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#6 of 1181 cburruss by mullins87 Nov 08, 2003 (7:02 am)
60,000 miles ?!?! In 9 years?!?! Most builders I know of will put at least 40,000 a year on their trucks, and most of that is pulling a load.   Yes, ask for the service records if there are any. If that is the correct mileage, then the two biggies that I see with this truck are regular oil and filter changes and coolant additives. The tranny will go that far without a fluid change as long as it hasn't been allowed to overheat and cook the fluid. But back to the oil changes. These trucks use a second high pressure oil pump to hydraulicly actuate the injectors. So not only will old, dirty oil wear on the engine, it will also wear out the injectors prematurely. The coolant additive is IMO the BIG one you should ask about. Diesel engines require coolant additives. This is due to the high compression ratios. The high compression will actually cause the cylinder wall to bow out during the compression stroke creating an area of high pressure around it. As the piston then retracts after the combustion process, then that cylinder wall will very quickly flex back in to its original position, which creates an area of low pressure around it. The coolant will have a tendancy to form air bubbles, boil if you want to call it that, in this area of low pressure. When the piston begins its next compression stroke, the cylinder wall flexs out again. Only this time those air bubbles formed from the last cycle will implode due to the incredible pressures created by that rapidly expanding cylinder wall. When those air bubbles implode, they can, and will, eat away at the metal of the cylinder wall. Over time holes will form and the engine is shot. This whole scenario is called cavitation. That's where the coolant additive comes into play. It prevents cavitation from happening plus it helps the water to draw heat from the engine metal more efficiently.   The reason why I have gone into such an discussion of this is because most dealers aren't even aware of this additive. I don't know about the '95 model year owner's manual, but I'd bet it doesn't even mention it either. My '99 model year manual does, otherwise I wouldn't have ever known to ask about it from other diesel owners.   Again, if that is the correct mileage, that truck has set for long periods of time or has only been driven a few miles a day. Unless something else jumps out at you, the condition of the coolant would be the thing I would be most concerned over.   Have you test driven this truck yet? If you do, take it on an extended test drive, not 10 or 15 minutes either. I'm talking about a couple of hours. I test drove a '95 dually, crewcab with the 5-speed back a few years ago. Once it was up to full operating temperature, I drove it hard. I'm not talking about redlining every gear, but at least taking it up into the 2,200 to 2,600 rpm range with the throttle to the full. You won't hurt a diesel that way. These engines are designed to work hard and enjoy it, not like a gasser. Anyway, I had made a couple of stops, one being at my house to see if the truck would fit into my garage, and on the way back to the dealer I noticed the truck started smoking lightly under acceleration. Not the typical black sootie smoke, but it had a white color to it. I took it back to that dealer and didn't buy it. Turned out to be a good decision as I later happened to mention it to a reputable diesel mechanic. He told me he was familiar with the truck and that the smoking would have gotten worse the longer I drove it. All in all, he said about $2,000 to fix it. So if you've read this far, take the truck on a good long test drive.   Your mileage will be considerably different running empty and towing. Remember, my point of view on mileage is based on a '99 F-350 Supercab, long bed, 6-speed, 2wd. I get around 18 mpg when empty and 11.25 mpg when towing my camper. I have a 16' flatbed on which I use to tow my offroad Jeep. I'll get around 16.5 mpg with that trailer behind me.   I've been told snowplowing is one of the hardest and most abusive things you can do to a truck. I don't know from personal experience as we don't get much snow where I live. I personally wouldn't want one that has been used in that manner. I would imagine the tranny wouldn't last long.
#7 of 1181 first oil change by connon Nov 10, 2003 (10:31 am)
Have an 04 f250 with the 6.0 deisel just coming up on 1500 miles.I always changed the oil on a new vehicle at or before 2000 miles.This is my first deisel, should I go the mfr recommended 5000 miles or do it sooner.I do almost exclusively short hops with this truck(5-10 miles).No towing either. thanks. Replies to this message: johnminn (Jan 02, 2008 6:09 am)
#8 of 1181 reply by cburruss Nov 10, 2003 (3:20 pm)
I did what you suggested and when I took it home for the weekend I realized that it had some electrical problems and also left a really big oil slick under the truck the next morning. Thanks for the advise.
#9 of 1181 cburruss by mullins87 Nov 10, 2003 (3:45 pm)
You're very welcome. You mentioned electrical problems, could that be the reason for the seemingly low miles? I'm skeptical of that one. Replies to this message: fedup19 (Aug 24, 2009 4:01 pm)
#10 of 1181 connon by mullins87 Nov 10, 2003 (3:49 pm)
Diesel engines need several miles of driving before they reach full operating temperature. In your case, I'd change out at 1,000 or 1,500 miles and then every 3,000 after that. Lots of contaminants can build up in the oil when it is not allowed to stay at full operating temp for some length of time. These contaminants will "burn" off when the oil is hot enough. Another piece of advice is to take that truck out on a long run at least once a week. That Navistar engine reallys likes to be worked hard.
#11 of 1181 first oil change by connon Nov 10, 2003 (7:28 pm)
Guess I will do it now. As far as working it hard , I am running it down to Tallahassee from North Jersey for Thanksgiving. Should be a decent shakedown cruise. Getting around 14.6 mpg locally so it will be interesting to see where that goes on a long high speed haul.BTW, 04,King R.,4x4 cc.
#12 of 1181 by mullins87 Nov 11, 2003 (6:14 pm)
Long runs are good for these engines. Your mileage should go up. Right now it seems that yours is low, however these diesel may take 20k miles or more to break-in. You should get into the upper teens to around 20 mpg when broken in. My truck, an F-350 XLT, DRW, SC, 6-speed, 2wd with 3.73 gears gets around 18 empty(mixed city and highway) and 11 towing a 31' camper.
#13 of 1181 10w30 or what ? by connon Nov 13, 2003 (9:05 pm)
Kind of strange, my last Ford, an 01 F150 screw was very specific on what oil to use,5-20 synthetic blend an nothing else. My 04 deisel according to the Power Stroke supplement just refers to a climate chart to determine what weight oil to use and nothing else.So I went with standard 10-w-30 seeing that it rarely goes -10F around these parts. Last thing I need is to void a warranty through inability to read the owners manual correctly.Still I am happy not to have to go synthetic at 15 qt's per change.I will however go with the severe duty change schedule with all the short runs I make. Thank you Mullins87 for the input .I have had this truck since mid August and would like to think the low milage(1350) is because of the weeks it sat back at the dealership correcting problems that should have caught during the so called "dealer prep", however I know I just dont drive it enough.
#14 of 1181 connon by mullins87 Nov 14, 2003 (5:55 pm)
Assuming the oil recommendations are the same for your 6.0L as those for my 7.3L, 10w-30 is OK for cold weather use only. When the temps get over 40 degrees F, or some temp close to that, you'll need to switch over to 15w-40. However, the most important issue here is to make sure you use high quality oil rated for diesel engines. Diesels place much greater stress on the oil than gassers. You can use oil rated for diesel engines in a gasser, but not the other way around.   What brand of oil did you put in it? I have only used Rotella-T in my truck. Walmart sells it around here for about $6.50 a gallon. I got familiar with Rotella-T when working for a trucking company. That's what they used, and still do today. Several of their trucks had 1 million miles on the odometers when they were sold. They were never rebuilt either. The company choses to buy a new truck at that point rather than chance a truck on the road that might break down. I have 140k miles on my truck now and can tell you the inside of the valve covers are clean and sludge free.   Obviously I'm a Rotella-T fan. Others really like Chevron Delo, and there's another major brand but I can't think of it now. Ask around at the truck stop when you fuel up. You'll get lots of good information from the guys that know what they're talking about and far more opinion than you want.   Welcome to the Ford diesel club. If you're like most of us, you'll find out it's a love affair.
#15 of 1181 valvoline by connon Nov 18, 2003 (4:57 pm)
I had the shop put Valvoline 10w30 in even though they tried to get me to go with 15w40.I even tried Ford Cust. svc for a clarification but the operator in Dearborn did not know what the Hell was up. After 20 min. on hold he comes back and tells me to go with 5w20. I told him that that wasn't even listed in the Diesel power stroke supplement. So much for going to the top.I will go back tomorrow and compare the ASI specs from the manual to the specs on the Valvoline drum(bulk oil) and if it does not agree I'll dump it and go 15w40.Rather waste the money then ruin the engine.

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