NHTSA Complaint #10386506 — 2005 FORD F-250 SD

2005 FORD F250 SUPERDUTY, WITH 6.0L POWERSTROKE DIESEL ENGINE. OWNED SINCE NEW. TRUCK CURRENTLY HAS 89,700 MILES ON ORIGINAL ENGINE. HAD TRUCK IN FOR SERVICE IN MAY 2010. HAD MAJOR ENGINE WORK DONE, TO INCLUDE NEW HEAD GASKET, EGR COOLER, OIL/FILTER CHANGE, AND FUEL FILTERS CHANGED. IN EARLY OCTOBER, BEGAN EXPERIENCING ISSUE WHERE TRUCK WOULD RUN VERY ROUGH FOR THE FIRST MILE OR FIRST 5 MINUTES, WHICHEVER CAME FIRST. AFTER THIS, THE ENGINE WOULD RUN FINE, UNLESS IT HAD BEEN SITTING AND GOT COLD. IN NOVEMBER, HAD VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER ASKING THEM TO DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM. THEY SAID THAT PER THEIR DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT, I HAD AN UNDERPERFORMING FUEL PUMP, AND TWO(2) BAD INJECTORS. THEIR RECOMMENDATION: REPLACE FUEL PUMP AND FILTERS, AS WELL AS REPLACE ALL FOUR(4) INJECTORS ON THE ONE SIDE WHERE THEY IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM. COST FOR REPAIRS, IN EXCESS OF $2100. I DECLINED THE REPAIR, AND HAVE CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE, DESPITE ROUGH RUNNING FIRST THING IN MORNING. TODAY, AFTER ONLY 13,000 MILES, I TOOK THE TRUCK TO A VALVOLINE SHOP TO HAVE THE OIL/FILTER CHANGED, AS WELL AS THE FUEL FILTERS. THE TECHNICIAN CALLED ME OVER AND SHOWED ME THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF RUSTY METAL FLAKES IN THE MAIN FUEL FILTER REMOVED FROM THE FUEL PUMP. MY BEST GUESS IS THAT THERE WAS AT LEAST A FULL TEASPOON FULL OF METAL FLAKES THAT WERE VISIBLE, AND THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY SEDIMENT THAT HAD ALREADY ESCAPED THE REMOVED FILTER. I HAVE READ IN NUMEROUS LOCATIONS, INCLUDING THIS SITE, WHERE FORD TRUCK OWNERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM 2003-2005, ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE GAS TANKS IN THESE VEHICLES DELAMINATING AND CAUSING ALUMINUM OR RUSTY FLAKES TO BE PROPELLED THROUGH THE FUEL SYSTEM, IMPEDING THE FUEL FLOW, AND DAMAGING THE FUEL PUMP AND FUEL INJECTORS. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE CASE WITH MY VEHICLE. I DO HAVE A PHOTO AVAILABLE, AND CAN PROVIDE AN AFFADAVIT FROM THE FOLKS AT VALVOLINE. PLEASE ASSIST. *TR