It never ends.................

[mjstef]

Got under the hood today to check oil and saw the last time i had the truck in for a flash i forgot to pull the EGR valve plug. I decided to pull the EGR and clean it then leave it unplugged. We'll after about a half hour of cuss words i got the bastard out and see it is stuck partway open. In the process of cleaning it right now. Noticed i was low on anti-freeze and added a whole gallon!!!!!! I suppose being the EGR was stuck open that it overheated the darn EGR cooler and now that SOB is leaking again!!!! We'll see how soon it takes for the anti-freeze to dissapear again!! The cooler was replaced at 60K and i have 120K on it now so it gotta be the issue. BTW, this EGR valve has only been in for 9K miles!!!!

I have noticed that i had some abnormal tire wear in the front so i jacked the front up and low and behold the upper ball joints are friggin shot!!! They were replaced at 70K!!!!!! Ford put greasable ones in the bottom but used non-greasables in the top! I bitched em out when they fixed it and they said the tops NEVER cause problems! Wish i got that in writing! BTW, my 2000 is still running around Flardy with 180K on it and the ORIGINAL friggin ball joints!!!! I can't wait to dump this POS and get me a 94-97.

Out of 5 ford trucks this is the biggest POS i have ever had. My 88, 94 idi turbo, 95 PSD were rock solid and never gave me any issues! My 00 was decent but had its days. This 03 6.0 had 7K in warranty before 70K miles!! That is unacceptable for what they cost!! I have 120K on it now so i eat all the darn repairs!! If the EGR cooler is out of it it will have a Cummins in it before winter! Don't know where i'm gonna get the ball joints but sure as hell am not gonna put what Ford put in it!

 

[DaveBen]

Get Moog greaseable ball joints. At most good auto parts.

Dave

 

[kusto]

Sooooo, overall you are SATISFIED with your '03....Although you may be out of warranty, you may be able to enact the lemon law and get Ford to buy the truck back from you at market value. Just a thought....

 

[Flopster843]

http://catalog.powerstrokeshop.com/...fo&PartID=337319&siteid=214083&catalogid=4411

Here's a link to a complete ball joint kit. I installed this in my truck a few months ago. Everything you need is there, including new o-rings for the hubs.

 

[Maxtor]

Maybe a lemon

It is unfortunate that you are having so much trouble. I am very pleased with our 2006 F350. So far not one problem, great power and very good mpg.
You might just have a lemon, and have Ford buy it back. If you use your truck on a ranch, or off road, I can see that your upper and lower ball joints might have failed prematurely. If you do not take it off road, than it would be very strange to have the problems you have. I have heard that Chevy and Dodge are having their own problems with the new trucks, so I do not think Ford has a corner on problems.

 

[superdutyfan]

The stock ball joints on these trucks are a known problem. I have no idea why they still use them. Aftermarket ones will solve that problem. Are you using deisel kleen or another fuel additive? It might be worth a try to avoid egr valve problems. There are also ways to bypass the thing if it keeps giving you issues. I would go that route if you are having that many issues with them.