SrA_Heise

10-4 its off to the dealer then. thanks.

do you just have to tighten? or is there a gasket that goes bad?

We have a 2004 F-350 4x4 XL 4 door auto 6.0 in our shop. This thing has a strong smell of exhaust in the cab, we have tightened everything we can find without digging to deep into the motor, still smells. The downpipe was really loose though. It seems like the right exhaust manifold might be leaking, cant really tell though. The exhaust the rest of the way is all good, this truck has about 10,000 miles on it. Where else should we check, is this a common problem?

well the truck is back, with another new IPR, seems to be running ok now, havent seen anymore leaks, it was down from sept 9 through dec 3rd I believe.

It is at Badger Ford, in Milwaukee, WI.

Well, 21 Nov I went to the dealer to pick it up. Said it was a cracked valve cover gasket, the tech pinched it when he put it in or something. I go out to the lot, now it wouldnt start, then it started hard and died. Still at ford.

Well I got it back from ford. One oil leak is fixed with a new set of head gaskets, however there seems to be oil coming out of the exhuast manifold on the passengers side of the engine. A pretty steady drip coming out of the exhaust manifold gasket, and blowing blue smoke most of the time now. Going back to ford for round 4.... This is a nightmare, the truck has been down since Sept 9th in the shop. Its now Nov 14th....

Well its at another dealership. Wont start all the time, hard starts, and leaking oil. They just called and said the motor needed to be pulled. Needs a set of head gaskets now to start out with. Ill keep ya all updated. They just put a short block in our other one at the new dealer we are going to. Pulled the motor, put the short block together, and gave it back in about 3 days.

Well now the truck came into our shop at the base today. Leaking oil off the passengers rear side of the motor, and you have to start it about 4 times to keep it running.

Yeah, Like i said I love ford, always have always will... But what kind of treatment do customers get who just have a diesel truck to haul their horses, equipment trailer, etc.. that arent mechanics. They pick up their truck, think its all good, when its not. Who gets stuck with the bill when the trans cooler lines blow off that they didnt clamp back on? BTW, can i mention the dealer name in here?

I have a little story for you all that you may find interesting. I am a mechanic with the US Air Force at their Air Guard installation in Milwaukee. Recently on 9/09/2007 we had a 2003 F-350 4x4 6.0 Four Door spring a massive oil leak, it was out on the flightline and shot oil everywhere. Our policy in the military is to use warranties to their fullest extent. Given this truck has been properly serviced, maintained at all intervals, and only has about 30,000 miles on it, it was determined to tow this into the local ford dealer because it was apparently an engine problem. We tried to determine the oil leak, but couldnt really tell (we are used to the 6.5's in tactical vehicles and big diesels). It was towed into ford and dropped off in front of their bay, the service writer said they would look at it first thing monday morning. A few days go by and it is time for me to do my Estimated time in Commission report for my commander. I call ford, and they say it will be ready in a few days they need to order in some parts. Another week goes by, I call ford again, then they say it will be done tommorow. So so far it has been there a week and half. They call two days later and told me it was ready. I hopped in our shop truck and drove down with another tech. As soon as we pulled in the parking lot we saw the oil slick underneath the truck, it was leaking oil worse just sitting there. I brough the service manager out and showed her, told her we were not taking it until it was fixed. Now, another week has gone by, Call again, once again they say it will be done in two days. They informed me that it needed crank bearings, an oil pan gasket, new front cover, lpop, and a few other things. Another two weeks go by, and various phone calls, to ford, it has now been over a month. They said it would be done in another few days, the wrong parts came in they said. Well now it is about 10/15/07. We now get a call from ford saying its all done and ready. Once again I go down with our tow truck, and another tech. Upon pulling in the lot, we see a slick of antifreeze. We go up to the truck, pop the hood, antifreeze, and tranny fluid everywhere. Take a closer look, whoever put the engine in didnt put any of the clamps on any hose. Also the trans cooler lines were loose, and no clamps on the cooler. Also about 3 wiring harnesses were off randomly. I bring the service manager out, and the tech. I showed them the problems, the tech got very arrogant with me because I would not accept the truck. Now the service writer tells me to wait outside they would fix it right away, they pull it around back, park it. It was out of sight, but I could still have a clear shot at it. We waited an hour, noone touched it. Now the writer comes out, says it will be done tommorow. She calls the next morning, tells us its done. We drive it back and the CEL comes on when we get back to base. They forgot to hook up one connector on the right side of the motor, connected it and cleared the codes, been fine ever since, now it wont run again, two weeks later. Blows lots of black smoke, no power etc.. Just thought you guys might find this story interesting, I love ford, i have 2 1997 F-250's with the 7.3, and a 1974 bronco that is my off roader. So I have nothing against ford, this was just unacceptable. What do you guys think? Was this dealer yanking us around? They also refused to give us a loaner after the truck was down for 3 weeks. I dont know how they will stay in business if they treat other people like that. Just my 2 cents.

That was about the funniest thing i read all day, I think im going to get one of our drl trucks up here and send it to a new airmen and see if he can figure it out. Or maybe Ill send him to supply for a piece of flightline..... BTW Escanaba in da Moonlight is awesome

Well no license plate, Ill keep ya all updated if the powers that be come up with any ideas. Nate

I have never worked on one, but seen them around in the Ambulance versions. Kinda scared to ever have to drive one of those 10-33.

Well the elevated idle on those isnt really an option. They start, idle from plane to plane then get turned off. They arent allowed to idle when there isnt someone in them. BTW we dont use bio here yet, straight dino. I love ford, I have to 1997 7.3's in my driveway, but our old dodge tugs with the 5.9 12 valves were awesome for this task. By cleaning the cat do you mean a beat run off base?