Horror Stories

I thing the post is a troll.

If not I would recommend that you delete it yesterday cus you do not want to hear what you just went and done. :B

Could be could be an honest question, 188 post since 2005.
I will treat as an honest question.
Well yes there are horror stories, many have reported issues with this engine.
That said is the truck stock?
Has it ever been chipped?
Has the engine had major repairs?
Has the engine been "Bullet Proofed"?
How many miles?

Keep in mind that to be a horror story in this day of the internet needs to be about a 1% to 5% failure rate.

There are many on this forum that report great service, there are also reports of a great engine going south on a trip costing $5,000 to $15,000 to repair.

If you did your home work on the truck you could have a great towing truck, or it could drain your Bank account!

That said as a Ford man for 45 years, I chose to take a chance on a Dodge truck wrapper for the Cummins engine. That was one of the best choices I have made.

Legit question!

Do a quick google on ford 6.0 diesel head gasket egr

In short, you want egr delete and arp head bolts with a high end head gasket. These motors tend to blow head gaskets. The fix is around $800-1000 in parts, then they are quite solid workhorses.

From memory, so prices may vary ;)

Sure I got somethings good to say.... I've owned a 05 Super Duty and traded it in with a little over 170k miles. Other than some oring seals to fix a oil leak, and upgraded to the inductive heat flash that was one excellent truck.

I just completed a trip to Florida and saw more Super Duty 6.0 PSD trucks one way than I saw Cummins powered trucks both ways. There are a lot of these trucks still on the road.

Stick with Motorcraft or Racor oil filters and fuel filters "Only" you'll be good to go. In addition having the latest flash (cost about $100) will monitor ECT and EOT delta and warn you if the delta exceeds 15F which could mean your oil cooler in plugged. A coolant filter from Sinister is also a cheap and worthy upgrade although I never had one on my truck.

How many miles on your truck?

ttempleton wrote:
BOUGHT 2003 F350 6.0 Ford diesel to pull 5th wheel. (12k) pounds. Heard and read Horror stories. Anybody got anything good to say?? Happy 4th

1) It is good that there are those that do the research and still buy them, regardless. Because you'll need to find one of those buyers, before too long.

2) It will pull your 12K Trailer very well. Until...when it doesn't.

3) It is good that they usually sell for real cheap. So you're probably not out too much money. If you don't sink a lot of money into it for repairs. However...See #1.

4) Most '03 6.0L Fords don't have many miles on them. And the paint is in excellent shape. They spend most of their lives under cover and out of the weather and sun. Because they are in the shop.

5) Very little rust. Unless parked at a dealer repair lot near the ocean.

6) Usually have little wear on the tires. But watch for old DOT dates.

7) It is good that I never owned one. And good I never bought the one my son had.

See that? There are a lot of good things to say about them.

I am sure others can add more good things to say.

The issues with the engine are well documented and fixes readily available. The 5 speed transmission that the 6.0 is coupled to is a a fantastic transmission.

Why do people come on here and ask about something AFTER they have bought it?

The people that have had no problems will say they are fine if you "bullit proof it" and the ones that have had troubles will steer you in another direction.

You asked so my advice is to sell it and get something that has not had such a bad track record.

I've got an 04 6.0L - eventually every owner will have to replace the injectors (100-150k is the usual limit for factory injectors).

At 100k i had a leaky egr cooler (there are easy fixes/block offs available) - no big deal.

A lot of the head stud issues are unnecessary imo - I've never puked coolant but then i haven't run heavy hp tunes on mine either....most of the used trucks should have had most of these fixes applied if the owner.

Ive still got our 6.0, its a great, VERY reliable truck and even with fairly minor fixes its STILL cheaper than a new $75k truck.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Why do people come on here and ask about something AFTER they have bought it?

The people that have had no problems will say they are fine if you "bullit proof it" and the ones that have had troubles will steer you in another direction.

You asked so my advice is to sell it and get something that has not had such a bad track record.

And we also read about people who buy RAM's who complain about the ride is too harsh on the DRW or the vehicle is too tall right after the purchase.

I could tell you the track record on the number of RAM's I saw pulling campers on our trip to Florida and back, or should I say the lack of! From TX, LA, Miss, AL, Fl, the ratio of RAM trucks compared to GM and Ford was a shocking 10:1 with Ford and GM at a very close race. But maybe they weren't full timers like you report. :R

I seen more Ford Super Duty 6.0 PSD going to Florida than I saw RAM cummins of any year going there and back combined. :W

BTW... The half ton trucks had RAM at a much less ratio but that's another thread.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Why do people come on here and ask about something AFTER they have bought it?.

My thoughts exactly. I guess we have to assume that's what happened.