Ford F350/6.0 diesel

FishOnOne wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

Hank85713 wrote:
Its a good truck and engine no matter what the naysayers have to say. Be prepared however to have to potentially put some money into the engine.

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/455490-dpm-money-ahead-6-0l-2.html

Link

This is an article from a diesel mag on why they are a good choice potentially. I own one put $4K into it and have no problems. But no matter just make sure you go in with eyes wide open.

Well if you can steal one for $7,000 to $10,000 less than a comparable Ram or Dmax, then spend $4,000 to $5,000 you may have a good deal. I will say they have potential, but you can buy a Dmax or Ram and start enjoying right away without fear.

This is not entirely true! We all know there are years of Duramax and 6.7 Cummins that have a bad history.

Yep, true for sure for both diesel and gas! Ford V10 spark plug change!

My 01 Cummins is known for the issues with the VP$$ injection pump, good rebuilt will run $1,000 to $1,500, failure can be greatly reduced by installing a aftermarket lift pump (fuel Pump) $300 to $600 depending on size.

The engines don't totally self destruct, same is true for Dmax. Most are a one time fix.

While the 6.0 can be made more reliable, they still require many more expensive maintenance items, and more frequent than normal oil changes.

Besides the drivability issues of starting/idle/lack of power that puking coolant can be either a bad degas cap (well known problem), EGR cooler and/or blown head gaskets. If you get those fixed then maybe you will enjoy the engine a little better. I had drivability issues that new injectors fixed and now it runs better (with mods)than the new diesels (GMC & Ford) at my job.

KD4UPL wrote:
I don't understand how people can talk about how great a 6.0 is after you spend thousands of dollars on it, replace lots of parts, and do meticulous frequent preventative maintenance.
If all that's necessary it's NOT a great engine.
I drive an '03 6.0 F350 for work. It is a complete pile. It starts hard, idles rough, handles bad, has no power, pukes coolant, etc. It was recommended by many who know these trucks to use synthetic engine oil and then still change it every 5,000 miles. Synthetic in most diesel trucks is good for 3 or 4 times that much mileage.
I've owned 2 different Duramax trucks and had no problems from either. My current '05 has 175,000 miles on it. Total repairs are about $2,500 for the life of the truck.

X2

VintageRacer wrote:
Go and read here: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum107/ They talk a lot about "bulletproofing" and such. Search on "oil cooler" and "EGR cooler". Basically (I have one so I have personal experience) the 6.0 is a good engine. It was the last generation to use high pressure oil to power the injectors, so it doesn't have issues with high pressure fuel pumps. It has a poorly designed oil cooler which can clog with sediment and fall-out from coolant. When it does it blocks the flow of coolant to the EGR cooler, which then overheats and fails. When that happens, the EGR cooler lets coolant into the intake manifold which causes the head gaskets to fail. If you know all this stuff it becomes childs play to monitor the engine to alert you to know if this is starting to happen and you can do the maintenance required to avoid having a problem.

Other than that, it's like any modern engine, particularly modern diesel engines. It's too bloody complicated and computer controlled to be really considered reliable. A sensor can go in any engine and leave you on the side of the road for the want of a $10 part.

My recommendation is buy the 6.0 if you are prepared to learn about it, maintain it and understand that you might need to fix it at some point, AND you need the towing power, load capacity and fuel economy of a diesel. If you need the power and don't want the fuss, look for a nice V10 gas engine - downside is far worse fuel economy.

Brian

rhagfo wrote:

Hank85713 wrote:
Its a good truck and engine no matter what the naysayers have to say. Be prepared however to have to potentially put some money into the engine.

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/455490-dpm-money-ahead-6-0l-2.html

Link

This is an article from a diesel mag on why they are a good choice potentially. I own one put $4K into it and have no problems. But no matter just make sure you go in with eyes wide open.

Well if you can steal one for $7,000 to $10,000 less than a comparable Ram or Dmax, then spend $4,000 to $5,000 you may have a good deal. I will say they have potential, but you can buy a Dmax or Ram and start enjoying right away without fear.

This is not entirely true! We all know there are years of Duramax and 6.7 Cummins that have a bad history.

The owner of the shop I work in has one. Blowed up at 60,000 $6K to fix. Died a few times after he got it back but seems to be stable for now.
I was surprised they had to take the cab off to get to the engine.
I would not touch one with a ten foot pole.
My money would be on a Cummins or a 7.2 Ford or a gas 8.1 Allison.

Hank85713 wrote:
Its a good truck and engine no matter what the naysayers have to say. Be prepared however to have to potentially put some money into the engine.

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/455490-dpm-money-ahead-6-0l-2.html

Link

This is an article from a diesel mag on why they are a good choice potentially. I own one put $4K into it and have no problems. But no matter just make sure you go in with eyes wide open.

Well if you can steal one for $7,000 to $10,000 less than a comparable Ram or Dmax, then spend $4,000 to $5,000 you may have a good deal. I will say they have potential, but you can buy a Dmax or Ram and start enjoying right away without fear.

FishOnOne wrote:

ksss wrote:
The court documents were posted here. It was quite a read. The information contained in the court documents certainly would or should prevent anyone from buying a 6.0 and 6.4. If I were retired and on what I assume to be a fixed income, I would not chance one. Retirement should not be about worrying if your TV will make it to your next destination. Especially when there are other good options to be had. I would not be afraid to search nationwide for the truck you really want. The Duramax and the Cummins are hard to find in your area, like most areas because they are a desirable TV. Sometimes it makes sense to follow the crowd.

This is the document your referring to.

Link

Thanks for re-posting this link, as I missed the original. Scarey reading for sure, especially realizing Ford sued Navistar for its losses, but never compensated its customers properly, until somebody sued them. And than, from what people have said, it was pennies on the dollar for customers, IF you could get compensation.
I had two friends with 6.0's. Both of them were nightmares for my friends.
And during all the 6.0 years, Ford maintained its overall #1 truck sales position. Whatever, water under the bridge.

mdamerell wrote:

starlord wrote:
(Friday) coming home from work something went BANG and all umph went away, and boost dropped to zilch. The van would still run and I took it back out to the diesel shop.

That sounds like you popped the turbo discharge line to intercooler off. $90 for the hose and $30 for two new hose clamps. Had one come off after the idler pulley was replaced. Once they pop or get oil on them they will never seal right again.

Overtime oil seeps from the turbo and wets the hose and eventually the hose works itself loose. Since the turbo discharge has an elbow built into it, if the hose is not lined up just right, you can pop it off. Makes a LOUD bang, boost and power to zero and you limp home or pull over and put it back on (then buy new hose when home). I've also popped them off on semi's when the mechanic forgot to tighten the clamp right.

Good luck.

Brake clean to get to oil off and hairspray to stick it.;) After you clean the oil off you can use your wifes hairspray to stick it. Do not over tighten the clamp. A lot of people over tighten the clamp at the turbo which in turn will cause it to break under hard pulls.

starlord wrote:
(Friday) coming home from work something went BANG and all umph went away, and boost dropped to zilch. The van would still run and I took it back out to the diesel shop.

That sounds like you popped the turbo discharge line to intercooler off. $90 for the hose and $30 for two new hose clamps. Had one come off after the idler pulley was replaced. Once they pop or get oil on them they will never seal right again.

Overtime oil seeps from the turbo and wets the hose and eventually the hose works itself loose. Since the turbo discharge has an elbow built into it, if the hose is not lined up just right, you can pop it off. Makes a LOUD bang, boost and power to zero and you limp home or pull over and put it back on (then buy new hose when home). I've also popped them off on semi's when the mechanic forgot to tighten the clamp right.

Good luck.

starlord wrote:
Here you go, I've refrained from posting on my 6.0 because people would probably say I'm loony tunes for what I've put in it. I am a vanner....have been since 78 and so saying that, I have to have a van. I am also an rver, so that means I have to have a van that can pull 9,000 lbs. So, I own an 05 E350 with the 6.0 engine. While it was in warranty, it took an egr valve and several injectors. After warranty (the 5 year part of it) I spent around $9,000. keeping it going, one of the most expensive fixes of that was the delaminating fuel tank which took out the fuel pump, new filters I had just had Ford replace a week earlier (I still wonder why they didn't notice anything going on then) and several of the injectors. Then, back in June, the egr cooler sprung a leak. When I took it to the dealer for the leak (this was before we knew it was the egr cooler) they wanted $150. to find the leak. A day later they called and told me they would need $750. to pull the radiator for a better look to find out what was leaking. I told them "NO, put it back together, I was taking it to the premier diesel shop in the area to have them bullet proof it". Well, 4 months and $13,000 dollars later ($2,000. of that came from the extended warranty I bought from Good Sam, the rest was on me) I got the van back. Holy Crap! will that baby run. Then, guess what, yesterday (Friday) coming home from work something went BANG and all umph went away, and boost dropped to zilch. The van would still run and I took it back out to the diesel shop. I'm figuring the turbo shot craps, they're saying it may be the turbo intercooler boots or the turbo, will know more when they look at it. So, that's my experience with the 6.0. I will fix it again but wish I had never got this vehicle to begin with but didn't want the V10 since I had just had the Dodge 360 in a van and was sick of no power and super crappy fuel mileage.

Sir, I am sorry for your 6.doh troubles....

Hope ya know that the 6.8 V10 is not equal to the 360 V8 that small laps in understanding has really cost you.

$11,000.00 would pay for about 3143 gallons of gas... or about 35-40k miles.... just wanted to point that out :)

Good luck with the issues, I hope its just a turbo boot or something simple like that.

OP.. Please avoid the 6.0 diesel unless you have a spare 5-13k laying around.

If you want a reliable as a hammer truck, please consider a Duramax/Cummins if you have to have a diesel or look for an older 7.3.

If you want a reliable SuperDuty in the year model you are looking for .. go for a V10.
Its not glamourous, or blow smoke, or have that really cool wake your camping neighbors up at 6 am rattle rattle rattle... what it does is absolutly perform reliably and will pull all but the heaviest of fivers.

Thanks!

Jeremiah