2005 F 250 Super Duty Question...Long Ramble

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

I got the estimate for the work and it was supposed to be 6000 and take a week. I had a blown head gasket and it included having the heads redone and several aftermarket parts.

When I went to pick it up the price was over $8000 and had taken over a month. I wasn't a happy camper. The place went out of business right after that. The quality of work was good, but they lied to me every time I called them for a status. I finally threatened to sue them and told them I was sending a wrecker to get my truck and take it to the Ford Dealer.

Great advice...my 6.0 has been relatively problem free compared to my other towers. It is basically costing me Nothing to drive and if it absolutely craters, I can address the buy new, replace the engine issue then, lol! I've had it paid for for a few years and that's alot of payments if I had went ahead and sunk the $63,000 on a new one that we looked at then...I do appreciate all the constructive thoughts and suggestions on this particular engine. Thanks again guys!

I loved my 05 6.0. Did have to have a lot of the parts replaced and since I had extended warranty did not cost me. I knew there could be some other problems and went ahead and traded it in. Considering the payment I now have makes the 05 look really nice.However the 6.7 is some kind of an engine. I would consider the filter. We installed a lot of these on Case farm tractors when they first put turbos on the engines. They finally realized what was happening and a lot was needing water filters with proper chemical, and proper anti-freeze. Always be careful what you put in these diesels.

blofgren wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:

blofgren wrote:

justafordguy wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

X2, I did the work myself and have less than $1500 in parts.

Remember that a lot of people don't have the space, tools, knowledge, and/or patience to work on these trucks. They are not that easy to work on and can be frustrating as he!! when problems do arise. I'm happy for you guys that have not had problems but sadly that is not the case with many folks as this thread has shown.

OP, I'm also happy for you that your truck has been reasonably reliable to this point. The EGR and oil cooler failures are very common on these trucks and you know have that dealt with, which is the good news. The not so good news is that there are many other issues that can and will occur for you with the mileage that you have on the truck. I won't go into detail about them here because I will have the blue Koolaid fans jumping down my throat. I will say that I would highly recommend you do some reading on the Dieselstop or Superduty forums to get some idea of what you can expect should you decide to keep your truck. There are several issues that are known to occur and there are some serious design flaws in the 6.0L that cause the "bulletproofing" to fail in many cases. As previous posters have suggested you can end up spending way more than the truck is worth trying to keep it running and reasonably reliable, and still have outstanding potential issues and questionable reliability.

And before anyone calls me out, I owned a 2003 F-350 6.0L Lariat dually before the truck I have now. I started to run into the expensive issues and moved on before it cost me a bunch more than it already did. To have a truck that you can use to tow your RV thousands of miles from home and not have to worry is priceless.

I didn't do mine myself. I had a independent shop do it. I just did not have the time when the egr cooler went.

You got an exceptionally great deal for the work you had done. From what I have experienced that would normally cost around $5k. A fellow I work with had EGR delete, blue spring mod and new injectors installed and cost him $8k. He would have done studs too but couldn't afford it.

I know it was a good price but that is or was his everyday price for that. Keep in mind we just did studs, egr cooler and oil cooler. He is a diesel tech at the Ford dealer and has a shop at home.

Bird Freak wrote:

blofgren wrote:

justafordguy wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

X2, I did the work myself and have less than $1500 in parts.

Remember that a lot of people don't have the space, tools, knowledge, and/or patience to work on these trucks. They are not that easy to work on and can be frustrating as he!! when problems do arise. I'm happy for you guys that have not had problems but sadly that is not the case with many folks as this thread has shown.

OP, I'm also happy for you that your truck has been reasonably reliable to this point. The EGR and oil cooler failures are very common on these trucks and you know have that dealt with, which is the good news. The not so good news is that there are many other issues that can and will occur for you with the mileage that you have on the truck. I won't go into detail about them here because I will have the blue Koolaid fans jumping down my throat. I will say that I would highly recommend you do some reading on the Dieselstop or Superduty forums to get some idea of what you can expect should you decide to keep your truck. There are several issues that are known to occur and there are some serious design flaws in the 6.0L that cause the "bulletproofing" to fail in many cases. As previous posters have suggested you can end up spending way more than the truck is worth trying to keep it running and reasonably reliable, and still have outstanding potential issues and questionable reliability.

And before anyone calls me out, I owned a 2003 F-350 6.0L Lariat dually before the truck I have now. I started to run into the expensive issues and moved on before it cost me a bunch more than it already did. To have a truck that you can use to tow your RV thousands of miles from home and not have to worry is priceless.

I didn't do mine myself. I had a independent shop do it. I just did not have the time when the egr cooler went.

You got an exceptionally great deal for the work you had done. From what I have experienced that would normally cost around $5k. A fellow I work with had EGR delete, blue spring mod and new injectors installed and cost him $8k. He would have done studs too but couldn't afford it.

blofgren wrote:

justafordguy wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

X2, I did the work myself and have less than $1500 in parts.

Remember that a lot of people don't have the space, tools, knowledge, and/or patience to work on these trucks. They are not that easy to work on and can be frustrating as he!! when problems do arise. I'm happy for you guys that have not had problems but sadly that is not the case with many folks as this thread has shown.

OP, I'm also happy for you that your truck has been reasonably reliable to this point. The EGR and oil cooler failures are very common on these trucks and you know have that dealt with, which is the good news. The not so good news is that there are many other issues that can and will occur for you with the mileage that you have on the truck. I won't go into detail about them here because I will have the blue Koolaid fans jumping down my throat. I will say that I would highly recommend you do some reading on the Dieselstop or Superduty forums to get some idea of what you can expect should you decide to keep your truck. There are several issues that are known to occur and there are some serious design flaws in the 6.0L that cause the "bulletproofing" to fail in many cases. As previous posters have suggested you can end up spending way more than the truck is worth trying to keep it running and reasonably reliable, and still have outstanding potential issues and questionable reliability.

And before anyone calls me out, I owned a 2003 F-350 6.0L Lariat dually before the truck I have now. I started to run into the expensive issues and moved on before it cost me a bunch more than it already did. To have a truck that you can use to tow your RV thousands of miles from home and not have to worry is priceless.

I didn't do mine myself. I had a independent shop do it. I just did not have the time when the egr cooler went.

Dont let the anti 6.0 folks get ya down. Yes with a couple of thousand you can have your truck upgraded. I spent around $4000 for my studs, head gaskets, BPD egr, ford oil cooler, blue spring, and some other maintenance stuff. Wish I had know about the billet BPD water pump to replace the plastic one, maybe a newer FICM, but that is about it. Just saw an ad for the BPD inlet!

Anyhow for the $8000 you are guestimating you can have a lot done. If not a total R&R of seats, look at LMN trucks for seat covers, carpet etc. As to the guy saying to save the $20K and buy new, is he going to cover the $7-800 monthly payments for ya for 6-7 years? Investing in your truck or buying new is a **** shoot. Many new/newer trucks are having their own set of issues to deal with. So do what is best for you, maybe at the mileage you have a new HPOP and injectors along with glow plugs may be in order if you go the total BP route? Again you and your mechs call. If ya want to travel a little I can set ya up with the guy I used?

justafordguy wrote:

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

X2, I did the work myself and have less than $1500 in parts.

Remember that a lot of people don't have the space, tools, knowledge, and/or patience to work on these trucks. They are not that easy to work on and can be frustrating as he!! when problems do arise. I'm happy for you guys that have not had problems but sadly that is not the case with many folks as this thread has shown.

OP, I'm also happy for you that your truck has been reasonably reliable to this point. The EGR and oil cooler failures are very common on these trucks and you know have that dealt with, which is the good news. The not so good news is that there are many other issues that can and will occur for you with the mileage that you have on the truck. I won't go into detail about them here because I will have the blue Koolaid fans jumping down my throat. I will say that I would highly recommend you do some reading on the Dieselstop or Superduty forums to get some idea of what you can expect should you decide to keep your truck. There are several issues that are known to occur and there are some serious design flaws in the 6.0L that cause the "bulletproofing" to fail in many cases. As previous posters have suggested you can end up spending way more than the truck is worth trying to keep it running and reasonably reliable, and still have outstanding potential issues and questionable reliability.

And before anyone calls me out, I owned a 2003 F-350 6.0L Lariat dually before the truck I have now. I started to run into the expensive issues and moved on before it cost me a bunch more than it already did. To have a truck that you can use to tow your RV thousands of miles from home and not have to worry is priceless.

One thing I would add to all the advise you have already been given OP'er. Find a good independent diesel repair shop. I use a "Powerstroke Specialist" myself. I trust this guy more than the dealers mechanic, to many dealership mechanics just seem to be parts throwers. JMHO Good luck, John

Bird Freak wrote:
I can't figure out where all this money goes some folks spend to bullet proof. I had studs, bullet proof egr cooler and oil cooler done for $2500.

X2, I did the work myself and have less than $1500 in parts.