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Richard_999's avatar
Richard_999
Explorer
Nov 19, 2014

Question About Ford 6.0 Diesel

I just bought a 2003 ford F350 6.0 Turbo Diesel with 119,000 miles.

It is pristine, but now I read that they are absolute junk, and I am uncertain if I should keep it, and try to use it as a tow vehicle for my 34' Challenger Fifth Wheel.

I would appreciate any input from those who have owned one...

Thank...
Richard
Tow Vehicles

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  • Turtle_n_Peeps's avatar
    Turtle_n_Peeps
    Explorer
    Nov 20, 2014
    Bird Freak wrote:
    The only thing I would question on these figures would be how much of it was paid out for repairs or should I say replaced parts by tech's that had no idea what they were doing?
    As I understand it even Ford said they had a serious problem with untrained techs in the early years of the 6.0. There was a lot of money wasted here.


    Are you saying that Ford had techs that didn't know what they were doing? Who's fault is that? That does not bode well for FMC.

    Was this problem with techs not knowing what they were doing ever fixed? If so, when?

    The 6.0 is a model T engine compared to the 6.7. :E
  • Turtle_n_Peeps's avatar
    Turtle_n_Peeps
    Explorer
    Nov 20, 2014
    shurn02 wrote:
    That money you quote in so far as I'm aware also include several very LARGE lawsuits.


    Ford said it had spent $1 billion on repairs and recalls to fix problems with legacy 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel engines.
  • shum02's avatar
    shum02
    Explorer
    Nov 20, 2014
    Turtle n Peeps wrote:


    "IF" there is a 10% failure rate for these trucks (and remember, I'm not saying there is)


    Your right it's not 10% or actually even close to that. It is a percentage of less than 1%.

    That money you quote in so far as I'm aware also include several very LARGE lawsuits.

    $1000 repair on a diesel pickup? Yup, doesn't take much on any of these trucks to rack up a grand of cash in repairs when you figure in labour. Ford wanted almost $400 to R&R my alternator??? Really?? Yup, not kidding. Did it myself in an hour with a rebuilt alt for just over $100.

    Don't know anyone with a Duramax or Cummins that has not had the truck in the shop for something while they have owned in and some have even been stranded on the road. Yup, happens.
  • Bird_Freak's avatar
    Bird_Freak
    Explorer II
    Nov 20, 2014
    Turtle n Peeps wrote:
    For those of you that are throwing out failure numbers let do a little simple math. It's known that there were around a million 6.0's made.

    A billion dollars (it's more now) divided by a million trucks = $1,000 in warranty costs for every single 6.0 Ford diesel engine made.

    "IF" there is a 10% failure rate for these trucks (and remember, I'm not saying there is) you have a $9,000 "average warranty cost" for 10% of every 6.0 truck made. (someone check my math please and see if it's correct)

    Ford said they paid out a billion dollars in warranty claims and here is the link to back up my facts.

    These are numbers from Ford and informed Ford people, not me. If it makes you mad, talk to Ford, not me.

    OP, all that being said, I would bullet proof it and get on with life. The rest of those trucks are very nice and have no known major problems.
    The only thing I would question on these figures would be how much of it was paid out for repairs or should I say replaced parts by tech's that had no idea what they were doing?
    As I understand it even Ford said they had a serious problem with untrained techs in the early years of the 6.0. There was a lot of money wasted here.
  • Turtle_n_Peeps's avatar
    Turtle_n_Peeps
    Explorer
    Nov 20, 2014
    For those of you that are throwing out failure numbers let do a little simple math. It's known that there were around a million 6.0's made.

    A billion dollars (it's more now) divided by a million trucks = $1,000 in warranty costs for every single 6.0 Ford diesel engine made.

    "IF" there is a 10% failure rate for these trucks (and remember, I'm not saying there is) you have a $9,000 "average warranty cost" for 10% of every 6.0 truck made. (someone check my math please and see if it's correct)

    Ford said they paid out a billion dollars in warranty claims and here is the link to back up my facts.

    These are numbers from Ford and informed Ford people, not me. If it makes you mad, talk to Ford, not me.

    OP, all that being said, I would bullet proof it and get on with life. The rest of those trucks are very nice and have no known major problems.
  • FishOnOne's avatar
    FishOnOne
    Nomad
    Nov 20, 2014
    Richard_999 wrote:
    I just bought a 2003 ford F350 6.0 Turbo Diesel with 119,000 miles.

    It is pristine, but now I read that they are absolute junk, and I am uncertain if I should keep it, and try to use it as a tow vehicle for my 34' Challenger Fifth Wheel.

    I would appreciate any input from those who have owned one...

    Thank...
    Richard


    OP,
    Unlike many who have shared their $0.02 or never owned one or have not kept their previous truck more than 100k miles, I'll respond to your request for any input from those who have owned one...

    So having said that, I owned a 05 6.0 PSD for 7 years and over 170k miles when I traded it in and I'm confident that truck had an easy 100k+ miles left including the injectors. During that ownership I replaced the EGR valve at ~80k miles and cleaned the EGR valve at ~160k miles and that was it.
    I used "ONLY" Motorcraft Oil filters, Fuel filters, coolant and changed the fluids as recommended, and adding a coolant filter is another great idea although I didn't have one on my truck.

    Most of the problems with these trucks are no longer trivial for the techs and the 5 speed Torque Shift transmission is about as bullet proof as they come.

    If I didn't need a used pre EGR truck I wouldn't hesitate to buy another 6.0 PSD.

    BTW... I purchased a used 05 RAM cummins/manual tranny truck for our ranch hand and had to unload that POS after 1.5 years of constant need of some type of repair or another from the motor, seat, and drivetrain and the cracked exhaust manifold being the last straw. Purchasing a used truck can be a crapshoot.

    I'm not going to advise you what to do with your truck, but if you need any advice I would ask the same question at Ford-Trucks.com. The guy's over their are really good.
  • ib516's avatar
    ib516
    Explorer II
    Nov 19, 2014
    Bedlam wrote:
    Wouldn't that be similar to someone presenting material on the benefits of carcinogens without showing the detriments? You even used a source that has everything to lose if it does not show Ford and the 6.0 PSD in a bad light. I might as well counter with Ford advertising brochures because they hold the same amount weight and objectiveness...

    I am of the opinion that the OP can read what I posted and use his own brain to decide what he thinks. I don't think you give people enough credit. In any decision making process, the more info one has the better right?

    There are some emails in that document that allegedly came from the engineers themselves. That is who one would best like to talk to about a given engine's potential weak points IMO.

    But in the end, I am just one of many that have provided info that the OP can discount or take as gospel as he sees fit.

    I think the way you are writing, you're assuming I attached a personal statement to the end of my post saying "The information contained in the link has been proven" or something to that effect. I did not.

    He asked for opinions on whether or not to sell, I gave my $0.02 that he should sell. What's your problem with that? Do I have to check with you first before I post?
  • Bird_Freak's avatar
    Bird_Freak
    Explorer II
    Nov 19, 2014
    Some good and bad info here. If you check some of the anti Ford posters previous post you will find that is normal for most. The previous owner of my truck put a tuner on it and it did have a egr cooler failure which resulted in head gaskets also. My cab was never removed for the repair.
    If you decide to so call Bullet proof your 6.0 you can buy everything you need on E-bay as a kit now for around $1200.00. Lots here paying way to much labor as I can have a local shop do it all for $3500.
    Also some one here likes to say you have a 50-50 shot of a serious problem. Sure would like to see where he gets his info as if it were true half of all 6.0's would be bad.
    Do your maintenance and drive it.

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