problem that comes up. the 05 and up has a different high pressure oil system that is prone to leaking at the stc fitting. there is now fix for that. as far as egr system goes a block off tube for "off road use only" will ensure no problems with the egr system. if you main concern is fuel mileage you should have never bought the truck thats what 4 cylinder focus' are for. a good programmer is a god send for your truck, but be prepared for blown head gaskets like whitefox said. which for a small price you can buy head studs.

 

[LILJohnSVT]

if you main concern is fuel mileage you should have never bought the truck thats what 4 cylinder focus' are for.

Well i never said that my main concern was fuel mileage. Hey if a 4 cylinder ford focus can pull a 7,500 camper around and get 28 mpg's then i would have gotten one. All i said was i wanted to improve the mileage, i read and researched and heard from different people with 6.0's that a programmer helps with the mileage. That being said i do not want a 400 hwp programmer, a 75 or 90 hwp would be fine if it helps with the mileage. I own a Lightning if i wanna go fast. I've read that these trucks can be your best freind or your worst enemy depending on how to drive it. I don't dog the truck thats not what it was intended for. I bought it to pull my camper around, not weekends at the track or to the floor mud riding. I just don't want to do anything that can cause damage from my wrong doing thats it. And i was told about the head studs, but i've yet to find anyone that will change them. so once again thanks for the inputs. :beer:

 

[20SVT03]

one option is to go your ford dealer and ask them when your headgaskets let go, if they do, will they install the head studs for you if you supply them

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

03shadow is absolutely right so maybe you should get a clue about what you are talking about. i ve been working on the 6.0 since they came out in 03 and you can definetly tell a difference between the customers who maintain their vehicle at the recommended 5k interval and those who dont.

ok and I work on them on a daily basis. Changing the oil every 5k miles isn't necessary as the oil doesn't break down over that period of mileage. Do your own research and send oil to be analyzed after 5k miles and you'll realize that it isn't necessary. The injectors are fired by oil pressure, however I've never seen a truck that "sludged up" and caused the injectors not to fire because you went past 5k miles without an oil change. Keep in mind the dealership maintenance world is different from the real world.

So my truck is going to seize up and die because I've been 23k miles without an oil change? Although my oil gets analyzed bi-weekly? Granted I have a different engine. But the properties of oil is the same. 16qts of oil is NOT going to lose it's viscosity over 5k miles, causing the HPOP not to produce enough pressure to fire injectors.

So if you think he's right you as well need to get out the 'book' world and into the real world.

 

[RHCDIESEL]

Everyone is right with the Headstuds, they seem to be the first to go, for a programmer make sure it is an SCT with custom tuning, Eric @ Innovative diesel seems to be the best. Every 5k miles is when i change oil in my 4x4 6.0 and my street rod i put amsoil synthetic in a few hundred miles ago , but they tell me just check it every 7k and its good up to 25. Egr valve can be shut off by the custom tuner along with turbo brake and all sorts of cool things, and best of all you can run mid to high 13's on just a tune in a 8k lb truck

 

[LILJohnSVT]

A friend of mine has a Edge or Eveloution Outlook, i'm not sure which one he said it was He said i can have the programmer if i wanted it. But i read somewhere that those programmers are dangerous, but i also read that they were one of the best out there. Thats where the dilemena comes in. I really don't have the funds for a custom tune or tuner for that part. But i have a nice programmer for free. So i don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

 

[RHCDIESEL]

that free programmer will most likely end up with you paying 5k dollars for a tranny! the sct runs all peramaters, like engine and trans where the edge is just engine

 

[99cobrablack]

For you city slickers running a synthetic oil, the higher intervals might be ok. I'm in a fair amount of dirt so my oil comes out from contaminants, not oil breakdown. I don't waste the money on synthetic because I run a tighter changing schedule. On my 7.3 I rarely ran it over 4k miles.

 

[03shadowgreygt]

ok and I work on them on a daily basis. Changing the oil every 5k miles isn't necessary as the oil doesn't break down over that period of mileage. Do your own research and send oil to be analyzed after 5k miles and you'll realize that it isn't necessary. The injectors are fired by oil pressure, however I've never seen a truck that "sludged up" and caused the injectors not to fire because you went past 5k miles without an oil change. Keep in mind the dealership maintenance world is different from the real world.

So my truck is going to seize up and die because I've been 23k miles without an oil change? Although my oil gets analyzed bi-weekly? Granted I have a different engine. But the properties of oil is the same. 16qts of oil is NOT going to lose it's viscosity over 5k miles, causing the HPOP not to produce enough pressure to fire injectors.

So if you think he's right you as well need to get out the 'book' world and into the real world.

I'm a certified master diesel tech and have been that way for years, the oil does not break down it becomes contaminated with particulate from the burnt diesel, thats why diesels take a different oil it has to withstand the contaminats from the fuel. I don't care if you change your oil or not, my truck won't be the one breaking down because I'm cheap or lazy. and I won't be the one crying that the 6.0 is a pos because its always in the shop. I have talked to a guy that uses an extra external oil filter that filters the oil again and he has had 10 injectors replaced in the last year, but he swears that his oil is clean, he changed it at 15k and it is black as hell. from what I've seen oil changes and fuel filters cause alot of problems, but you know more than me so good luck.

 

[!!!PainTrain!!!]

The number one problem that you will have to worry about in an SCT tuned truck is EGR failure first then the headstuds letting go. I have had the SCT Xcal on my truck for 40K+ miles and studs are fine. My EGR system on the other hand is a complete failure and hopefully in the next few months will be completely deleted from the truck.

My advice to you is follow what Lord Tauk is saying. Invest the extra money now to stave off alot of money later on. Invest in some gauges, my Bullydog outlook monitor is a POS. I would stick with some nice simple ones, Pyro, Trans, and Boost. Next would be an exhaust a 4" TB straight piped system can be had for under $300 and then a decent intake. I run the AFE Stg II on my truck and love it, its expensive but well worth it.

I would also advise you to invest in a coolant filter to get rid of some of the gunk before it settles into the overflow bottle and creates problems later on down the road.

As everyone has said before regular maintenance is the key to making these engines last and work for you. Change the fuel filters BOTH of them around every 10-15 thousand miles and the oil at no more than 5,500miles.

And to Sprayed Pony: I toasted my HPOP, fuel pump, and three injectors to sludge build up. Truck sat at my house for a month and then wouldn't start up and had trouble staying running. The shitty part about the HEUI system is once one thing goes it starts a chain reaction and you start taking other parts with it unless the problem is corrected early enough.

And a warning to the OP. You are better off upgrading parts that happen to wear out or fail than you are going back with OEM pieces. ARP studs are great and will last you until well over 600hp. I put a Spearco IC on mine because the EGTs were rising WAY too fast with the race tune from Eric at Innovative Diesel. To give you an example of just how capable these trucks are I was dead even from a 25-90mph roll race with an 05 EVO. Granted this was before the lift, tires, extra weight and running the Extreme Race file.

Sorry for the long post but all the BS that gets thrown out about the 6.0s really chap my ass. If you take care of them they will take care of you.

 

[NXSVTCOBRA]

And to Sprayed Pony: I toasted my HPOP, fuel pump, and three injectors to sludge build up. Truck sat at my house for a month and then wouldn't start up and had trouble staying running. The shitty part about the HEUI system is once one thing goes it starts a chain reaction and you start taking other parts with it unless the problem is corrected early enough.

Keep me out of this I'm through with this thread ;-)

 

[!!!PainTrain!!!]

Keep me out of this I'm through with this thread ;-)

Just trying to pass out some information. Don't take it to heart:beer:

 

[20LethalVenom03]

your best bet is to go to thedieselgarage.com and ask in the 6.0L section, alot of false info is being spewed here, they have the answers over there.