For one thing, change the oil frequently on a diesel, and for another, don't stress the engines with excessive RPMs or heavy towing (passenger car diesels). The reason many American drivers get into troubles with diesels is that they think these "diesels" are the same as the ones in Peterbuilt trucks. But they aren't, and they don't like mountain climbing, high revs all day long, and shoddy maintenance.
I have a diesel Mercedes, along with some other cars, and it's got a lot of miles on it---but the maintenance has been excellent, with all the filters for oil, fuel and air changed right on schedule; also, I try to keep it under 75 mph as much as possible, and I use additives for cetane boost, and a bio-cide to cut down algae growth in the fuel tank.
Start now with the fuel conditioner/cetane boost and do it every tankful or every other if that's too expensive for you. The biocide doesn't have to be done that often, but the manufacturer of the biocide should have the recommendation right on the product. I use biocide maybe twice a year, more if the car is just sitting around. You could ask Ford for their recommendation as well, and perhaps the dealer has a good product.
I have a 1985 300D with over 300K on it. My advice follows Mr.Shiftrights-I change the oil every 5000 miles, and constantly check to maintain the oil levels-as my diesel tends to use more oil than my gasoline engine cars. I don't, however, use a fuel additive. Also-make sure that you DRIVE it. My first five years of owning the car, I only drove about 7-8,000 miles a year, using the car for short trips, and the car was constantly in the shop. I was about to sell it when one of my mechanics mentioned that diesels are unusual breeds-the more you drive them, the better they run, and this has been absolutely verified in my experience. He told me that taking a diesel on a three mile jaunt from the house to the grocery store does considerably more damage than driving it long distances-which is why, if you go to Germany, you will see that the Taxi drivers (who often drive diesels) rarely shut off their cars-they just constantly keep them going. After I started putting more milage on the car I noticed it drove better, started easier, and just felt smoother. I have no idea as to what the mechanical reasons for this are, and I know that this applies to gasoline engine cars as well, but it is imperative to the diesel. One more thing-for cold starts-one of the best investments around is an engine block heater. Good luck
I think one reason is that diesel fuel is a lot less volatile than gasoline and if the fuel lays around in the tank for a long time it really gets fouled up with algae, moisture, etc...
As for oil burning, you probably know that diesels are running around 22:1 compression ratiors! You'd expect some oil to get past the rings into the combustion chamber as the vehicle gets older. My 300D is at 213,000 miles, and is running great.
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I have a diesel Mercedes, along with some other cars, and it's got a lot of miles on it---but the maintenance has been excellent, with all the filters for oil, fuel and air changed right on schedule; also, I try to keep it under 75 mph as much as possible, and I use additives for cetane boost, and a bio-cide to cut down algae growth in the fuel tank.
A good source for biocide is a boat supply store.
As for oil burning, you probably know that diesels are running around 22:1 compression ratiors! You'd expect some oil to get past the rings into the combustion chamber as the vehicle gets older. My 300D is at 213,000 miles, and is running great.