Ford 6.0 liter
I put a deposit yesterday on a Ford 2006 Super-Duty F-250 with the 6.0 liter/8 cylinder diesel engine. I plan on using this truck as a tow vehicle for a 6500 pound travel trailer. I know next to not...
Forum Discussion
Well, as usual the 6 liter remains a hot topic. I'll add my 2 cents as I've owned one for 5 years and towed with it the whole time.
The 6.0 has a reputation because it was designed by Navistar without emissions (EGR)for medium duty applications like school bus's. Ford applied it to the SuperDutys with an EGR cooler and valve which caused a ton of problems. The Ford gold coolant if not maintained can have its chemicals fall out of suspension and clog the oil cooler which in turn starves the EGR cooler. This created severe heat in the EGR cooler that caused coolant and oil mix together as the internal fins melted. It took a while for Ford to understand this so there was a lot of unhappy owners. Couple all of this with guys 'chipping' the ECM and blowing the heads off and you get a reputation.
My only advice is to get the OASIS report from Ford to determine what upgrades if any have been performed. The STC fitting, stand pipes and dummy plugs should be looked at to determine if they've been upgraded. Get rid of the Ford Gold coolant and replace it with ELC red stuff the big rigs use. Don't chip it unless you want to replace head gaskets and swap the head bolts with studs. I've done all of the above (minus head gaskets and studs) and run it bone stock. Buy a Scan Gage to monitor the oil and coolant temperature differential. Keeping the differential under 20 degrees will verify that your oil and EGR coolers are in good health. I change the oil every 5k and the fuel filters every 10 and clean the EGR valve every other year. I also flush the coolant system at recommended intervals. As a result, I've avoided catastrophic and high $$ problems by doing a little research and making sure its maintained. This is an easy engine to work on and there is a ton of info out there to help you. Diesels can't be treated like a gas engine. They need to run hard and maintained in order to be reliable.
The 6.0 has a reputation because it was designed by Navistar without emissions (EGR)for medium duty applications like school bus's. Ford applied it to the SuperDutys with an EGR cooler and valve which caused a ton of problems. The Ford gold coolant if not maintained can have its chemicals fall out of suspension and clog the oil cooler which in turn starves the EGR cooler. This created severe heat in the EGR cooler that caused coolant and oil mix together as the internal fins melted. It took a while for Ford to understand this so there was a lot of unhappy owners. Couple all of this with guys 'chipping' the ECM and blowing the heads off and you get a reputation.
My only advice is to get the OASIS report from Ford to determine what upgrades if any have been performed. The STC fitting, stand pipes and dummy plugs should be looked at to determine if they've been upgraded. Get rid of the Ford Gold coolant and replace it with ELC red stuff the big rigs use. Don't chip it unless you want to replace head gaskets and swap the head bolts with studs. I've done all of the above (minus head gaskets and studs) and run it bone stock. Buy a Scan Gage to monitor the oil and coolant temperature differential. Keeping the differential under 20 degrees will verify that your oil and EGR coolers are in good health. I change the oil every 5k and the fuel filters every 10 and clean the EGR valve every other year. I also flush the coolant system at recommended intervals. As a result, I've avoided catastrophic and high $$ problems by doing a little research and making sure its maintained. This is an easy engine to work on and there is a ton of info out there to help you. Diesels can't be treated like a gas engine. They need to run hard and maintained in order to be reliable.
