Help-No Re-Gen On 2008 F250 6.4 - Montana Owners Club

ehmcfarl · 11-14-2009, 05:58 AM

It has been at least 1500-2000 miles since my 2008 F250 6.4 has gone into re-gen. Prior to this it seemed it would go into re-gen every 500-700 miles. It still seems to run okay. It has developed a little more than normal hesitation on takeoff. It has almost no acceleration on takeoff until the tachometer shows around 2000 rpm's. Then it's like it's been kicked in the butt. It will almost squeal the tires. I took it into my Ford dealer Friday to have the oil changed (10000 miles), a couple of recalls done, and the no re-gen thing checked. They called today to say they were finished and that they couldn't find anything wrong with the re-gen or the hesitation. Does anyone have any idea what I should insist they check to determine why it's not going into re-gen? Or, is it normal for it to not go into re-gen for 1500-2000 miles sometimes? About 200 miles of this 1500-2000 miles was pulling Monty. It pulled it okay. Thanks for any ideas.

richfaa · 11-14-2009, 06:36 AM

Is your talpipe black with soot???? Ask you dealer if they have heard of TSB 09-19-10.

8e3k0 · 11-14-2009, 08:24 AM

You may have a cracked sensor and your particulate filter will eventually plug with soot. When it starts to pass through and leave some on the tailpipe you know the dpf is not operating properly and that's usually a case of the one of the sensors across the filter not sensing the high delta pressure. They are a pain: they either work well or not at all. That's why so many owners have deleted and eliminated the dpf system. Can't blame them; they want to drive the truck and not to the Dealer all the time. Soot is soot and will collect even with the ultra low sulphur fuel; 500 miles is about the maximum it should go in ideal from regen to regen. Mine quit for about 1500 miles then started working again; but I had soot in the tailpipe. The more restriction on the exhaust system the harder your turbos have to work to push it through that restricted filter.

traveljunkie · 11-14-2009, 12:26 PM

Just FYI. On our 2008 F450 6.4 TD, our "cleaning exhaust filter" message comes on about every 120 miles or so and lasts about 10-12 miles going 60 miles an hour. When we are towing the cleaning exhaust filter message comes on around every 80 miles or so. Seems a bit frequent to me but thats what it is.

richfaa · 11-14-2009, 01:20 PM

After the latest upgrade the "cleaning Exhaust Filter" comes on around every 500 miles or so when towing at interstate speeds. It last about 20mins. It always did. Before the upgrade it would come on about every 150/200 miles towing at interstate speeds. Sometimes it will only come on for a few seconds and the only way I know we are in regen is by the high EGT's on my after market gage.. It does not seem to effect the performance and we drop 2/3 mpg during regen..

ehmcfarl · 11-15-2009, 09:30 AM

No Rich, the tail pipe is clean, no soot. What does the TSB 09-19-10 supposed to do?

8E3k0, if the particulate filter is starting to plug with soot causing more back pressure, could that be why I am getting a more than normal hesitation at takeoff?

richfaa · 11-15-2009, 09:59 AM

It is a four page TSB. But it addresses many of the issues you describe. Your dealer can print it out with a couple of key strokes.

8e3k0 · 11-15-2009, 04:22 PM

If your tailpipe is clean your filter is doing its job. Your regen system has to be working properly too. You may have missed the regen inbetween while driving or concentrating on something else; esy to do. Maybe you have been getting diesel with no sulphur!LOL! If the filter starts to overload with soot and no regeneration, it will start passing through and you'll notice it on the tailpipe. My friend has a early 08 and he has been having problems with hesitaion and sluggish off the line. Tailpipe is clean. So its likely something electronically. Dealer has not found the problem yet. Will see what they find. You may want to check the 08-09 6.4 Powerstroke Diesel Forum, lots of good stuff there.

Delaine and Lindy · 11-16-2009, 02:31 AM

We had a 2008 Chevy 3500HD DRW's and I really never noticed the Regen process. But never had to go back to a Dealership so I assume that it was working fine. Fuel mileage stayed about the same. I also couldn't tell the difference in HP from out 2007 Chevy Classic which had no DPF system and the fuel mileage was the same. The only time I ever had a sluggish issue it was the fuel which at the time had less than a 1,000 miles on the filter, changed the filter and it fixed the issue. On GM Trucks anytime I had a sluggish problem it was alway the fuel filter. Good Luck with you issue. GBY....

HughM · 11-16-2009, 02:44 AM

If my Duramax is close to 15,000 miles since last fuel filter replacement it starts being sluggish and a little loss of power. For those with GM diesels...change the fuel filter at 15,000 or suffer the results.
New fuel filter (15 mintues exchange) makes all the difference.
Hugh

Tom S. · 11-16-2009, 03:45 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HughM

If my Duramax is close to 15,000 miles since last fuel filter replacement it starts being sluggish and a little loss of power. For those with GM diesels...change the fuel filter at 15,000 or suffer the results.
New fuel filter (15 mintues exchange) makes all the difference.
Hugh

If you want to get more life out of that expensive GM filter, you can add a Cat pre-filter system. I use one on my truck. The Cat filter is also 2 micron and about 4 times the size of the GM filter. It costs a lot lets too - around $15. I don't think you get diesel fuel too clean!

One place that sells this kit is here: http://nicktane.com/osc/product_info.php?products_id=28

richfaa · 11-16-2009, 03:53 AM

ehmcfarl... I strongly suspect that your problem is that you do not have the most recent PC upgrades or they were not installed correctly and the problem is with the skill level of your dealer. The upgrades are in the FOMOCO data base and the dealer can call then up at any time..... IF they know how to and IF they want to. My early build (Job 1) 08 6.4 runs really good with none of the problems you describe. Both the Diesel tech at my home dealership and here in Florida have told me that in many cases the upgrades are not installed correctly because of the skill level of the diesel tech because the dealership does not provide the proper training.

ehmcfarl · 11-17-2009, 02:23 AM

I picked up my truck yesterday afternoon. The dealer said that they could not find anything wrong with the re-gen system. The tail pipe is not sooty at all, it is very clean. It is possible that I may be missing the re-gen pop-up messages on the dash info center. The message that I remember seeing did not just pop-up and stay for a second or two then go away. It said something like "drive to clean" after another message said something about the re-gen is now happening. So, since the tail pipe is very clean I guess I will just drive it and see if it starts to soot up. If it does then it is a good indication that something is wrong. As far as the hesitation goes the dealer said that it is normal to not get any turbo boost until reaching 2000 rpm's. It is most noticeable when I stop on a slightly up hill and then try to take off. It seems that I get very little thrust until 2000 rpm's. Then it really comes on strong.

richfaa · 11-17-2009, 06:02 AM

Well mine does NOT do that. The sequential turbo's are supposed to eliminate or reduce turbo lag. Mine accelerates smoothly with no lag under normanl conditions. Now if I were to floor it on take off there is a protection built in that will not allow us to melt the turbo. I would ask your dealer for documentation that says these trucks do not get turbo boost till 2000rpms... That is BS...

8e3k0 · 11-17-2009, 06:42 AM

If you accelerate gradual, the truck will accelerate as needed, with the elimination of any excess fuel and smoke that is captured in your filter. We must remember that with emissions control, the computer will not let the fuel system to dump fuel in for fast acceleration, as of 2007.5 and newer with all diesel truck engine manufactures ( with a tune/chip this part of the program is eliminated and allows some excess fuel to be injected to compensate for that fast acceleration off the line), this is why there seems to be a lull on hard acceleration with some trucks, from any manufacture. Some trucks are worse than others with the computer in control.
One way to note if your regen is on, is by the change in exhaust noise when pulling; gives the sound of a huge air compressor discharge, especially on a uphill heavy pull ( open your rear window and note the exhaust noise); and as noted you do loose some horsepower as it goes through its regen process, you may not notice this as when on cruise it just dumps more fuel in to compensate for the horsepower required to the conditions that you are applying to your truck.
Many of the Heavy Duty Highway truck drivers are complaining about poor fuel mileage and the huge horsepower that is required to compensate for acceleration and heavy pulls with the new emission standards. A lot of the new diesel engines will be running with a coolant temp of 225F to meet emissions. This then changes the requirement for a higher qulity of oil, coolant and engine sealing materials.

richfaa · 11-17-2009, 07:33 AM

That is a god explaination 8e3k0..That is why many folks who chip their motors have many melted turbos.

ehmcfarl · 11-17-2009, 07:56 AM

Yea Rich, I didn't believe the 2000 rpm deal either. Like you I thought that was the whole reason for the dual turbos. To eliminate the turbo hesitation. That is a good idea, I will ask for the documentation and see what they come up with. I'll also ask for the reason there is two turbos. I'm going to tell the service adviser, up front, that I want to see if his reason matches the reason the salesman gave me before I bought the truck. Thanks for the ideas. I will keep you all informed. Oh yea Rich, the dealer did say my truck has the latest program load. I don't see how that is possible either. I picked up the truck in late January 2008 and this is the first time it has been back to the dealer, and he said that they didn't load it; but, that it was already loaded. Is it possible that it would have the latest program in it? And even if it doesn't would I want them , or any other dealer for that matter, to load the latest one? I think I will ask what program number it has loaded. Does anyone know what program number is the latest load?

8e3k0 · 11-17-2009, 09:02 AM

Your service to your truck is only as good as the Service Tech working on the unit and fully understanding the problem. The smaller Dealerships have problems with staff turnover and the ability to keep up on training and the larger Dealerships sometimes let the apprentices work on the vehicles with little to no supervision. If you get a good Dealer stay with them and get to know the General Manager as they are the ones that make that final decison for the Dealership. They will even introduce you to the Tech that will be working on your truck pending what area. All comes to customer service and relaibility of service. We are very fortunate and know the Dealerships management well! I get exceptional service when needed. I sure hope they find the gremlin in your system and all works out well for you. Keep in touch with updates.

richfaa · 11-17-2009, 11:03 AM

All the dealer has to do is enter the VIN number of the truck and what upgrades have been loaded into it will pop up. The same VIN number will tell the dealer what flashes should have been loaded into the truck. Does you dealer have a Certified diesel tech. Is that tech certified to do the program upgrades. I am not bashful about asking questions.John..the diesel tech here at the local Ford dealership in Florida was more than happy to educate me on diesel motors and computer upgrades.Most craftsmen are happy to share their expertise with you.....That is unless..they have no expertise..

mlh · 11-21-2009, 03:14 AM

ehmcfarl
Your dealer said your truck started making boost at 2000 rpms. Let's think about that, that's when your truck makes most of it's power, so how does your truck make all of that power without any or verry little turbo boost. If thats the case why did Ford put a turbo on it.
Lynwood

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