Ford F-250 Owners

shaneoh · July 2005

dear blackf250
At least you had better results than i had.I was 200 miles away when my tranny started acting up my dealer came and picked the truck up and it stayed in the shop for three weeks and then they had the balls to tell me that it looked like the tranny had water in it and that FORD WAS NOT GOING TO WARRANTY THE TRANNY.I have 2004 f250 harley davidson crew cab that has 24,000 miles on it and it has never even seen water or been put in 4 wheel drive.I have always owned ford and always wanted a f250 deisel.My truck started doing the exact same thing that you have posted 3 weeks ago.Ford sent some under writer over from Pensacola,FL that don't even work for them and that's the result that I got.Now my only option is to buy a tranny @5000.00 and have it put in until we go to court.You talk about getting screwed.Iwill tell anyone out there they had better really research the new f250's before they buy one.My truck has been in the shop 6 times for three different things and I still have a hunk of junk.I have had so many problems with my truck they give me a 5yr./ 75000 mile warranty.(I GUESS IT COVERS WHAT EVER THE HELL THEY WANT IT TO COVER) It looks like court is the only way the issue will be solved.SO WHOEVER READS THIS FILL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS.But there will never be another FORD in this driveway.I have e-mail your post to my lawyer and to the sales manager,service manager at the local dealership that for your post.By the way I looked at the tranny fluid and there are NO signs of water in it i'am sending it to a lab to analized.THANKS SHANE">

mowens · July 2005

Unreal. I have a 2005 6.0 Crew Cab, 1,000 miles on it...samething happened. Ford has it now, they ordered a new Turbo for it.

paintman · July 2005

i replaced my front rotors and pads, now my truck squeals awful, especially when i turn. ? any remedies, was it something done wrong?

xabntroop · July 2005

Get some legal help if you can or go to a local tv station and have them do a segment on how your dealer refuses to honor the warranty. Let the dealer know and then contact the BBB better business bureau and file a complaint. Then try to get ahold of a higher up Ford rep and discuss this with him and let him know also of your plans to make public the dealers refusal to honor the warranty. I know this sounds kinda weak, but it works....it's a shame that it has to get to this before someone does their job. The dealer gets paid by Ford anyway so I guess they are just lazy. xabntroop

xabntroop · July 2005

Get the line-x, I have it in my 05 f-250 6.0 4x4 and my f-150, this stuff is great and they do remove access panel and bed bolts and re-install after spraying. Just a note, but the Pentagon is actually getting sprayed with line-x in certain areas due to the resiliance and flexability of the polymer. Apparently it has incredible resistance to fragmenting when subjected to bombs or whatever the DOD tested it for.

navig2 · July 2005

Noticed an oil leak in my 2004 F250 diesel, not a big one, put a piece of cardboard under it and every couple of days or so I would notice some oil on it. Took it to dealer and "naturally" they could not find any leak. They suggested putting a dye in the oil and then bringing it back when it was time for an oil change and they would use a black light and then they would be able to detect any leak. Has anyone else ever heard of this and did it work? Thanks for your help.

mullins87 · July 2005

Excellent idea. What I can't believe is that your dealer offered to do it. I once had a '95 Cougar. Not long after I brought it home, it developed a leak around the timing belt cover. The car was new and it had less than 10k miles on it. The dealership tried to claim that I was just being messy with my oil changes. Anybody that knows me will tell you I am anal about maintenance and wiping up any, if any, spilled oil. Long story short, after a fair amount of arguing with the service advisor and his tech, who by the way told me he "wasn't going to spend all day chasing down a leak that didn't exist," I finally got him to dump the dye in it. Well, I have a black light at home and I checked it the next day. (hehehehe) The front of the motor light up like a Christmas tree. I took it in and the look on the techs face was priceless.

So, yes. This technique does work and it works very well.

KCRam · July 2005

A quality dealer will always dye and black-light an oil leak. Things like that keep customers coming back instead of taking their business elsewhere. When my 96 Dodge Ram was at the dealer for another repair, the mechanic noticed fairly fresh oil puddling on top of the front axle. Drained the oil, changed the filter, and dyed it... told me to come back in three days. I went back, and the dye helped locate an engine seal that had gone bad. Unchecked, it would have resulted in a full seizure when it ruptured. Replaced the seal and changed the oil and filter again. All free, covered by waranty.

kcram - Pickups Host

mullins87 · July 2005

That's why I was so surprised when they acted like they didn't want to fool with it. They literally took the position that I was an idiot and they were not going to waste their time on me. Now mind you this is the same dealership that not only sold us the Cougar, but also an F-150 Flareside and two Lincoln Town Cars, all new ones.

mullins87 · July 2005

BTW: Since then we bought a 2000 Windstar, program vehicle. However, when the Windstar was traded in, we went to another dealership and bought a Grand Cherokee. Even my parents haven't bought anything from them since then.

IMO, expensive mistake on their part.

rodneywolfe · August 2005

Hoping someone can help me. I think I am going nuts. Approximately a month ago I drove my 1999 F250 7.3L diesel to dentist. Came out 2 hours later to find that I had power to the dash and lights but starter wouldn't even click, let alone turn over. Had my batteries charged up and still nothing. Then changed a glow plug relay and starter relay switch and it fired right off. Drove it home (approximately 12 miles) and parked it for the night. Next morning it started right up. Stopped at store. Came out 10 minutes later to same problem as the previous day, except one battery now checked out bad. Replaced battery and it fired right off. Took it home and parked it for the rest of the day. Next morning it did the same thing again. Took starter/solenoid and alternator to shop. Alternator was bad so bought new 110 amp alternator. Starter/solenoid was tested three times. All three times tested good. Put parts in truck. No change to problem. Replaced starter relay switch again and ignition switch. Pulled battery cables and cleaned/inspected them. Charged batteries to full again and installed all in truck. Started up strong and ran for 45-60 minutes. Everything checked out great. Shut down for the night. Came out this morning to 1.2 volts in each battery. Has anyone else had similar problems? I never had a problem before this. I normally drive it daily. Any ideas where to look now?

wpalkowski · August 2005

I don't have a diesel, but it sounds like you've got a fairly substantial power drain somewhere to to totally kill two new batteries overnight. Something's draining down the batteries to the point where they won't take a charge, then once a battery is shot it's killing the other electrical components.

Disconnect batteries again and give them a full charge. Then start looking for the power drain. You can do this with a test lamp, or a DC Current meter. Pull the fuses outta the panels and probe the sockets with the lamp. (There are fuses under the dash and also under the hood) The circuit(s) that are drawing power will light the lamp, or give a substantial reading on the meter. Some circuits, like the radio, and the computer will always have a small draw but it's not something that's gonna kill the batteries quickly.
Once you find a circuit that's drawing a lot of juice, then you can't start troubleshooting to figure what the cause is.

Happy hunting.

atlfannm · August 2005

after 1 year chancing took to a spring and chassie shop r/r all bushing pins and a couple of shims, for 475.00 american dollars problem gone.

davidz28 · August 2005

I'm a LINE-X dealer.

LINE-X and Rhino differ quite a bit. The biggest difference is that LINE-X contains polyurea and Rhino does not. Polyurea enhances the bedliners properties: 1. LINE-X's temperature tolerance is 250 degrees and Rhino's is 175. As the temperature of the bed approaches the temp tolerance, it loses its strength. 2. Polyurea keeps moisture out of the solution thus making a more dense and solid liner. Less moisture also means better adhesion. 3. Polyurea also makes for a tougher liner. The tear strength of LINE-X is 304 pounds per linear inch (pli). Rhino is 145 pli. 4. Polyurea sets up very fast, that's one reason why LINE-X goes on with heat and high pressure. LINE-X dries in about 4 seconds, so you get an even application throughout the bed. Rhino takes a minute or so to even gel, an hour or so to dry. Before it gels, gravity can pull the liner from the top ridges in to the low valleys. Rhinos Tuff Stuff goes on cold/low pressure and thus has that cottage cheese or rain on the windshield look. LINE-Xs high heat/high pressure system gives it a very nice finished and more consistently applied texture, its sort of like an orange peel. The dealer can vary the texture from smooth to very rough. 5. Polyurea makes the liner more chemical resistant, especially to organic oils and solvents. 6. LINE-X offers a written NATIONWIDE lifetime warranty. Rhinos warranty is only with the dealer that sprayed it.

LINE-X has a new product called LINE-X Xtra. Line-X-Xtra is the first product offering resulting from a partnership between Line-X and DuPont Performance Coatings. The spray-on high performance bedliner is a new benchmark in exclusive composite coatings, as it combines the world renown strengths of DuPont Urethane Technology and DuPont KEVLAR®. Line-X-Xtra features include improved appearance, improved resistance to ultraviolet light and excellent adhesion to the bedliner. In addition, Line-X-Xtra is specially formulated with DuPont KEVLAR® micro pulp fiber. Xtra is applied like a topcoat, but penetrates the entire liner

LINE-X has even other products, one is called Paxcon (www.paxcon.com). Paxcom has been sprayed inside the Pentagon, Federal Building in NY, and inside nuclear submarines. Also, LINE-X has been sprayed on over 50,000 of the titanium/ceramic bullet proof plates worn inside military vests. They are in use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hope that helps!

rodneywolfe · August 2005

decided to check out once more before testing. charged batteries and started her up. within half hour voltage had dropped by a full volt. after shutting down and letting cool, i turned on key. noticed smoke from glow plug relay. coming from black/orange wire terminal. insulation is melting around terminal. Also 3 inches of cable closest to relay is hot, hot, hot to the touch. cable itself appears to be good, no damage. relay stayed hot as long as batteries hooked up. am i correct to interpret that the relay is controlled by the pcm? could i have a bad pcm? (replaced relay after the first one was smoking on me). code reader is reading no code, but the truck hasn't even made it out of the driveway in 6 weeks now so it hasn't had the chance to reset the codes. :confuse:

mullins87 · August 2005

I wouldn't suggest it as a permanent fix, but since it's summer, I'd disconnect the power supply to the glow plug relay. Since it is hot outside, the truck should still start up and you'll know if the relay itself is what is draining the batteries. I wouldn't immediately go to the PCM. Use the "KISS" approach, you know, Keep It Simple Stupid. No offense intended, I have to step back as use this approach all the time. If the problem goes away, then you'll at least know which system on the truck is causing it.

yrbender · August 2005

Have a new diesel F250 I need to last due to $. The owners manual says change oil every 7500 is that OK? Always did 3K with gas motor.
Thanks

KCRam · August 2005

Depends on hopw you use it. For regular driving, modern pickup diesels do just fine at 5000-7500; in fact, 7500 is the heavy use schedule on my 2005 Cummins/Dodge Ram. If you do a LOT of towing and heavy hauling, then you may want to change more often.

kcram - Pickups Host

mullins87 · August 2005

You're going to find people suggesting everything from full synthetic oil changes every 3k miles to those suggesting dino oil changes every 10k to 15k miles. Here's my $.02 worth:

If you're really concerned about oil changes, do them every 3k miles and use dino oil. If you're still somewhat concerned, do them every 5k miles and still use dino oil. If you think the factory has your best interest in mind, then do them every 7.5k miles and use synthetic. If you want to fool with oil analysis and extended drain intervals - alot of owners, trucking companies and heavy equipment operators do this - then use a synthetic oil and let the analysis tell you when to change. You'd still need to change your filter at least every 7.5k miles doing this.

If you're going to use dino oil, then I recommend Shell Rotella-T. I first learned about this oil while working for a large trucking company. They would routinely put 1M miles on their trucks without any major engine repair. It was used in my own truck. It had 165k miles on it when I sold it

this spring. The engine was still very clean on the inside. Infact, I decided to go with 5k mile changes by watching the color of my oil. My oil would still be clean and 3k miles and wouldn't start turning dark until around 4.5k miles. If you're going to use synthetic, I suggest Amsoil. It's terribly expensive, about $8/quart, but it's one of the best oils on the market. Some of the guys I know that do the extended oil changes use the Amsoil and go 20k miles between changes.

You'll have to decide what's best for you. You can't go wrong with regular dino oil and 3k mile changes, but that's an awful lot of oil in a years time.

sixeight1 · August 2005

I have a Ford F-250 2004 model with 18000 on it.I rotate the tires every 5000 miles and the tires are wearing funny.I have a flat spot on the left front where the tire is put together about 5 inches.On the right front it is dipping out every 5 inches.Will this still be under warrarty?
Thanks for any help

jbud · August 2005

I was wondering if any one can help me out on trying to locate a wiring diagram for a 2003 ford f250 superduty, I am wanting to disconnect the key in/lights on bell when the door is open i think the bell is behind cluster panel but I don't want to have to take the dash out to find it I would rather locate wires from under dash and disconnect there any help would be much appreciated

jwsquared · August 2005

I am looking at used F-250's. A 1999 Diesel with 142,000 miles looks good and clean (no seeps or leaks) and a cold engine started right out of the gate, with very little tail pipe smoke, which cleared very quickly, and very little smoke out of the oil filler cap hole (I have been told significant white smoke is not good). But I looked at the oil dipstick and the oil was pretty dark, approaching black. I ask the saleman and he said this was typical of diesel. Is this true and are their any other "hand grenades and horseshoe" tests or common problems with this vehicle and engine?

Thanks

jatwater · August 2005

I also have a 2004 F250 P.S.D. I bet you have General Tires that came on your truck. I had problems with the tires on my truck starting at about 2,000 miles. Here is the solution to your problem. Take your truck to a Michelin tire store and have your tires replaced. You have 10 ply tires now and you are going to get 8 ply with the Michelins. If you continue to rotate them every 5,000 miles (as I do too), they should run for you for about 60-70,000 miles. By the way, they also will ride a lot better too. I have 38,000 miles on my tires and they show absolutely no wear.

rscott6 · August 2005

There is almost no breakin necessary on the '05 diesel..I have 4900 miles on it
and since 4000 miles everyother weekend has been a 200 mile trip..with cruise set
at 72 MPH I've been getting 20-22 MPG..on the '04 I had the wait was to 15,000
miles before I got 20 MPG. They cleaned up their electronics alot. With fuel at
$2.97 a gallon this mileage came just in time. It's a 4X2 CC Shortbed w/Auto Trans..72 MPH is the power band on this one.

Best Truck I've Ever Owned...

boernetx · September 2005

rodney, did you figure out what your problem was? The dashlight for the battery came on a few days ago, stayed on for about 4 days. Finally ran outta juice. recharged batteries, checked alternator...everything ok. three days later, no juice? Our problems are similar. I'm thinking about changing the alternator anyway...let me know how things are went with your truck.

cmw1 · September 2005

We also have a starting problems. I searching to see if there is or there was a recall for ignition problems. Our problem: Everything on the dash work but no turn over. Clutch switch was replaced by the dealership for nearly $200. Truck started well for a few days and then the problem reoccur. In the past we would wait a few minutes and then tried and it would start. Today, waiting is not starting the truck. HELP someone. Thanks.

viking6 · September 2005

Hello.i am about to purchase MY FIRST truck, it is 2002FORD f250 crew cab 7.3L diesel. Car has 66.786 miles on . Please if you can tell me what should i look for in problem areas and also what kind of service do i need to do on the truck. I newer had a diesel truck before, what kind of mileage i can expect, what are the problem areas that i should look for, I have bben told by few people that i need to be carefull where to buy diesel fuel(because of water?) . i am new to all of this. Please if anyone has any advice to give me i would be gratefull. My e mail is ognjen19812aol.com.
Thank you

wpalkowski · September 2005

First timer,
Good luck with new truck - you need to buy diesel at a place that sells a lot of it - like a truck stop where the big rigs go. (You just can't use the pumps with the big high-flow fuel nozzles.) If you go to the local Quickie Mart that has only one diesel pump you could be asking for trouble. The fuel there may sit in the tank for several weeks or more - it can absorb water, and grow algae too. Water in the fuel will stop you quick. Algae can gum the fuel system up. Read the owners manual. Learn how to drain the fuel line water separator. Probably would be a good idea to change the fuel filter while you're at it. Also you could buy some diesel fuel additive (Power Test is one brand), It will absorb water in the fuel, kill off any algae, and lowers the fuel gel point.

Does it get real cold in the winter where you live?- Diesel fuel can gel and get thick and gummy in cold weather - Most places switch over to winter blend fuel which has a lower gel point - but you may have to help it with the additive. When starting truck in cooler weather, watch the "wait to start" light on the dash. This indicates when the glow plugs have sufficiently warmed the cylinders to allow it to start easier. It'll probably still start without waiting, but the motor will blow some black smoke and be a bit noisier for a little while - basically causes a little more wear & tear on the engine if you don't wait for the 20-30 seconds after turning the key. If winter temps in you area go below 0, you should probably plug in your engine block heater. (If your truck was originally shipped to a northern state you should find an electric cord and plug tucked up somewhere behind right front bumper) Will make starting in the morning much easier.

2002 was the last full model year for the 7.3L Powerstroke engine, and by that time they'd worked all of the little kinks outta the engine. One thing to be aware of is the coolant. Those engines had a small problem with coolant cavitation - little vaccuum bubbles occur in coolant flow - when bubbles occur next to cylinder wall they cause little hot spots - over a lot of miles >>100K - the cavitation can cause erosion of the back of the cylinder walls. There's a coolant additive you need to add to your coolant that prevents this - one of them is called Stanadyne. A lot of folks don't know or don't care about the coolant, but it is important for longevity of that engine - they can easily go 300-400K miles before needing any major work.

Be good about changing the oil. Powerstroke oil changes aren't cheap - it's around 15-16 quarts. Use only oil that's rated for Diesel Engines - good choice is Shell Rotella-T - don't use oil that's made for gasoline engines or you could regret it. The engine uses the oil to help pressurize and run the fuel injection system. The wrong type of oil or dirty oil can damage your injectors - it's a very costly repair! Follow the manual oil change intervals, and change the oil filter each time too.
As far as mileage - you don't say the body style or whether it's a 4x2 or 4x4, standard or automatic. Diesel mileage varies. Some get only 12-13 mpg, yet someone else with identical truck report 18-20 mpg on the highway. Depends on the trucks configuration, how you drive, how it's loaded, and also how the trucks engine control computer has been flashed.

Only sorta weak point with the truck is the automatic transmission - diesel can put out a lot of torque - some folks had premature transmission failures - but they usually beat the heck outta their trucks...... Many added supplemental transmission coolers to help with towing.

Hope this helps

viking6 · September 2005

Ok. I got the more informations on the truck. it is 2002 F250 CREW CAB XLT ,Short bed, 4x2, automatic transmission ,it is 7.3Ldiesel .Car is a one owner , all maintance records and car mauals are in the truck . The truck is off road package , . i live in Massachusetts so winters can be cold somethimes. The truck is originally form East Texas so i have not looked to find the plug and the cord. As far for the driving goes most of my driving in massachusetts, new hampshire, i do not have any need for towing so truck is going to be empty most of the time(no payload). I wanted a diesel truck because of the reliability and i have been told that they can last lont time with propper maintance.

KCRam · September 2005

As it states in the Post a Message box, PLEASE do not post your email address - the Forums are searchable by the internet and we have no control over who will take and use your email address, even if you attempt to fake it.

kcram - Pickups Host

yrbender · September 2005

Anyone had a chance to use biodiesel? If so were any modifications required?

mtaschuk · September 2005

Steering Wheel is pulling to the right. I have checked tire pressure and this seems fine. The other problem is a burning smell (I think related to the wheel pulling) that just started this Saturday. This is a 4 wheel drive truck...my question is "Has anyone experienced this problem before?" If so, what are some places to start looking.

salem_mx_racer · September 2005

For about a month I had an intermittent issue when attempting to start my 2000 7.3L F250 (85,000 mi). Very seldom, after the "Wait to Start" light went out and I would try to turn the engine over, you could hear a relay repeatedly latching and un-latching very quickly for as long as I turned the key. The engine would turn over fine but when this would happen, the truck would not start. I could turn the ignition off and try again and the truck would start fine.

Recently, the problem went from intermittent to full time. Every time I turn the key, I hear the relay repeatedly latching and un-latching very quickly, the engine turns over fine but the truck will not start. The batteries are fully charged. I have not located the relay behind the dash (somewhere near the radio) from the sounds of it; however I found that the "Injector Driver Module Relay" in the power distribution box is doing the same thing. I replaced this relay and have the exact same symptoms leading me to believe that something is shorting out the relay.

I don't want to start swapping parts if I don't need to, and I really dont want to take it to the shop. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :sick:

salem_mx_racer · September 2005

Check your wheel and see if it is hot after driving. If it is then you have a wheel bearing issue that needs to be addressed a.s.a.p.

cmw1 · September 2005

We are certain the problem is in the clutch. Although the truck starts now and then when the clutch is fully compress, we have found that if we turn the key to a full starting position without the clutch engaged and then begin the engaging, the truck starts. We think we need a clutch adjustment.

threefoot · September 2005

I am new to this message board and appologize if this is not the correct forum but I need help please.

I just started experiencing acceleration problems with my 2003 F250 SD 6.0 Diesel. I am not sure if it is a TURBO problem, Transmission problem or some type of electrical module etc. It does not happen all the time though. The symptom is that when I for example go to pass someone the RPM's increase but there is NO power. The speed of the vehicle SLOWLY increases. Does not seem like it is down shifting or that the TURBO is not engaging. Anyone hear of or experience similar problems? Vehicle has 39,000 miles. I am also NEW to Diesels.

Note: Really noticed it yesterday morning. However Yesterday afternoon when leaving work it operated just fine. Plenty of power. Again this morning, NO power and same problem experienced.

utvolsjeff · September 2005

This may or may not be your problem, but there is a Ford recall notice out for 6.0 turbodiesel efffective July22, 2005. It is Ford recall #05S34. The NHTSA ID # is 05V270000. It involves a wiring upgrade that any Ford dealership will install and has to do with stalling. Your problem does not sound like this but it may be a precursor to the recall. Good luck

strib · September 2005

I was reading the information you sent coconut about the problem he was having with his truck. I have a 2003 F-250 7.3 PS. The problem seems to be similar to yours. I can be driving in the rain and it seem like it wants to cut off or if I'm driving slow in rush hour traffic it will cut off. It only does this went it rains or a change in wheather from dry to wet. Do you think the cam sensor could be causing this problem.

scottf250 · September 2005

I use biodiesel currently. On 2005 or 2006, you do not need to make modifications. It's ready to go. On earlier models you may need to change your fuel lines to something that is non-reactive to the "detergent" effect of bio. In a nutshell, it's a soap. It can make older rubber fuel lines spongey and eventually brittle.

What you Do have to make sure of is that you change your fuel filter after a few fill-ups if you've run petroleum diesel in the past. The fuel will scrub your tank and lines and likely foul your filter. After the first change, assuming you run bio consistently thereafter, it should not be a problem.

One other point: technically, Ford has not approved the use of bio fuel any greater than B5, or 5% bio/95% petrol blend. In Virginia, I routinely see B20 at truckstops and can purchase blends as high as B99 at ag facilities (they have to blend some in order to offer the $1/gallon tax break; without this, biodiesel would not be competitive). It all works fine, but might get some strange looks from service people and get them to try and slip out of the warranty coverage. (Just tank up with regular before taking it into the shop!)

Oh, and BioD will gel at low temp. You do not want a tank of anything greater than B50 in cold weather.

scottf250 · September 2005

Hi,

I'm a newbie to working on my truck and was wondering if anyone can tell me how easy it is change the fuel filter on the F250 Diesel. Assuming it is, what are the steps?

Thanks!

(This is related to my biodiesel post earlier. You have to change your filter after you start using it and I want to avoid the service fees for what should be an easy thing to do myself.)

S

scottf250 · September 2005

Hmm. Not a very active board... :confuse:

journeyman7 · September 2005

I had this same thing happen with my 94 F250. It happened very suddenly and was right after applying the brakes - if I had let go of the steering wheel the truck would certainly go right into the ditch- the pulling was hard to the right side and I could smell the brakes getting very hot. I was fortunately close to a buddy who wrenches on my vehicles and is very knowledgeable. He said that the Master Cylinder on many Fords has an orifice with only about a .030" hole in it to relieve the brake fluid pressure from the brake cylinders when you let OFF of the brake pedal...the slightest bit of debris in your brake system floating around will temporarily plug up that small hole and hold the pressure ON the brakes even after you have let off of the pedal (right front circuit more susceptible?). When he test drove it later the brakes worked perfectly (-of course). The brake fluid had turned very dark though, indicating that it was dirty from attracting water into the system over time (brake fluid is hygroscopic). I cant afford to be clowning around with intermittent brakes, so, I had him totally flush out the brake lines with fresh clear fluid and just go ahead and slap some rebuild calipers on the front just for good measure...I havent had any of those problems since then! Be sure to closely inspect the hard brake lines especially in the rear on the drivers side above the axle where they go into a manifold block...that seems to be a real weak spot for brake failures from what I've heard- I again had him replace these parts before they failed- he showed them to me and they were well on there way to rusting in two. -...Hope this helps.

journeyman7 · September 2005

I have a 94 F250 and have been experiencing the beginnings of starting problems that 'seem' to be related to the clutch pedal position. The starter will hesitate momentarily, but if I absolutely CRAM the clutch pedal down it will then start right up. I figured that the clutch switch is probably going out so I put a new one on. This didnt fix it. It doesnt do it all the time (yet), but when it does do it, it is always in the morning (damp) - it never does it in the heat of the day. It is now four months later and I am having my clutch replaced because it is definately starting to slip under heavy acceleration (my pedal free-play has been gone for quite a while; I just got used to it from daily driving I guess). I havent yet got it back, but I am curious whether this will make any difference or not. ??

journeyman7 · September 2005

I use oil dyes when looking for leaks in a/c systems- yes, they work very well. The main thing that I think is important is that it be checked very soon after adding the dye (like after a few hours run time or the next day, as mullins87 had done). If a very long time elapses (like your next oil change), there will be dye all over the place and it can actually obscure the exact source of the leak in some cases. When this happens they recommend a special cleaner to remove the leaked out dye so that you can do a new inspection. Some manufacturers warranties may be void if an unapproved dye is used, so check first if this applies. I've heard that they also make a dye for antifreeze/cooling systems too but I've never used it.

dianah · September 2005

I have a 1989 F250 (bought used over a year ago). I only occasionally drive it, and for the last few months I've had to charge the battery each time the night before if I wanted to use it the next day. It would not even start a couple days later after a charge unless I charged it again first. Then it got to the place that it wouldn't charge up anymore at all. It wouldn't crank - nothing but the sound of the key going "click". I had the alternator checked out, and it only needed new bushings. But, it still wouldn't start. So, I bought a new battery even though the current battery was good, according to the parts store. When I attached the second battery cable of the new battery something up near the dipstick starting making an electrical pulsing sound, without the key in the ignition. The truck immediately started up, though. After a few minutes this zzzz zzzz sound stopped. The next day the truck won't start again. Any suggestions or help would be so appreciated!

kieffer · September 2005

I just got my new 06 F250. My first diesel, 6L, 4x4, super crew lariet, long box, 20" wheels, 3.73s with a 6 speed. I've been driving it for a few weeks now and I've been comfortable with shifting around 1800-2000 rpm. I am enjoying the milage of 17.5 to 18.5 mpg, but a friend which owns an 05 F350 mentioned that the dealer told him to shift anywhere between 2300 and 3000. When I get mine over 2000 it sounds like its over-reving to me, even being a newbie to diesels...I've operated heavy equip diesels for almost 20 years and they max out in the low 2000s. I have called several dealers and they have gave me different answers, and my manual states to keep the revs under 3600....red line is 4000. The shifts are very nice at the higher rpms and the turbo is still active when I engage in an upshift, allowing the power to accel the truck with ease, it just sounds like its over-reving? Is it just me being to used to lower rpm diesels and if so, can I drive steadily at higher rpms? Thanks very much, and I've enjoyed reading the posts in this forum alot, there is a considerable amount of knowledge in here!

lefty5 · September 2005

The owners manual that came with my 2005 6.0 F250 gives the wrong
directions for draining water from the Fuel Control Module.
It shows a lever that you move to drain the water. My vehicle has
no lever. The salesman told me there is a plug you take out.
Does anyone know where I could obtain the correct directions
for draining the water?

KCRam · September 2005

You're not over-revving at all. Unlike HD diesels found in construction equipment and class 8 trucks/buses, the engines used in pickups are definitely intended to rev higher than the low 2000s. Granted, you will get your best fuel economy below 2000, but shifting at 3000 is just fine.

kcram - Pickups Host

connon1 · September 2005

Do not know about the 05 but my 04 you need a 6mm allen wrench to pull the plug in the fuel module water trap. You do not have a lot of room to work , with the module right up against the drive shaft. Be careful where you work as not to drop the plug, as it falls free when loose enough to really let the fuel flow. My " water in fuel" indicator light came on twice last winter but I never got more than three or four tear drops of water from the module! Really freaks you though when it lights up.

lefty5 · September 2005

Thank you for your reply.
I can see a plug with a allen wrench
hole in it but it faces the side. Twards the drive shaft. I am really
mystified as to why these for weines do not put the correct
directions in the manual. I checked a neighbor and his 2006
manual still shows the lever that you move to let the water out.
My neighbor ran his last Diesel 165 K and said all he ever did was
change the filters. Never a water light. I am sure that if you use a
good fuel supply you will not get water but sometimes you have no
choice. Thanks again and I will start carrying a 6mm allen wrench
with me just in case. Wonder if there is a place on the web that
you can get the correct directions with some illustrations :confuse:

Ford F-250 Owners

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