Project Super Duty

[Blown F-150]

So as my other thread eluded to, I purchased a '06 Lariat Crew Cab F-350. It is in Tom's favorite color too!

I have wanted a diesel for a very long time, so when I found out we had to make a big move a couple thousand miles away I figured it was time. I talked with the wife and we came up with a budget. It was tight, but I figured if I looked for something that needed a bit of work, I could find a good deal.

I ended up finding this gem on Craigslist. The guy bought it, put some money into it (EGR Delete, Body work, exhaust, Intake, tuner, gauges, fluids, tires, etc.). Then he started to hear a "whine" and was told by his Mechanic that is was probably the Turbo. He didn't want to spend any more money on it, so he decided to sell it. He has had it sitting for about 8 months with a friend borrowing it a few times to move furniture, sled, etc. I gave him a low-ball offer and he took it.

So here it is.












Only damage I could find on the seats


So I just had the opportunity to really have a look at the truck today. It is pretty good inside, but needs some care with added on wiring and just needs a bunch of small stuff cleaned up/fixed.

The big thing was to tackle this "turbo problem". During the test drive with the guy, I did smell some exhaust when I would come to a stop. I thought this lended to a possible exhaust leak. I did some research when I got home and found that after a EGR delete, it was pretty common for the bellows in the up-pipe to break due to lack of EGR cooler support. I crawled under the truck and sure enough, the bellows were split! At first I thought it would have been better to bring it in to get it fixed, but then figured I would give it a shot myself. It only took me 30 minutes to get the turbo out and another 40 to get the y-pipe out. Not too bad at all.

Here's where the Turbo currently sits...


Here is the cracked up-pipe.


Off to the exhaust shop tomorrow to see if they will cut in a nice braided stainless flex for me so it won't happen again. I spun the turbo and I highly doubt it is the whine, so I have my fingers crossed when I get this back together that it is good to go.

Once that is done I have this list to start to tackle.

- Fix tranny temp gauge, it doesn't work
- Drivers door handle needs to be replaced (it was damaged during attempted break-in)
- Gauge wiring needs to be cleaned up
- Fix heat in drivers seat
- Set up one of the Aux switched for high-idle. If anyone knows where the aux switch wires go, let me know. I haven't found them yet.
- Wiring for running board LED's needs to be pulled (the strips are damaged and no longer work)
- Mount front plate
- Oil Change
- Fuel filter
- Running boards (only has one)
- Figure out how the factory command start works, I think I need a different remote
- Figure out a stereo
- Touch up paint and give it a serious Polish
- Detail interior
- Use my "Port a Power" and try to straighten out box
- Fix rear bumper sensors
- Polish or replace headlights
- Replace Grill (I may end up painting it with rhino liner it white???)
- Check out the whole front end
- put in new brakes

That's all I can think of for now. I'm on a tight budget, so I will tackle everything that I can myself.

If there is any suggestions on how to tackle items on the list, please feel free to share. I haven't even checked fuses at this point, so that may be the only problem the seat heat.

Thanks for reading!

[Rollingrock]

that looks like a great truck

gotta ask what is a low ball offer?

[Too Stroked]

The ends of the wires from the Upfitter Switches are tucked up near the Parking Brake pedal. I believe they're orange or have an orange stripe on them and there's four of them all bundled together. Two are high amperage and two are low and they're all fused and run through relays already. Kind of a pain to find the wires, but those switches are one of the best things Ford ever added to SD's.

Keep us posted on your progress and upgrades and welcome to the "smells like a Greyhound Bus Station" club!

[Rollingrock]

I just of missed that, there are two sets of wires for upfitters...one inside the cab, you have to remove the kick panel by the driver, then remove the fuse panel and you will see them there.   The second is in the engine bay near firewall, top side.   

If you need photos let me know.

[Blown F-150]

Thanks for the info on the switches, It will point me in the right direction. I really like the idea of them as I have always had to add switches for something or other to my vehicles.

RR, a "Low Ball" offer is when you offer much less than they are asking. Must be a Canadian Term...

I hope to get the engine buttoned back up by this coming weekend. We are going for a road trip to my sister-in laws and I don't want to leave it in pieces.

[Rollingrock]

Thanks for the info on the switches, It will point me in the right direction. I really like the idea of them as I have always had to add switches for something or other to my vehicles.

RR, a "Low Ball" offer is when you offer much less than they are asking. Must be a Canadian Term...

I hope to get the engine buttoned back up by this coming weekend. We are going for a road trip to my sister-in laws and I don't want to leave it in pieces.

My bad....I am the king of the low ball.....I was more asking what WAS your low ball offer.   :)  if you care to share.

[Blown F-150]

Sent you a PM RR.

[sscully]

The damage to the grille, is that the chrome coating peeling off ?

Just thinking if you get that stripped off, you could get a piece of 3M 1080 vehicle wrap and do it up in matte or gloss white

I got mine off eBay, AVS  ( Auto Vinyl Solutions ) but you might find someone north of the boarder to get it from.
 I am finishing my 2nd winter of the matte black on my grille, and it has held up fine getting pelted with salt and sitting out in the sun.

2' x 5' piece is ~ 30.00 for the 3M 1080 film.  I watched a few youtube videos and went at it.  Only takes some sharp blades, some of the pile side of Velcro on a body filler putty blade and a hiardryer to put it on, and it will look like the rest of the vehicle.

Just need to get that wave part sorted out, but that is something you need to do with which ever way you go.

The upfitter switches, you can download the PDF for them from fleet.ford.com

This is the last one I had to download ( for a 2005 SD ) :
www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/Q117.pdf

[GreyMichFX4]

Ryan, for high idle I used switch #4 since you don't need many amps to kick in the PTO high idle. The bellows are a common issue on the 6.0 trucks for some reason and they crack whether or not you have the EGR delete done because mine let go before and I did the delete to fix it. I would be more concerned about the vanes on the turbo being frozen/rusted in position from lack of use and I would honestly pull it apart and inspect it as long as you have it out so you don't have R&R it a second time.

Here is the link for the under dash wiring harness with the wire color and circuit number for the PTO idle circuit.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2003/bb_pdf/199.pdf

Here's a link to the 6.0 Bible with the procedures for just about everything.

http://dan.prxy.org/Truck/6L_bible_html/html/TOC.html

[Blown F-150]

Appreciate the links guys, thank you.

The grill chrome is separating from the plastic, I have seen a few that have done it. I found a replacement grill for cheap, so I will see what shape it is in before deciding what to do.

I did a quick pull apart of the turbo and everything seems great, very little soot and no stuck vanes. The guys did say the turbo was serviced when the Delete was done, but I wanted to confirm.

Going to drop off the pipe at the muffler shop today to see if they can fit a aftermarket flex in there. I don't want to buy a new one, only for it to happen again.

[Blown F-150]

Only had an hour to work on it last night, but I was able to get the pipe back in place and loosely bolted up to the manifolds, Turbo in place and connected to the up-pipe and down-pipe. It was a bit of a pain, but at least they got the measurements right when they put in the new piece of flex. Forgot to take a pic, but the looks of the welds left something to be desired, looks like it won't leak at least. No one should be able to see it anyway.

Hope to get the "Blue Spring" update installed in the fuel regulator and button it all back up for a test drive. Did the FICM test, Head Gasket Test and Fuel Pressure test to make sure I don't have any surprises.

Fingers crossed there is no whine...

[Blown F-150]

Well, I got it all back together and had a massive exhaust leak...

Seems that the up-pipe slipped while I was fitting the mormon clamp. I hope I can get back into it without taking too much apart and get it resolved tonight.

I have a 11hr drove in the morning to spend the long weekend in Calgary, so no truck time until next week.

Hope everyone has a great long weekend!

[Kitzy]

Good luck man.  Hopefully it pans out and you got yourself a steal of a truck. 

[Blown F-150]

I was able to get it sorted out. Definitely not fun...

I thought I had it all lined up, fired it up and there was still a leak. I figured I buggered up the other flex connection when I put the y-pipe back in. So I took it completely apart again...if anyone needs a turbo pulled from a 6.0, I can do it in about 10 minutes.

Pulled the y-pipe, sealed it up and filled it with water, no leaks! With the Turbo on the ground, I connected the y-pipe and then measured the mormon clamp to see how tight it should get when lined up properly. I could tell that the last time I had it in the truck, it wasn't as tight.

I figured the I would set everything back in place, loosely bolt up the manifold to y-pipe connections and then connect it up to the turbo. To make things a little more flexible, I connected the y-pipe before even bolting down the turbo. I was happy with the connection, so proceeded to put the rest of it back together. I said a little prayer, then fired it up. No leaks! everything seems to be good.

Took it to work this morning and without the leak it had, it spools much quicker and has higher boost throughout the range. I seem to be at 22-24psi boost @ WOT, so I hope that is in the range.

Now onto the gauges, anyone pull a cluster yet? I have a bunch of lights to replace.

[GreyMichFX4]

Very cool! I'm glad you got it sorted out and the 22-24lbs of boost is correct for a stock 6.0

When you've got the gauge cluster out can you do me a favor and look to see if there is a back light for the odometer? Mine keeps going out randomly it's driving me nuts and I haven't had a chance to pull the dash apart yet.