powerstroke trouble. can you guys please help

Dave, Don't hold back, let us know what you really think of the 6.0. LOL

Sorry, Brian- dunno why I typed cross-cut, I meant helical.  Pretty tired when I got to it, so my eyes were pretty cross-cut.

My brother-in-law worked as an engineer in the legal department of Navistar, and was in the middle of the Navistar/Ford argument over design-fault.  The HPOP design change was not a Navistar design, nor was the fitting.  My BIL left because of that argument, and has been happier ever since. 

Our fleet of 6.0 trucks got sent back well under the 100,000 mile mark, and MY truck went with the fewest HPOP changeouts-  I had only three... and each time one was changed, I stood alongside while the fitting/seal kit was changed.  On the first change, I actually assisted the service tech, because I'd sat stranded in Clovis, NM for five days, and missed my son's 2nd birthday while the dealership did absolutely nothing.

The 6.4 fuel clogging, radiator tank failures, and other little problems, while apparently 'smaller' issues, kept our fleet grounded every bit, if not more, than the 6.0 HPOP/injector fiasco.

I'll send a middle-finger to CARB and EPA for the emissions regulations that've turned a fuel-efficient driveline into one of the most absurd and counterproductive things on the planet.  Arguing 45% reduction in particulate emissions-per-gallon, while at the same time doubling fuel-consumption per driven mile, at three times the cost, is a poster-child example of false economy, and a perfect example of asanine regulatory action.

I'll applaud Ford for several things:  Having a nice, quiet, smooth running and comfortable F450.  I'll applaud them for not running to the government bottle when the 'big bailout beg' occured.

I will NOT grant them any mercy on the subject of customer service or after-the-fact design corrections.  A prime example being the HPOP fitting seal failure, and the replacement-with-same.  Any moron knows that reoccurring failures means the problem isn't being properly addressed.  "I've cut this same board three times now, and it's still too short".

I definately will NOT grant them any mercy on the customer-service response and customer's-fault attitude that we got, both on the 6.0 problems and 6.4's. This was totally inappropriate response for what is clearly a matter of engineering deficiency.  It is totally out-of-line for them to conjure up lousy accusations when we have failure conditions that are not only reoccurring, but also predictable, and then, after it DOES happen, they're totally insensitive to the fact that these trucks are depended upon in day-to-day operations of a pretty substantial business, and that having a failure on the road is one thing, and being ignored (the 6.4 in Wyoming hasn't even moved yet) is totally another.  Figure that if someone writes a check for 10 brand new $70k chassis every one-and-a half years, they have good reason... and we do.

I'd say that FORD would be wise to make a few very serious changes:

1) Accept the fact that When a customer has a dozen of same truck, and all have predictable failures, there is a problem.  Excuses don't fix problems.

2) When that customer specializes in metrology and FMA, don't argue the presence of a predictable failure.

3) When a commercial diesel truck customer sells tens of thousands of fuel per hour to the commercial trucking industry every day, don't try to tell them they've been selling stale fuel... for six months straight.

4) Don't insult a commercial customer by making them wait for ANYTHING.  Time is money.

5) Don't insult a commercial customer by telling them they're driving too fast, or over bad roads, have bad driving habits, improper loads, or picking poor fuel stops.  We keep logbooks, do walking inspections at startup and shutdown, governed to 82mph, keep and file all our fuel and maintenance reciepts, get DOT inspections every 90 days, and have GPS tracking systems that record every mile driven, every minute idled, and every diagnostic state reported by the engine management system.

We solved ALL our Ford Powerstroke problems:  We went to V-10's.  Haven't had any problems since.  I've just turned over 55k, and it's gotten oil and filter changes, just got new steers and an alignment.  My transmission, and one of the others has 'felt' a bit vague in the 1-2 shift since the day it rolled off the lot, but they've been doing just fine.  Since it hasn't had problems, I haven't been stranded, haven't had to deal with service departments, towing companies, or warranty arbitration, and I haven't had to resort to renting vehicles or calling in the company jet to fly me home.  Since it doesn't gel, I am now confident that I can throw a set of tire-chains in the back, put several 5-gallon cans of gas in, fill it up, and head through the Rockies in January, and be confident that when I tell my boss I can be there Tuesday, that I'll arrive Monday afternoon.  Diesel problem solved.

The simple point of it, is that finger-pointing does nothing more than grant mutual black-eyes.  Rather than point fingers, FORD (and I mean everyone from the CEO to the kid emptying trashcans at the local dealer) should recognize that the badge on the hood is blue, that means, regardless of what failed, or who did what, that the end customer is stuck holding a steering wheel with that same blue badge, and the truck stopped running. 

My company's policy, is that ALL failures are OUR fault, and OUR responsibility to fix BEFORE they happen, and if we experience a problem that puts OUR customer in adverse condition, we PAY FOR IT ALL, and we pay for it NOW.  That's what our black-and-yellow sign meant to our customer 33 years ago, and that's what it means today.  I'm certain they'd get a better rapport from us if they had a similar philosophy.