Requiem for a pickup
 

The Blue Beast is on life support. The EGR cooler sprung a leak, and Quirk Ford wants $3-4K to fix it and the rest of the components damaged by coolant.

I may have to pull the pug on it, the cost of a transplant is just too high. Maybe the US goverment should take over carcare in addition to healthcare.

That's sad. It was so young.

Hmmm....worst case...the dealer wants $3-4k to fix it. And how much does a new truck cost...$30-40k? And a local garage can't give you a better deal? Or ya get a Haynes manual and try fixing it yourself?

It's nearly always cheaper to fix the truck (or car) you've got rather than replacing it. Unless it's completely rusted out, or, like me, you drive ancient cars...

Maybe you can find another shop to work on it for less? Or maybe you could try to figure out where most of the costs are, like is there something that is mindless and laborious that you could do in place of the technician or something? Nothing is worse than paying a highly skilled technician his rates just to do something that your 10 year old daughter could do in a day's time..

UPDATE:

Curiouser and curiouser. I took the truck to a local diesel shop, Gorham Diesel, and they say there's nothing wrong with the EGR cooler, just a nick in a coolant hose and a loose clamp. Theoretically, it will be fixed and tested by this afternoon.

Now, if this fixes the problem, what in hell is going on with Fomoco, Quirk Ford, and/or the QF mechanic (who subsequently offered to buy the truck)?

I've had shops give me a long list of stuff that "had" to be done, and when I examined it myself very little of it was actually needed. Sounds like the mechanic really liked your truck, and figured if he slid in a big estimate you might be willing to part with it.

That's a good reminder to all of us: When the mechanic says it's something major, get a second opinion just like you would with a doctor. They could have missed something like a nicked hose and a loose clamp.

That is a regrettable human mistake that can happen anywhere, but I often have doubts about dealer mechanics.

Yeah, like when the dealer told me I needed a new transfer case in The Beast a few weeks ago. I'm getting a few 2nd opinions before I replace a transfer case.

Forget 4x4. Take out your front diff and send it to me, mine is bad. You don't need it in VA most years anyway...

I sure needed it this year though... I really don't think its the transfer case. Just something stupid like U Joints or something like that. The dealer recommended a new (used) transfer case ($1,300 installed) and suggested new U Joints ($800) while they were in there. Oh, and one of the blower fan speeds is intermittent. ($500) to replace the fan switch. I'm sure if I shop around I can probably get everything taken care of for under $1,000. I hate that dealer, but they were the only shop open during the snowstorm.

Reminds me of a story...

1976. My brother and his family live in some apartments about 10 miles from where I lived with my parents. One of his neighbors had a '66 VW bug that was running poorly, no power. The dealer told him that it needed a $400 valve job. So he mentions to my brother that he wants to sell it for $100.

My dad commuted about 20 miles each way at that time. When we first moved to that house, he made his commute in a '55 Nash Metropolitan. After a couple years (due to tapered cylinders, the car needed rings about once a year), he traded it in on a Ford Econoline camper van. He was looking for a commuter car which got better mileage than the van, however. 10 year old VW bugs back then brought the better part of $1000, so he reasoned that, worst case, this VW would cost him $500, (100 for the car, 400 for the valve job) so he'd still be ahead of the game.

Limping the car home, he came to a hill. He started out on the hill barely moving. As he got about half way up the hill, suddenly the car started running normally. Further investigation showed that the problem was a sticking automatic choke. A couple squirts of Gumout and the problem was fixed.

this is what happens when you have the youngins/big service places inspect your car, everything is broken, hell they're usually not sure how you drove it there usually, I have one mechanic I talk to who knows everything, works for my family and wont lie. I bring my problems to him,

this is why i do not trust chain mechanics, pepboys, midas ect

theyre usually charging you 75 an hour

i like places like Joes Garage, way more honest..

Another update:

I used a diesel programmer to clear the diagnostic trouble codes. The codes say that the EGR control valve is out of range, and that the Fuel Injection Control Module iout of range. Not sure whether they are interrelated.

The check engine light keeps coming on after I clear the codes. But the truck runs like a top. Should I just ignore the light?

You might want to snoop around some ford truck forums to see if these problems are common, and if so, what are some simple fixes for them. You could also try clearing the memory by removing battery and leaving a light on for some time. Sometimes this makes mysteriuos codes go away.

Worked on the 1994 S10 I just got...I didn't even want to clear the codes, I just forgot that pre-OBDII vehicles lose their codes when you disconnect the battery for a while.

The stealership is always gona try to hustle you out of your money. A second opinion is def a must. Well hope Gorham is right theyll save you some big money.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Just got the Blue Beast back from Gorham's shop. A new throttle position sensor has done the trick, it accelerates smooothly now..... The Blue Beast lives to terrorize ungulates once more!

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

New tires today. Truck tires are expensive! $903 for 4. ouch.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Ouch! What model of tires did you buy?

235/85-16 is probably tough to find inexpensively, I think they're mostly used on small dumptrucks and institutional pickups...individuals with pickups tend to get wider tires.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Bought a house brand at Town Fair Tire...Salesman said they were made by Cooper, OEM size, 265-75/16

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

The Blue Beast is barely starting after extended cranking. It seems to be catching on only one cylinder, while the remaining cylinders don't light off. It smokes like Hell because most of the cylinders aren't firing.

Not sure whetherit's the FICM or the glow plugs....

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Is it a Powerstroke diesel? I know I had problems with the powerstrokes when I was the fleet officer at the rescue squad. The injector harnesses would burn up.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Nothing seems to be burning up, but the water-in-fuel sensor just lit. I had my filters changed this morning, maybe th problem is solved..... fingers crossed.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

The part of the injector harness we were having problems with, was the portion that was under the valve cover.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Look at it logically. You just changed the filters and now you have a hard start problem?

It's sucking air/leaking vacuum so the filter is draining back to the tank. You crank it enough and the lift pump fills the filter and it starts. Recheck that the filter gasket isn't pinched/filter loose/etc. In fact, get it running, shut it off and pull the filter off. Is it full? (should be a yes answer since you just shut it off) Put the filter back on and run it again for a minute or so then shut it off and let it sit for an hour or more.(or over night) Pull the filter off after sitting and see if it is half empty. (I'm guessing yes again)

Also, water sensor just lit? Either you have a hell of a lot of water in your tank for it to turn on the sensor in less than a day...or....sensor is broke/sucking air/leaking fuel and draining the filter.

The answers are right in front of you, just have to diagnose it.

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

Forgot to add, don't crank it more than 30 seconds and give it at least a minute between cranking or you will burn up the starter. Not sure if your's is a gear reduction one or not (both available) but either one gets too hot it throws the solder off the brush wires and then you have a 400 amp dead short when you hit the key.

Yes this is WAY bad!

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

I may change the truck's name from Blue Beast to Dracula. It's undead, but not really living.

I was snowshoeing with my wife in Millinocket, ME two weekends ago. It was a bear to start after sitting ovenight. It took about 5 minutes of intermittent cranking to get it to kick over. And when it did start, it misfired and made blue smoke for 5 minutes before settling down. This was AFTER adding cetane treatment to the fuel tank. I do a significant amount of off-roading in cold weather, and I'm getting nervous about getting stranded in Frostbite Falls.

Now that the weather has warmed, it starts easily again. Maybe it's busted glow plugs. Anybody know about glow plugs on 6.0 powerstrokes?

Re: Requiem for a pickup
 

I was going to write a big, long, "how-to" but cut&paste is SO much easier.:D
Yes I would say you have a glow plug/controller issue.


Well DUH....I guess it helps if I actually ADD the link eh?
https://www.powerstrokenation.com/for...ad.php?t=27553