Monday, March 13, 2006

6.0 Ford Diesel Bad Mileage

I hope you can help me with an explanation for the MPG I am getting with my truck. First of all thank yhou for responding to an old Vietnam buddy of mine Larry "Skip" Willmore. He wrote to you about a freind of his who was getting very low MPG on his 6.0 Diesel. That friend is me. I have a 2006 F-250 Super Duty crew cab p/u, automatic trans., and completely stock. No big wheels and tires or anything else. I purchased the truck in Sept. 05 to take advantage of the Family Rebate. No 05's were available so I took te 06 instead. The truck has 3740 miles on it and it had its first service by the dealership on Jan. 13, 06, with 2684 miles. According to the invoice, the fuel filters were not changed. I am assuming this was not done because the truck was brand new when purchased in Sept., and this service is not done until more miles are on engine. The fuel milage remained at 11.2 - 11.7 MPG consistantly since I have had it. I just filled up on 3/10/06 and put in 27.2 gallons with milage of 304 mi.. This comes to 11.2 MPG. I drive this truck carefully, average speed limits around town, 65-70 highway. I do very little highway driving, and the truck sits at home or at work most of the day and night. I have spoken to many people with the same truck and engine, some older, (2000-2005), and all without exception tell me they are getting 15-18 local and 20 and over highway!!!!! This is without exception now. I have even spoken to guys with Dodge diesels who are getting much better mpg than I am. I read what you sent Larry Willmore about the fuel filters being changed, and about the fuel being sold and its contents affecting the Ford 6.0, but does my truck with so little miles on it fall into that catagory as well?
I was so concerned about it, that I called the Ford Dealership and told them about the mpg and asked if they could look at it for me. They said the engine needed to be broken in more and the milage would improve, (will it improve 5 - 10 mph more?!!). They took it in on 2/14/06 at 3252 miles and checked it on a dino machine, (WDS) and found no codes. They checked the turbo boost and found 25 psi, no problem found according to invoice. I asked two service dept. tech's about the fuel milage, and neither had a clue as to what the 6.0 should get. No mpg is posted on the window sticker so no one knows what the average mpg is! They also said the winter blend of fuel makes a differnce in mpg as well. I have been mixing the Centane Boost in the fuel at fill ups also, on the recommendation of a friend. Have you had this situation come up at your dealership? If so what did you recommend? Should I wait until I have more miles on the engine? What is the average break in milage for these engines, and keep in mind, that people put milage on their vehicles at much different rates of time than others, like me for instance. I would appreciate any help you could render. If I lived near your dealership, I would bring it in for you to have your service dept. look at, but I live in New Jersey. If you need anymore info, please let me know when you respond. I think this internet site is a very good idea and I am sure many people from your area take advantage of it and your knowledge. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me. I have no complaints about the dealer I perchased from, and they seem very accomodating and professional. I have withheld the name of the dealership in NY state because this is not about bad mouthing the dealer. I am sure you get enough of that every day. I have been a Ford truck man since my first one, a 1956 Ford pick up I bought in 1973.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

LETS SEE IF WE CAN HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR FUEL MILEAGE. THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT HAVE A GREAT IMPACT ON POOR FUEL MILEAGE.
1. TIRE PRESSURES SHOULD BE SET TO THE
MANUFACTURERS
SPEC. LISTED ON YOUR DRIVERS
DOOR POST.
2. FUEL QUALITY IS A MUST IF 50 CETANE FUEL IS
AVAILABLE USE IT. IF NOT USE THE MOTORCRAFT
CETANE BOOSTER.
3. WEATHER CONDITIONS- COLD WEATHER USES MORE FUEL-LONGER WARM UP TIMES- AC/DEFROSTER RUNS THE AC PUMP.

4. DRIVEABILITY - LEAD FOOT JACKRABBIT STARTS
TAKE MORE FUEL- AND OF COURSE IN TOWN
DRIVING. IN TOWN YOU HAVE LONGER IDLE
TIMES AND MORE STARTS. MEANS MORE FUEL.
5. OIL!! YES THE TYPE AND GRADE OF OIL YOU USE
WILL IMPROVE YOUR FUEL MILEAGE. WE USE
10W30HD MOTORCRAFT OIL THIS WILL FLOW YOUR
THROUGH YOUR INJECTORS ON COLD STARTS
HELPING THEM WORK QUICK AND CLEAN
WHEN THE HOT DAYS OF SUMMER RETURN
15W40 HD IS RECOMMENDED.

I HOPE USING THESE THINGS WILL ADD TO THE ENJOYMENT OF DRIVING YOUR 6.0.

THE QUESTION ON FUEL FILTERS IS AS SIMPLE AS FOLLOWING FORD RECOMMENDATION OF CHANGING BOTH AT 15,000 MILES. THIS WILL KEEP CLEAN AND FULL FLOW OF FUEL TO YOUR FUEL SYSTEM.

WHEN YOU HAVE FUTURE QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK US.

BUB GOPP
ARCHIES SERVICE

Anonymous said...

The 6.0 fuel economy has been an issue ever since production. There seems to be no answer to it. I have heard numerous complaints about it since 2003 and so I seriously doubt it can be tire pressure, fuel quality, driving patterns etc. Ford has a problem child here and is loosing market share because of it. I have heard of business users opting for the 6.8L V-10 because of the 6.0L diesel problems. I know of one local business that had to replace all 4 of their 6.0's with new ones on vehicles that had under 125,000. Ford lists this as a 250,000 mile engine.

Anonymous said...

Replace factory exhaust with a 4" pipe from turbo to tail pipe removing the catylic converter. No need for a special chip or other mods. Turbo temps will drop and the additional torq will smooth your transmision from shifting constantly. Increased my fuel milage by 3mpg. Good Luck

Anonymous said...

I have been scratching my head about the 6.0 mileage as well. My brother with his 04 gets a solid 20-22 and my 06 gets about 13. We have similiar tires and common driving patterns. He is box stock and I have changed the factory air box for the Quadzilla set-up. He runs Amzoil, I run Shell synthetic... Nothing actually stand out as odd but he gets 30-40% better economy.

Anonymous said...

bought 2005 6.0 with 48,000 miles on it. My Fuel was 16-17mpg for a long time normal driving and 14-15.5 with 8000lb trailer+gear. With at 55,000 mpg suddenly drops to 9 mpg with and without trailer. Checked all tire pressure, changed oil, and fuel filters ran several tanks of fuel now generally stays at 10.5mpg sometimes as high as 11.5mpg. Any suggestions as to why this happened it has 66,000 mile on it now has been this way for about 6,000 miles. Looking for why this happend and what I can do to get it back?