I have an 04 6.0 and lately I noticed that my truck is smoking (black smoke) a lot more than it typically does on start up. On my last tank of fuel, it was pretty sooty till it warmed up. It dumped more smoke then normal when rolling into the throttle. I filled up again at my regular Shell station and ran some Howes through it and it seems to be back to normal smoke-wise. I had gotten lazy on my last couple fill-ups with not adding Howes or Diesel Clean to the tank. I was wondering if this extra soot was due to a bad tank of gas and my laziness, the switch from winter to summer blend here in KS, or could it be something more serious I.E. a sticking injector or FICM problems.

Also can somebody give me the link for a how-to on FICM voltage checks? I know its pretty basic, but I'd like to refresh myself on the procedure. Thank you in advance guys!

 

here you go.
FICM testing procedure - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

 

My guess is turbo related issues, or possibly some cracked intercooler boots. How many miles on the truck? I'd take all the intercooler boots off and inspect them with a fine tooth comb. They are prone to cracking on the bottom and leaking.

After that, I'd do a turbo recondition. It will take an afternoon and about $15 in parts. My bet is this is the culprit, but the boots are easier to check first and it costs nothing to check them. Check this link out for details on cleaning the turbo... Diesel Technician Society

 

Little Luke - Thanks for the hook up!

Mdub - Ive got a hair over 194,500 on it. New turbo with new tubes and boots was done at 160,000 roughly. Youre saying the blue/black boots are what migth be the culprit? I blew a couple of them off about 6 months ago pushing too much boost so I replaced all of them again with new clamps! I'll pull them asap and give them a good look over for cracks and what not.

I'll run an FICM check and look over the boots, then if I come up with nothing I'll get into a Turbo re-connection. Never heard of that before! I'll do some reading up on it and give her a whirl too! I'll probably get to this Thursday morning and come back with a review!

 

Sounds like you have a good plan of attack. If you replaced the boots recently (last 30k miles) it's probably not them, but easy enough to check. Let us know how you make out.

Black smoke is unburnt fuel. You wouldn't be getting the smoke with a FICM issue, if anything they will present a blue/white smoke at start up from not properly firing the injectors. Black smoke means there is an air problem somewhere.

 

Thanks Mdub! Now that you mention it, the smoke had a slight blueish tint to it. I have an idiot to turn the key for me on the FICM test so i'll be getting to it tomorrow!

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Okay the boots all checked out! No cracks or tears that I could see.

The FICM test was odd. It had 49V key on, about 46.5V cranking, but roughly 30V on key on buzzing! Thats what through me off a bit. I know my Meter is 100% good, Its a Simpson 260 Series 8 and its mint.
If that one figure is off, does that mean the FICM is on its way out?
Or could it be something else?

That being said, I believe I found the problem with the truck. One of the four bolts that holds the intake elbow had vibrated out til it was being held by two threads. I think the gasket might have blown out and is letting boost out/air in causing the black smoke? Sound plausible at all?

Thanks again fellas!

 

Yep definitely a FICM issue. The last one I repaired had this same issue, voltage was fine with key on engine off, fine when cranking, but as soon as the truck fired voltage would continuously drop.

Sounds like the intake elbow could be an issue too, I'd think the other 3 bolts would hold it, but it's very possible it's leaking.

 

Hmmmmmm so my FICM needs repaired. Might as well get one thats modded for 58V right?

I need to make a 1400 mile drive home in about 3 weeks, I should deal with the FICM first, correct? Or am I safe for a month and 2k?

And im guessing that the intake elbow is a gasketed surface? Im gonna head to the parts stores today and see if I can get one... Last resort... the dealer

At 195k it looks like a few things are finally catching up with me on this truck!

 

Whats the FICM worth? Think I might need one as well.

 

58V wouldn't hurt no. Depends how much you want to spend.

The intake elbow has an o-ring built in actually. So a new/tight bolt should fix it.

A new FICM is about $900 from Ford, or $450 for the half shell. Swamps does rebuilds for around $350, with something like a $400 core charge. They also do the 58V upgrade, it's more.

You can also try it yourself.