Another questionable purchase

I regret to inform you that I have purchased a 2003 Ford F450 XL Crew Cab 4WD, with a 10’ flatbed, a 6 speed manual, and a 6.0 Powerstroke, made in May of 03, one of the earliest 6.0s. It has 137,000 miles on it, and I purchased it on an internet auction, for much cheaper than I had been prepared to pay for it.

No, I haven’t fixed my 91 F-Super Duty

No, I abandoned the Cummins swap in my 94, the step van, which was going to be the powertrain donor, is being turned into a mobile shop rig at current.

I don’t know when I’ll get around to working on the 94, and I have told myself that I must clean up and organize my shed before I embark on my 91. I am going to get some heavy duty freestanding shelves to aid me in that venture, this afternoon.

I will retrieve the more questionable purchase Saturday, bringing with me my OBDLink adapter and laptop with Forscan.

I probably shouldn’t be allowed to have a Purple Wave account…

Measure the oil versus coolant temp difference. If it hasn’t been tuned, and the head bolts are original, the delta in oil versus coolant temp should tell you quite a bit about the engines overall health. I’m a big fan of a stock but monitored 6.0, there just aren’t a lot of those left. Interested to see if you managed to land one with your Purple Wave fishing rod (think ”Muskie-truck: the truck of 10,000 casts”)

Insert popcorn eating emoji here…..

ok

It supposedly is completely stock. Stock exhaust and air filter system, nothing appears to be modified.

I’m going to hook up Forscan and drive it, check FICM voltage, vane position, and EOT/ECT deltas. Make sure everything looks good.

It was originally purchased by the government in Arkansas, owned by a corporate construction company in Kansas, then the guy I bought it from has only put a few hundred miles on it in the past year, and has done nothing with it. So I could believe it’s stock.

Plans have changed, I’m gonna go get it this afternoon.

My dad had an 04 F350, also a 6 speed 4WD crew cab, back when these trucks were new. The dealership installed a very hot chip onto it, and he had a lot of trouble. But he was kinda hard on it.

I don’t like the 6.0 6 speed combination all that well, those transmissions are slow to shift, and the vanes slam shut when you let off to shift. Feels like they fall on their rear every time you shift. At least you can wind them out higher than most diesels.

Coolant filter and blue spring kit will be the first modifications, after changing all the filters (and an oil change), of course.

If the oil cooler has high deltas, but everything else looks good, I’d be very tempted to throw the cash at the truck to spring for the Bulletproof Diesel air to oil heat exchanger. But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, inspection and evaluation first.

Tldr
"Yooooo
Can
Dooooo
Ettttt"
Eta
Yea I'm just that bad influence when it comes to toys and funnn

Alright, here’s the verdict.

Seller told me prior to purchase that the truck has sat alot, pretty much his entire ownership. Well, further evidence shows that the truck has hardly been driven since February of 2020, and also has indications that the batteries, oil and all filters are that old.

Reason for sale is because truck is gutless.

Reason why truck was gutless was that the aftermarket floor mat fastened to the floor had a very tall lip on it, preventing pedal travel beyond 60% APP. Now that pedal has full travel, it has much more power. Batteries, oil and filters that are new should give back the rest of the power. It doesn’t seem underpowered now, but 6 year old fuel filters are certainly a hindrance.

What seller did not say is that 3rd and 4th synchros are worn. Shift slowly, it doesn’t grind. Doesn’t go into gear great, clutch hydraulics might not be up to *****, but the transmission isn’t in good condition.

I hate ZF6s anyways, but whatever.

Truck itself is pretty good, surprisingly good ride quality for an F450, amazing brakes, drives great, steering is pinky easy but no slop. Comfortable and smooth, also very quiet going down the highway. Me likey.

Engine health and stuff:

ECT/EOT deltas good.
ICP good.
VGT duty cycle good, vane position changes as it should.
CCT good, #2 and #8 are slightly lower than the rest, but not out of spec.
FICM voltage in and out good.

No blowby.
No antifreeze in oil.
Everything looks decent, needs caught up on maintenance something terrible.

The truck is completely, utterly stock.

Climate control stuck on defrost, needs either electric vacuum pump replaced or lines repaired, AC needs recharged at the least.

No more than I paid for it, so far so good? We’ll see. Currently looks good, but time will tell.

Gonna go back out there, filters, oil, and fuel pressure regulator update kit await.

A zf6 has to beat the factory auto on those though, the 07 I drive at work sometimes doesn't lock the tc till od.... vgt closing down isn't ideal, custom tuning?

Congrats: Sounds like you caught the Muskie-truck. Pump all the fuel out and run it in an old tractor or bulldozer. Good batteries are a must in 6.0s, as is a high output alternator. You should be able to catch up the fluids and filters services. Adding a coolant filter and some stiction additive to you oil change will get you back in the game. Don’t freak out about the ZF6: a good trans shop will add new synchro’s/seals/clutch and make that a very functional transmission. You know all this already: congrats as you got a really great work and play truck.

Drove the truck a couple hundred miles, after fresh fuel, oil, and all filters.

I load tested the 6 year old batteries, they checked out good, which is surprising… I’m still going to replace them.

Alternator output good

Had Forscan hooked up for a good chunk of the drive, truck still felt a bit sluggish, and turbo not very active. MAF lb/min at ilde shows 0.02, that can’t be right. 0.15 at WOT. Unplugged the MAF sensor and it made a huge difference in boost, but not in power. No DTCs for the MAF, which seems strange. There are DTCs, regarding glow plug functionality… or lack of functionality, rather. I need to look into that. It fires up quickly, but the late May weather isn’t nearly so bad as fall or winter will be…

You sure the VGT blades are moving? Just saying, they are pretty notorious for sticking.

lotzagoodstuff said:

You sure the VGT blades are moving? Just saying, they are pretty notorious for sticking.

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Yes. Unplugging the MAF sensor makes the turbo much more responsive, although it doesn’t increase power much…

I did many tests this afternoon, can confirm the MAF sensor is faulty. The early 2003 calibrations are much more reliant upon the MAF than later models, or so I’ve read.

Some flashes put the engine in "limp mode" with a plugged oil cooler.

Also, it is important to know if you have the "Inferred EBP flash" or not.

You can determine this by looking for the EBPINF PID" (or EBINF - can't recall which). Only the '03 engines (and early '04's had the '03 engine) have the Inferred EBP flash.

bismic1 said:

Some flashes put the engine in "limp mode" with a plugged oil cooler.

Click to expand...

Interesting.
Given the close deltas, I doubt that’s what’s going on. Injectors seem to be getting adequate flow, actual ICP tracks desired perfectly, always within 2 or 3 psi at least. IPR values are also good.

A friend of mine showed me a kit that converts the 6.0 to external high pressure oil lines, looks interesting… it uses two passenger side 05-07 valve covers and oil rails…

bismic1 said:

Also, it is important to know if you have the "Inferred EBP flash" or not.

You can determine this by looking for the EBPINF PID" (or EBINF - can't recall which). Only the '03 engines (and early '04's had the '03 engine) have the Inferred EBP flash.

Click to expand...

It does… and by my understanding, that makes it that much more reliant on the MAF sensor.