ford diesel guys need your help- update pg 4

Maybe trade it while it is not acting up if you are contemplating trading anyway. You have fully disclosed that it "isn't right" in your opinion at this point.

Used duramax all the way, or a 6.0 6 speed gasser GM will do the job and be low maintenance.

anaro wrote:
At this point I don't know whether to be happy or sad that he couldn't find a problem. Frustrated? Definitely.

Well at least you know at this point it may not cost you big $$...so far No Whammies!

It may be time to find a good truck to 'trade-up' to...maybe an older 5.9L Cummings or gently used 6.6L Chevy/GMC D/A combo...

UPDATE----talked to the mechanic just a little bit ago. He couldn't find any codes and couldn't get the truck to do any of the behaviors I described. He tried everything short of hitching it up to a trailer to get it to misbehave. I'm contemplating hooking it up and trying to get it to repeat the problem in front of him (not sure i want to let him tow my big baby but with me there I can convince myself it's ok in the name of fixing things). He is going to keep the truck overnight and drive it home (with my permission) to log some more miles and try to elicit something from it. I'm a little nervous towing up into the VA mountains next month with it acting up and no diagnosis. At this point I don't know whether to be happy or sad that he couldn't find a problem. Frustrated? Definitely.

Big toe- thanks for your advice. That kind of advice I appreciate its the random should've bought xyz that bugs me. In fact we have kind of gotten to the point that if the repair was major and not covered we were gonna tell them thank you but no and trade the truck for what we could get on a gasser dodge or Chevy. I have decided to stay away from ford in the future and I am now gunshy of diesels especially since we can't afford a new one. We are thinking seriously about a Chevy 3/4 or1 ton gasser with a 4.10 rear. (still trying to decide if gas can handle the sabre we want in the future which would be approx 12-13000 lbs loaded). Not sure we can make this happen or not since we just bought DH a camaro last month. This truck was supposed to be ours for a long time. We are starting to think trading while we are approx $4000 up (kbb value) on truck value over what we owe might be a wise choice.

Anaro...

I can appreciate where you are coming from with this quote below:

anaro wrote:
"To those saying buy a different truck, no problem if you buy it for me, otherwise just some diagnostic help please. This is not a brand debate thread nor is it a gas vs diesel thread, it is a thread trying to figure out a specific problem. I know very little about diesels and don't want to be taken for a ride when they call me with a diagnosis. I don't think telling them to magically turn it into a ram or Chevy or v10 or ecoboost or anything else will work for the budget I'm gonna give them, nor will it fix my truck or humor the mechanic trying to help me.

That makes a lot of sense for your present problem.

However, by your own admission, you said you "know very little about diesels."

The guys and gals who meet fellow campers week in and week out, and who read this forum day in and day out... often DO know about diesels. After hearing and seeing the kinds of issues that people have with various trucks, a certain pattern emerges from repeated history.

To give these guys the benefit of the doubt, it could very well be that you are being advised to get a different truck: NOT because of brand wars or preferences, and NOT because of fuel wars or preferences... but because of this history. I think they are trying to help you "not get taken for a ride" by the entire experience of your new to you truck ownership.

And I tend to agree. There have been too many $15,000.00 repair bills on the 6.4L for history to be any more than 50% on your side. If it were me, as soon as the dealership fixed the current problem you are experiencing, I'd get out from underneath that truck.

The fact that you are not the original owner of that truck is a major concern. While the Ford OASIS system in the dealer service department will have a record of any other warranty work done on your VIN by any Ford dealer worldwide, including any and all warranty work done by the original owner, it will not have a record of what other things the original owner did.

One of many examples was chronicled here (or on the FTE forum, forget which) just a couple months ago. A second owner, like yourself, was humming along on a trip with a new to them used 6.4L and then a problem appeared out of the blue. Around 69,000 miles on the odometer, so it was brought in for warranty coverage. The Ford dealer mechanic noticed a star pattern on the pistons, so the second owner got the bill for $18,391.00 to fix the motor. Ford denied coverage.

Why? The second owner demanded to know! The whole point of buying the truck with an engine that has a 100,000 mile warranty is to be protected from this kind of unplanned for expense! Ford said the star pattern indicated the engine had a chip/tune. "It did NOT!" the second owner protested. And, like you, the second owner had brought the truck into Ford for all scheduled maintenance, in order to completely remove any excuse for Ford not covering the warranty. Kind of just like you did.

But Ford still would not cover it. The second owner turned to the forums, much like you are now. I advised the second owner to trace, hunt down, and contact the first owner, and ask the first owner for his opinion about what the best tuner or chip might be to wake up the engine. Notice the question was NOT "Did you chip it?", which would have put the original owner on the defensive/alert. No, the question was phrased solitious of advice. And the original owner bit the bait, and recommended such and such tuner, offering his own experience in his former truck as evidence of how well the tune performed.

The second owner's heart sank, just like his savings sunk. Ford was right. And Ford has a right to deny coverage for any modifications made in the vehicles history, whether by you, or by those who came before you. The second owner in this story had zero indication that the truck had been tuned prior to his purchase. The original owner's tuner had the ability to completely erase all electronic indications of it's presence. And there were no other aftermarktet doo dads, lift kits, guages, or fuzzy dice to indicate that the truck was anything but bone stock.

But the true story was revealed in the service bay, when a FIVE FIGURE repair bill is on the line.

Twice this summer, I've personally seen 6.4L crew cab duallies on the side of the road, having their trailers hauled away by one truck, and the 6.4L hauled away by another truck. An expensive tow. These 2004-2010 trucks appear to be bargains in the used market for a reason. It is a gamble. Some people win. Some people lose. And the odds are a heck of a lot better at breaking even with a different tow vehicle.

This isn't about Ford vs. Chevy or gas vs. diesel. This is really about seizing your opportunity to get your truck fixed (hopefully), and then to get the heck out of it as soon as you can. The money you "lose" in the trade will be less than the aggravation and money you may lose in the future, with this particular model of tow vehicle. I have nothing against Fords or diesels. In fact, I have one (a 7.3L). But I would avoid the 6.0 and the 6.4.

While this post, like the others, fails to address your short tem problem, it does intend to help you save money by suggesting a longer term solution.

Definitely interesting reading. one can only hope this isn't the issue. Part of me wonders if what I'm experiencing might not be from a fuel dilution in the oil problem. I have had my truck in the shop several times for regen issues that have yet to be resolved. My truck does tend to "make oil". If ford tries to deny a claim related to that I will show records of us having it in the shop multiple times for the same reason. The only other problem it's had since we bought it was a blend door actuator that was replaced under warranty. My biggest concern is I know nothing about the maintenance the previous owner did on the truck and how that could affect me.

anaro wrote:
what is HPOP? my truck has a history of frequent regents and being a smoker so an egr problem might not be far from possible.

Here is a little reading about the 6.4 HPFP anaro. Not saying this is what your trucks problem is. Although a whine and a power loss is often described when the HPFP goes out.

Time will tell. Good luck.

FishOnOne wrote:

anaro wrote:
what is HPOP? my truck has a history of frequent regents and being a smoker so an egr problem might not be far from possible.

Turtle meant HPFP (High Pressure Fuel Pump). Don't sweat it I'm sure it will be fixed with your warranty. :W

I believe This is what T&P was hinting at.
Our sons went out at 75K and FMC was no help. Another customer lost.

only one way to find out. tues seems so far away.....