Do I have an issue with my 05 F250?

NCJeepin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Location
Conway, SC
Thanks in advance for reading this, i'm hoping we can get to the bottom of my issue, if its even an issue.

I towed with my F250 long distance for the first time to go to Gulches this past weekend.. It was no where near what i was expecting.


I'll start this thread by listing some points about my last trip, which was my first long range towing with my F250. Please tell me if this is normal, and if it is, what i can do to improve performance.



Truck Specs.

2005 F250, 4 door Larait crew cab, Fx4.

6.0

109K miles

285 BFG all terrains

New oil/filter/fuel filters less then 1K ago.



Load:

3 Men with fairly light luggage

Car Hauler with 2 axles, both breaking with a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, roughly estimated 7K with jeep and trailer.



Fuel:

BP Diesel, final tank Diesel Kleen added.



Distance Traveled:

500 miles roundtrip



Fuel Consumption:

60 Gallons. (8.3 mpg)



Terrain:

(4 hr trip) first 1.5 hours flat, rest of trip small up and down hills. 95% Interstate



Average MPH:

65-70ish



Turbo:

The turbo crusing on flat ground hung right around 15-20PSI, but on uphill runs it would get as high as 29PSI, seems like a lot of stress on the motor, is that normal??



Driving:

Truck was in tow/haul the whole trip. I tried using cruise, but everytime we had anytype of slope, the torque converter would unlock, and usually shortly after, the tranny would downshift. It honestly seemed powerless. with my foot holding steady on the petal, it would simply slow down 10-15mph on the uphill slope without any shifting. Without a load, the truck performed awesome while in town and running between the hotel and park, it really gets up and goes, but it just didn't like towing. I know towing it will be slower, but for this class of truck to struggle so much with only 7K and get such horrible gas mileage, i'm concerned something is wrong.



Would a tuner help? I have a stock 6.0. So tuners worry me.



Would a cat delete or muffler delete help this situation? Almost acts like it needs to breathe more to create the power.



is the MPG normal? My buddy towed basically the same setup except his jeep was on a dolly, with a gas F250 V8, and averaged 13-14mpg.. Based on that I can't imagine what is going on with my MPGs this is normal for my diesel.



Since i'm such a noob to owning a diesel and towing with one, please let me know if this is the norm or if i need to address something with my truck,



I replaced a 2000 ford expediton with this truck, and the last big tow i did with it, it had roughly 150K and i towed a much larger jeep on a heavy uhaul trailer, and honestly it spanked this trucks ass. That just doesn't seem right.
 
I'm no expert but with my 6.0 I can haul a 32' trailer with a UTV and 2 buggies on it and have pretty decent performance, moreso than what you describe.

When pulling my buggy with my F350 (2004) I still get about 15mpg and it doesn't hesitate up hills, even Black Mtn.

So, it does sound like something is wrong. What? I have no idea but sounds like you may have an issue
 
I cant help too much since I've never towed with a stock 6.0. Mines been tuned (60 hp aggressive tow w/ jake brake) since the truck had about 11,000 miles on it, I've got 180,000 miles now. I average about 13.5 to 14 mpg towing to Harlan, KY, or Mt City, TN from Fayetteville.

My loaded rigs combined weight is about 19,000 lbs. On the flats I see about 10-15 psi pulling the trailer and 5-10 psi empty. On hills like the grade into Boone on 421 or I-77 at the Virginia line (Fancy Gap?) I can peak out around 35 psi at times but usually back off to keep the pressure around 20-25 and EGTs below 1250 degrees. My 6.0 has never had head gaskets or studs but it wouldnt surprise me if they blew tomorrow:lol:

I quit using the cruise as soon as I see the first sign of a rolling hill cause the ford cruise control seems to have trouble maintaining speed and my truck is a 6 speed so I usually have to start up and down shifting manually to keep the boost and egt at acceptable levels on decent sized hills.

Everyone (3 other guys) in my wheeling group has a 6.0 Powerstroke tow rig though, so I'll ask about the transmission issues you described and see if they say thats normal (Ive got the only manual transmission in our group).

I'd guess you have an issue you need to try to fix though. Good luck and check out www.thedieselgarage.com for more help.
 
Thanks for the replies, and thanks for checking with the others Tim..


Something that also came to my mind, could the cat on this truck clog like a gas vehicle? Would higher boost PSI be from an exhaust restriction?
 
Sounds like something is off but i dont know what. I am no expert on the 6.0 but i used an 03 f-250 with at 6.0 to haul a 1968 f-100 long bed through the mountains and got about 12 mpg. I was running between 70-80 the whole way.
 
no expert here either but i have a 03 6.0 auto stock with 285's only mod ive done was to stright pipe it haven't had any issues pulling loaded right around 14k gross. truck gets around 16mpg unloaded and 13 to 14 loaded flat pull and around 12 through the hills.. i dont use the cruise unless im on flat long streches... for 80 bucks id get rid of the muffler and resenator and go from there it seemed to bring mine to life.
 
I'm pulling the muffler and cat tomorrow. What is the resenator?
 
Some 6.0s (I know my 03 did) have a resonator or glass pack in the down pipe. To replace it you'd have to do a turbo back exhaust. I'd just remove the cat and muffler first to test it, and go from there, I think the 6.0s sound pretty good straight piped.

If you do decide to put a full exhaust on it summit and jegs brand kits fit ok, you have to do a little tweaking to get the downpipe in especially with an auto. The aluminized pipe kits with single exit are only around $300 or $350. The summit and jegs kits dont remove the cat however so you would need to order an extra 4 foot long 4" diameter pipe to cut down and replace it with. I put one of those on my buddys 2wd 04 F350 dually.
 
If your doing the exhaust I would do the intake too. At least do a drop in if not the whole thing. I did mine and gained 3mpg. I have the SCT tuner and the guy that did the programming changed my shift points etc. The tow mode shifts better than the factory. I hear Innovative diesels currently has the best programs for the 6.0 using the SCT.
 
for what its worth, i pulled about 14klbs with a bone stock 2006 6.0 cclb this week with the auto trans. i saw mileage dips to 7.5 and as high as 10.5mpg. all of this was on the indash mpg calculator so i dont know how accurate it was. most was 45-55mph backroads and some 65mph interstate. i was really disappointed in the 6.0 it took a lot of pedal input to get going, seems like it wouldnt even take off until around 2400rpm.:shaking:

i usually pull with a 2003 dodge cummins 6 speed manual and with the same load i get around 11-12mpg hand calculated at the pump. i hardly ever turn more than 2500rpm and cruise around 1900. i drive like an old man to save fuel and i guess that why i didnt like the 6.0. you have to run the guts out of it.
 
I pull a 10k 30' camper with my 06 6.0 with 4" turbo back exhaust and average 14mpg running 70-75. Most of the pull was flat so I have no input on the hills. I do however know if you try to baby the 6.0 while pulling to conserve fuel you will have problems. They like the higher rpms while pulling according to the service rep that has done all my work. I blew headgaskets the last trip mine made while I was trying to take it easy on it. So as far as the fuel mileage I would definetly go with an exhaust first.
 
Check your radiator fill cap on the plastic bottle. look for a white residue around the cap. Also watch when the engine is up to temperature look for a mist blow back in the fill bottle. If you see this it is an indication that you have an issue with your head gaskets or the EGR cooler. 2004 and 2005's were bad for this problem.

Mine is a 2003 with 328,000 miles I pull a gross of 14,500 when hauling the jeep. Performance is great. I get 12-14 mpg on the interstate at 70mph. Never been chipped and has OEM exhaust. it had 1.5 miles on it when I picked it up from the dealership April 2003.
 
take it somewhere and have it scanned. just because the check engine light isnt on on a diesel, doesnt mean it doesnt have trouble codes stored.
 
Thanks for your input.. Truck isn't chipped. It was a clogged cat as i suspected.
 
Use to drive an 06 6.0l, 8 inch lift on 38s with turbo back 4" exhaust, air intake, and edge juice attitude and got about 16mpg in the city driving like a normal person, about 11.5mpg with about 9K of trailer. With the chip turned up and driving like I stole it, it would get around 6mpg. Driving habits can affect mpg greatly. Also after you chip the 6.0l the mpg meter in the truck is not accurate, has to be done the old fashion way.

Matt
 
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