New Diesel PU

[Dukec]

Well. I finally did it!
Stepped up an ordered a new F350 Crew 4x4 6.7 pickup.
Ordered because it has to be brought in from Idaho.
Bought it thru a local Ford dealer after doing a bunch of searching on the interwebs for one set up the way I wanted it. Got a good price but not great one.

Anyway never having owned or driven a diesel pickup before is there any thing I should do right away besides drive and enjoy? Any thing to be aware of?

We will be heading to SoCal and AZ in about 6 weeks with it and our TT for a few months.

[DutchmenSport]

Don't know about your F350, but my Chevy, brand new, recommended no towing for the first 500 miles.... Oops! After I towed (almost from the first day, to the first 1000 miles) I eventually found that warning in the owners manual. Well ... she's still running just fine after 3 years.

Something to look into, what do they recommend for initial break-in and towing?

Also, when you get it, check your DEF and make sure the tank is full. When we got ours, I had to fill my tank after less than 1000 miles the first time. Talking to (a different dealer, because we were on the road with the camper, when the warning went off), he thought the tank was not full when I took possession of the truck. Probably had just enough in it to get it out of the factory. DUH!

Live and learn. Intervals between DEF fill up did get longer and longer. No problem now!

[Lynnmor]

Read about cooling down, after a hard run, before shutting off the engine. Drive it like you have some respect for an expensive piece of machinery and disregard comments about abusing it from the beginning.

[jus2shy]

New truck, made of aluminum, with saved weight invested into heavier suspension. Yup, another evolutionary step in the truck wars. Congrats! Read your manual, keep up with your maintenance, and read the date stamps on the DEF bottles. It seems like new trucks are in either of 2 categories. Really good with few/minor problems, or real lemons. The latter is a rare case, but when it happens, it happens big time.

Also, being on the web, consider signing up for any owner section for your Ford. For example, in RAM, there's an owner's website. On there, I can see upcoming campaigns and recall information, along with a steady stream of coupons in case you service your vehicle at a dealership. You also see the history of maintenance on your vehicle, and in my case I have the option of adding my maintenance as well, which is what I do.

[spoon059]

Awesome! Congrats on the new truck! Just read your manual about breaking in the rear axle gears if you are worried about that. Some people think its important, some people point out that when these trucks are put into a tow truck/ambulance/class C rig/etc they don't "break in" the rear axle and they run for a long time.

Enjoy your truck!

[FishOnOne]

Dukec wrote:
Well. I finally did it!
Stepped up an ordered a new F350 Crew 4x4 6.7 pickup.
Ordered because it has to be brought in from Idaho.
Bought it thru a local Ford dealer after doing a bunch of searching on the interwebs for one set up the way I wanted it. Got a good price but not great one.

Anyway never having owned or driven a diesel pickup before is there any thing I should do right away besides drive and enjoy? Any thing to be aware of?

We will be heading to SoCal and AZ in about 6 weeks with it and our TT for a few months.

Be prepared to be impressed and have a permanent grin on your face. :B After 130k miles on my diesel I still get that :B to this very day.

Best thing to do is to read the diesel supplement manual. Get fuel from high volume gas stations and use Motorcraft fuel filters.

[bobsallyh]

When mine are new, I drive them like they are going to be used. The one I have now has 228,000 on the clock. Drive it like you stole it!