Diesel Engine in our '06 Ford-leak bearing bed plate

[mikenmarge]

We have a 2006 Ford F350 SWB 6.0L 4 X 4, Crew Cab. We bought it new and it's been a really good truck for us. It has only 43,000 mi. on it and tows our 13,000# Bird with no problem. Recently I noticed a small oil leak. When I took it in for it's oil change they told me they couldn't tell where it was coming from but might be the rear bearing. So I took it in to the Ford dealer and after testing it out with dye, etc., they found it was coming from the main bearing bed plate gasket. This leak from the left side was running back to the transmission bell housing. They had to remove the CAB, removed the ENGINE onto an engine stand, disassembled the engine and replaced the gasket. Then reassembled it and reinstalled it into the engine cradel and reinstalled the cab, retested and reinspected and drove it. All we had was the $100 deductible because the engine is covered 5 yrs or 100,000 mi. They had it 2 days and we got it back last night. I'm going to tow the boat up to the lake today and see how it does and make sure it isn't leaking. Has anyone else had any problem like this? BTW, according to Consumer Reports, this engine has the fewest incidents of repairs of all the diesel engines. This is the first issue we have had. Crossing our fingers that it's the last or if not, that anything that happens goes wrong before our 5 yrs is up. Might decide to get a new truck before the 5 yrs is up. LOL Although we do love this truck. Mike

[Illona Lucas]

Mikenmarge, we have the exact same truck so far we have not had any serious problems. We notice that it is starting to blow black smoke and the dealer says its the fuel told us to use an additive called cetane about $12.00 a bottle, good for 4 tanks. Our millage towing has not been great either anywhere from 10 to 11 miles per gallon. We also love our truck. Our dealer just did the new upgrades for the computer that Ford has put out on our truck. Good luck.

[Illona Lucas]

Mikenmarge, by the way I forgot to say that our truck only has 19,000 miles on it so I guess we will hold our breath, we just had to have the abs censor replaced. Ford said it got wet when we were driveing in the rain, they said that Ford dosent seal the area where they put them in the axle. I ask for one with an umbrella this time, the dealer said they seal them better then the factory. They weren't going to cover it under the extended warrenty. They told me that part is not covered, I raised so much cane with Ford they did it for $100.00 they wanted $386.00 Good luck with your truck.

[mikenmarge]

We bought ours new and most of the mileage is highway miles since we travel as much as we can. We've had it 3 yrs this past July. No one has mentioned anything about updating the computer that I know of, but most of our service work is done at the dealer so they may have done so. Haven't noticed any black smoke, but Mike does add an additive to the gas quite regularly, especially when we are traveling. He's gone fishing right now, so I don't know the name of it. It was recommended by a diesel mechanic. The truck was made late in the 06 manufacturing year, so I hope they fixed some of the problems from 06, but you never know. We seem to trade trucks about every 3 years, but we like this one so much that we hadn't planned on doing that. We'll have to see if we start to have problems. We get about 10-11 mpg also, but the trailer is 13,000 lbs and Mike is not a slow driver. Usually goes at least 60, usually uses the cruise control at about 62, I think. He could probably get a little better mileage if he stuck at 55. We have got as high as 12 and as low as 9.5. (That 9.5 was on a very windy trip on all uphill grades, so we weren't surprised at that.) He gets about 20 on the highway not towing. He also has an oversized gas tank installed that carries 45 gal., so that adds a little weight to it too. Guess it's the luck of the draw too. Hoping the problem is solved and we don't have any more issues.

[rpfan]

Hi all,
I have an 05 with 93K miles on it. Bought it with 10K. I have had some injector issues, all taken care of by Ford and a Hi volume oil pump replaced. That runs the fuel injection system.
The ONLY time I had any black smoke was when I had injector problems. I also use Cetane regularly.
I get 9 to 13 MPG towing 15K lb 5th in my sig.
I also LOVE my truck, 05 F450.

Rich

[Travelers]

I just noticed a spot on my driveway under the engine. I'll take a closer look. Other than blown head gaskets earlier this year, its been a real good truck. I have about 67k on it. Somebody cracked the lense on my pass side mirror. Its cheaper to buy the bling bling style than the oem replacement.
Thanks for the heads up.

[dfredendall]

My "08 F-350 with the 6.4 diesel went through the same Bed Plate surgery at 30,000 miles. I noticed the leak at about 13,000 miles and monitored it. It appeared just like a rear main seal, but these engines do not have the traditional rear main seal. The Bed Plate wraps up the rear of the two piece engine block. It is disconcerting to see the cab off the truck, but it is the only way to do major repairs. Ford designed it for that removal. The "gasket" is a thin, spaghetti sized "O" ring. Even the mechanic/technician thought the seal design was inadequate, and easy to mess up on assembly. The lower half of the engine actually has 4 thin "O" rings sealing the layers like a Dagwood sandwich. I am now at 44,000 and dry. FYI- Injector service, turbo repair, injector pump and glow plugs all call for cab removal. No way to get to that stuff with the cab on. Hey, you cannot even see it in there. They are putting this shade tree mechanic outta business. My house lacks a lift rack. Hmmm....

[Travelers]

It is disconcerting to see the cab off the truck, but it is the only way to do major repairs. Ford designed it for that removal.... My house lacks a lift rack. Hmmm....

I know the feeling.

[Diesel Dave 04]

I did my owne head gaskets and head studs, Mine has 116,000 on it and been good.

[snoking]

Does Ford sale extended warranties?

[Diesel Dave 04]

Does Ford sale extended warranties?

yes it is 100k 5 year with $100.00 deduct no matter who owns it. unless it has a R title. then it is void.
with the 4k miles i do a year i would need a 25 year 100k warranty

[mikenmarge]

Thanks for the pictures. The dealer explained to me how it was done and told us about other work that also requires the same lifting of the body off the frame. We only paid the $100 deductible. The extended warranty on the driveline, engine, etc. comes with the truck at no additional charge, but it is only good for 100,000 mi or 5 yrs. We've got 43,000+ miles on ours in 3+ years, so we'll hit the 5 years long before the 100,000. So we will do our best to make sure everything is really checked out in the next 20 mos. We sure don't want to pay for anything major if we can get it covered in that first 5 yrs.

[markj]

My truck is also the same as yours, Mike. And I had the same problem last summer before our current trip. They replaced 2 seals on top of the engine and the rear main seal twice to get it to quit leaking. After 4000 miles this fall, the engine is completely dry!

BTW, to replace the rear main they did not remove the cab--lifted the whole truck up & took the tranny out to get to it. Mark

[gmarker]

Just to add some balance to this discussion, My family owns five Ford diesels. A 2001, two 2006s, one 2008, and one 2009. Over 800,000 miles total so far with no major problems and only minor repairs.