Okay guys this is the first time on the site so don't disappiont me! I am having major issues with my powerstroke right now and need some guidance! I bought my truck brand new in the spring of 2004, it is a F350 dually lariat edition. I love the truck but I am starting to get concerned with the motor.

I change the oil every 4000 miles and use the rotella low soot, i also change the fuel filters every time i change the oil for fear of bad fuel. The truck has 40,000 miles on it and basically does light duty work but occasionally i do haul big trailers with it. My problems started this past spring when the turbo would kick in then off as i drove on flat ground and the truck just acted wierd, i took it into my ford dealership and they said there was nothing wrong with the truck. it pretty much went away and i only noticed it every once in a long while. in the end of june i left to drive from here in ohio to south dakota for a fishing tournament, my boat is only a 16' and does not weigh alot. we drove the whole way with only 2 stops for fuel and the truck was only shut off for a short period both times. when we entered south dakota the truck started acting wierd, blowing a ton of black smoke, and the turbo started making a sound like it was sucking air really fast. i called my father in law because he is a truck driver and he said it sounded like i had gotten some bad fuel and i should add some lucas fuel cleaner so we stopped at the next truck stop and bought some. on the road again the truck started doing the same thing then quit and ran fine until we hit mitchell s.d. when we got off the off ramp and went to go it started blowing black smoke again with no power! we pulled into cabela's and the truck died. it would not start so we called the ford shop and they towed it in. black soot completely covered the whole passengers side! at the shop they put the truck on the computer and the only thing it threw was that i had lost my turbo at 71 mph. they replaced the egr(?) valve on top in the middle of the motor and the truck ran fine afterwards. now flash forward 2 months and the truck is starting to hesitate at stop signs when you go to go and the turbo is doing the same thing. i called my dealership and it is going in on monday. the truck is 100% stock with no add on goodies yet. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP PIONT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? this is my first diesel and right now it is leaving a bad taste in my mouth! $49,000 and troubles already.  

To start off with, when a diesel makes black smoke it is getting too much fuel and not enough air to burn it. Smoke is basically just unburnt fuel that is wasted. My guess is that the variable geometry turbo that you have recieved a signal from your computer that told it to go to the "mild" setting and basically not pump any air. Because you did not have any air, you made smoke. The computer may have told the turbo to do this because it was getting a bad signal from one or more of it's sensors and went into a derate mode to save itself from possible damage.  It could have been a bad signal from the EGR system, and the mechanics did not know what to do so they started to replace parts until the problem was gone, maybe.The only thing that has me completely baffeled is that you said that the turbo was spooling up really fast, and the truck was making smoke. This cannot happen on a stock truck because that means that you are getting air, so you are burning the fuel and you cannot make smoke if the fuel is burnt. When you said you "lost" your turbo, what exactly do you mean by that?  

Yes i know that a diesel makes black smoke when it is not getting enough air and that the smoke is do to unburnt fuel. when i had the truck towed into the shop they ran the diagonstic on it and came back with me losing my turbo at 73 mph which is probably when i took the truck out of cruise to get off at the off ramp. there are quite a few things going on now. 1)the truck doesn't want to go from a dead stop until all of a sudden the turbo kicks in and then look out! 2) driving on a flat road with the cruise on or not the turbo comes on then off, on then off, on then off. you can actually hear it winding up and then turning off. 3) the black smoke every once in a while while driving at a constant speed. i took it in and it has not thrown any codes as of yet and the mechanic will not be able to get to it until monday but even he said something isn't right.  

It could be a bad sensor or shorted wire like I said, but then it would probably throw a code. The only suggestion that I can think of right now is to hook up a diagnostic tool and monitor the paramitors while you drive down the road. The last resort would be to see if you have a problem with your ECM. maybe find a truck exactly like yours, switch the ECM's and see what happens. I hate changing parts to find a problem, but sometimes that is your only choice.  

sounds to me like the egr valve is going bad agian ive seen that happen or the iat2 sencer is sooted up or the turbo is sticking  

hardly ever see a bad pcm  

Take it to another dealership. Or better yet find a good diesel mechanic that doesn't work for FoMoCo.  

if its under warrenty i would take it to fo.mo.co  

I had a similiar problem when I owned a '95. I would drive down the road and go to slow down for a stop ad it would just choke out and take a minute to get it started again. It ended up be a cam sensor. But it threw a code for a local diesel mechanic. If it is that and ford won't cover that, International has the part cheaper. It may not be a cam sensor but it sure as hell sounds like one of the sensors is bad.  

Check your connecting hoses for your turbo and intercooler. Also check the seals around the sides of your intercooler.  

You should put presure on the cooling system and check to see if to bleeds off chances are that the EGR cooler could be cracked. leaking water into intake it causes all sort of problems. and check the fitting that is in the right side intake manifold wright in front and under the heater valve, pull the hose off and look inside it. this is the boost presure air line or map as they call it. i have tried drilling it to a diffrent size and have not seen any noticable changes. if it is pluged clean it out and replace the hose, DO NOT PUT SHOP AIR IN THE BOOST PRESURE SENSOR (MAP) TO CLEAN IT OUT. IT WILL DAMAGE IT. these egr coolers suck, so pay 4000.00 usd for a new trubo with an egr block off and after you have changed it the egr cooler.  

i just had my egr valvel replaced as well. I have an '04 six liter with 58,000 miles. One other thing the mechanics found was that the intake was completely caked with carbon deposits and my turbo had rust in it. My truck had the same symptoms so maybe this will help.  

my pickup is that one on my avatar. it used to do that to but it had a cheap cheap chip in it. when you would start it in the morning and let it warm up it would just shut off. and when you were driving down the road it would just shut off to. come to find out that chip i had in her had a short in it and i had to buy a new chip but i got a refund on the other one. so i baught a 1200 dollar quadzilla chip. it is awesome. if anyone of you guys chip your 6.0L go with a banks six gun or a quadzilla. dont know what to tell you if  yours is just stock. umm could be your sensors or you could just have a bad motor all around. there is a couple of those bad engines in pickups. i would try to replace the motor if it is still under warenty. with that many miles it should be.    i have to 6.0L and have had nothing wrong with either of them. my wifes has about 58,000 miles on it and mine the one in my avatar has almost 140,000 miles on it. and the only thing that has been wrong with mine is the glow pluggs. casue i start and stop it so much on the job site. other then that they have been the best pickups i have ever owned.  

I KNOW IT'S BEEN A COUPLE YEARS SINCE YOU POSTED. DO YOU STILL OWN THE TRUCK? I'M HAVING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM ON MY 04 PSTROKE, 96,000 MILES. BEEN A GOOD TRUCK BUT NOWADAYS I HAVE TO PUT THE HAMMER DANG NEAR TO THE FLOOR TO GET THE TURBO SPOOLING! I RUN STOCK AND THIS WEEKEND PULLED A 30 FOOT CAMPER AND I HAD TO RUN AT 2600 RPM TO KEEP IT AT 62 MPH. THE TURBO ISSUE IS FULL OR EMPTY. PLEASE RESPOND.  

egr sensors i would take all that crap off when it gets out of warranty but still beeing under warranty i would tell ford if they cant fix the freaking truck you are going to call a lawyer and get them to buy it back under the lemon law act if that dont get there actutitude willing to fix your stock truck then dont buff