6.6 duramax vs 6.0 powertroke

[outnabout]

looking to buy a '06.5 Chevy 6.6 duramax or '06 Ford 6.0 powerstroke. Seems I get a little more pazzaz with the Ford. Which one has better reputation for reliability?

[kaydeejay]

Seattle Lion wrote:
How about the Ford 6.7. We just bought a new F350. Reading the 6.0 horror stories worries me about the new engine. I don't mean to hijack the thread.

Rest easy! Other than some (very few, like 0.01%) reported high pressure fuel pumps grenading that Ford would not cover under warranty, the 6.7 seems to be a solid motor.
It's a total redesign and owes nothing to the International Harvester that was the 6.0 and 6.4.

[transamz9]

I think Ford has done a good job with this motor. They had their glitches at first, like all new redesigns do, and Ford was turning people away for warranty repairs (two sides to every story , who knows). They are strong motors and get pretty good fuel economy but I'm not real sure on the durability of them yet though. Still pretty new.

[Seattle_Lion]

How about the Ford 6.7. We just bought a new F350. Reading the 6.0 horror stories worries me about the new engine. I don't mean to hijack the thread.

[transamz9]

Scott W wrote:
I guess I have one of the good 6.0 Fords. Maintenance is the key to any vehicle.

The maintenance on the 6.0 is what mostly put a sour taste in most peoples mouths about diesel engines in general. The 6.0 and the 6.4 really hurt the LD diesel market in my eyes.People quit buying them and have went to gas because of them and most people are so brand loyal that they would rather change the fuel they burn than to change the brand they drive.

Still with all the maintenance the 6.0 will leave you stranded at some point. Not if but when they break down, they break down bad. Have your phone on you and hope you have a signal.

[Dave_H_M]

ask google about the six ohh and read until you fall asleep this eve. :Z

[Passin__Through]

A fellow I worked with had TWO 6.0 Fords go bad on him. The first was an '03 he bought new. Had so much trouble that he had it "lemon-lawed" - Ford bought it back from him. He later bought a brand new '06 and began having troubles with it. I believe he was able to "lemon-law" that one, too.

His difficulties persuaded me to buy my first-ever Chevrolet, a used 6.6 Duramax.:B So far it has been great, logging over 7800 towing miles pulling our 5er, a 28' HitchHiker.

[Scott_W]

I guess I have one of the good 6.0 Fords. Maintenance is the key to any vehicle.

[transamz9]

Jeremiah, I just re-read your post and noticed that you said the lift pump died on it causing the truck to quit. Did you mean the lift pump or did you mean the injection pump?

If the lift pump quit pumping and the truck died then the lift pump screen more than likely got stopped up. I had a buddy that had this happened to his and is caused it to get hot and quit. It was stopped up to the point the injection pump could not pull the fuel through it. It was a slimy substance like algae or like the inside of the tank was breaking down.

Here is a little article about the Cummins lift pump.

How to watch lift pump status.

[ramyankee]

There is a running joke in our house....."When I die and if the Hearse is a ford I would just as soon walk".....
As said before, check the VIN and if it is an LBZ, take it fast.

[jerem0621]

rhagfo wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

Jerem0621 wrote:
5.9 let my dad down and it required a tow. Hard to run the Cummins when the lift pump fails. He still has it and is well over 200k miles now.

Not throwing stones at the Cummins, just pointing out that ALL diesel options can and do have failure points.

Some Duramax trucks have head gasket and injector issues, some Rams have Lift pump issues,... Then there is the 6.0.

This is not a motor that you treat like every other motor. You need to carefully monitor engine oil and engine coolant temps, watch for tell tell signs of failure and get it repaired. Change the coolant often and keep a close eye on things. Many 6.0's live happy lives without failure.

IMHO before I bought a 6.0 diesel I would invest in a scan guage II and plug it into the truck on the test drive. Let the truck tell you the story.

The lift pump on your dads 5.9 likely failed long before the truck left him stranded. The CP will still pull the fuel to itself and not miss a beat.

He could have put a cheap low pressure fuel gauge in it and would have caught the problem and still drove it home. The 6.0, most of the time when something acts up, you better find a good place to pull over.

Between the two Dmax for sure, I changed from Ford to Ram after 45 years of Ford!! I could not bring myself to buy a 6.0.
I have had my Ram for almost four years, added a small chip and tow 11,000# 5er, turned 268,000 miles last week, still a solid truck. Bought it used from a dealer (Ram) one owner with only 234,000 miles. Truck body and interior were in showroom shape, the Cummins ran great clean and strong.

The Ford 6.0 to bullet proof, is about $5,000+, but if you chose not to to repair/replace a blown 6.0 is about $15,000, why do you think so many on this forum are dislike diesels, they likely had a bad 6.0!

Russ, there is a lot of truth to what you are saying. There are many folks out there who got burned by the 6.0 and now apply that level of caution to all diesels. The same line of thought can be applied to folks who have half ton gassers with small motors, buy a travel trailer then upgrade to a diesel.

They make similar statements about how bad all gassers are when they didn't give a HD gasser a chance. Not that's it's a bad thing.

Can you all tell me more about the fuel guage on the Cummins. How is that piece of info going to tell my dad when the lift pump is dying? I'm going to have to tell him about this.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[kully]

had fords walked to many times love my 2013 duramax. wife says they should put heated bumpers on the fords. lol

[rhagfo]

transamz9 wrote:

Jerem0621 wrote:
5.9 let my dad down and it required a tow. Hard to run the Cummins when the lift pump fails. He still has it and is well over 200k miles now.

Not throwing stones at the Cummins, just pointing out that ALL diesel options can and do have failure points.

Some Duramax trucks have head gasket and injector issues, some Rams have Lift pump issues,... Then there is the 6.0.

This is not a motor that you treat like every other motor. You need to carefully monitor engine oil and engine coolant temps, watch for tell tell signs of failure and get it repaired. Change the coolant often and keep a close eye on things. Many 6.0's live happy lives without failure.

IMHO before I bought a 6.0 diesel I would invest in a scan guage II and plug it into the truck on the test drive. Let the truck tell you the story.

The lift pump on your dads 5.9 likely failed long before the truck left him stranded. The CP will still pull the fuel to itself and not miss a beat.

He could have put a cheap low pressure fuel gauge in it and would have caught the problem and still drove it home. The 6.0, most of the time when something acts up, you better find a good place to pull over.

Between the two Dmax for sure, I changed from Ford to Ram after 45 years of Ford!! I could not bring myself to buy a 6.0.
I have had my Ram for almost four years, added a small chip and tow 11,000# 5er, turned 268,000 miles last week, still a solid truck. Bought it used from a dealer (Ram) one owner with only 234,000 miles. Truck body and interior were in showroom shape, the Cummins ran great clean and strong.

The Ford 6.0 to bullet proof, is about $5,000+, but if you chose not to to repair/replace a blown 6.0 is about $15,000, why do you think so many on this forum are dislike diesels, they likely had a bad 6.0!

[goducks10]

Get the Dmax.

[kmbelt]

go with the Duramax. the 6.6 won't let you down like the 6.0 "MIGHT". It will have the LBZ, which is the most desired duramax you can get, highest rated power before the EPA******that killed MPG. I'd trade my 08 duramax for an 06 or classic 07 in a heart beat.

[mbutts]

When I was looking for a used diesel truck, it seemed like I could find horror stories on ANY brand, making it look like diesel engines were made out of tin foil. I know people with five 6.0-engined trucks among them and no one experienced a failure. These are abused work trucks and one Excursion used to tow a 34' TT.

With any used vehicle, price, mileage, and how well it was maintained are all factors in my decision to buy. My truck had low mileage, all its service records, and a decent price so I bought it.

I'm a contrarian and I knew I could find a good deal on a Ford since people are scared of the 6.0.