New Diesel for me!

[MFinCA]

My 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 7.4L had a long life, but it finally was time to retire it. I have always wanted a diesel, so I bought super clean 2004 Ford F-350 Diesel SRW Super Cab with 93K on it last week.

I want to tow my TT so bad, but we are in the middle of moving into our new house, so I don't have the time to do it for at least another couple of weeks.

I know I am going to love towing with the diesel, but I just have to wait until I have the time to go out with it.

Chomping at the bit.....:(

[rowekmr]

Congrats on the new truck!
I've owned 2 and agree that a monitor is mandatory to be able to prevent small issues into turning to bigger problems. My monitor caught a failing FICM and bad alternator.

[TECMike]

Go to the DieselStop.com. Great Ford diesel forum!

[57_Panhead]

Welcome to the Ford 6.0 family, I have an '07 that is the best truck I have ever owned. If you haven't done so already, go over to the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum and introduce your self. There is a wealth of information and help available there. I have 75K on mine and have done all the updates and TSBs mostly under the Ford ESP that I have. I would buy another in a hot minute.

Steve

[ol_Bombero-JC]

donn0128 wrote:
Oh wow. Congratulations on the newer vehicle. But sadly I guess you forgot to do your resesrch on the infamous 6.0L Ford motors. They are notorious for having a lot of serious issues. Start right now, do the research and spend the money to make it decent. Dont wait!

Good advice - "Pay me now, or pay me later".

Be prepared - plan ahead.

Spend some time on the Ford Diesel forums.

Basically a good engine that Ford didn't want to allow anything but inferior Ford Parts for warranty repairs!

After-market head gaskets & ARP studs work wonders to "make it decent".

~

[wintersun]

One thing to be aware of is that unlike your Suburban the front end components are not "lifetime" lubricated on most heavy duty trucks and need to be greased at regular intervals. With my GM it is every 3,000 miles so I don't wait until there is an oil change and do this myself.

[kennethwooster]

I loved my 6.0. I did have to have some work done to it concerning the erg. At 80,000 my warranty ran out so traded it off. However it was one of my favorite trucks. Today running a F350 6.7 DRW. Yes it is nice but so was the 6.o.

[Grit_dog]

FishOnOne wrote:
The maintenance is not as critical as others might suggest. Simply use Motorcraft fuel filters and oil filters and you've taken a major step to insure your truck lives a long life. Like any diesel use the correct coolant and diesel engine oil and enjoy.

I ran a 6.0 psd for ~ 7 years/170k miles and I felt like that truck had an easy 150k more miles.

And there were plenty of 6.0s that didn't blow up but there was/is a lot higher % than 7.3s, Dmax, or Cummins that are time bombs.
Guy at work bought a pavement princess 06 6.0 couple years ago, bone stock, like new, etc. last month at 75k mi, lifted a head gasket just starting it up in the morning.
If you're looking for a diesel there are better options out there unless you get a good enough deal to bulletproof it. IMO

[Bedlam]

My stock 2005 6.0 ran 110,000 miles in stock trim without modifications or issues. It was never lacking for power loaded with a 19,000 lb GCW and 4000 lbs to spare. I performed severe duty maintenance schedules on the truck and monitored vitals with a ScanGauge.

[Bird_Freak]

I love my 04 F250 crew cab 6.0. Its a towing beast. I learned years ago working on class 8 road tractors that a coolant filter is a very good thing. Install one when you can.

[FishOnOne]

The maintenance is not as critical as others might suggest. Simply use Motorcraft fuel filters and oil filters and you've taken a major step to insure your truck lives a long life. Like any diesel use the correct coolant and diesel engine oil and enjoy.

I ran a 6.0 psd for ~ 7 years/170k miles and I felt like that truck had an easy 150k more miles.

[majorgator]

The 6.0 is an amazing motor, once it has been properly modified. I would have no hesitation buying one if I also had about $3K additional to invest. The technology behind that 6.0 turbo is an amazing accomplishment.

You can certainly make it a good engine, but one can simply not overlook that, in its original state, it has a great many problems. In the most well known class action suit I'm aware of, Ford engineers were basically admitting that the truck was rushed to production to meet the new emissions standards and many problems were overlooked. Dealer mechanics were in the dark and didn't even know how to fix these problems. 2004 was the first full year of productions for the 6.0's (introduced in the 2nd half of 2003), and as a result, they had the most problems.

Again, I'd have no problem buying one, but with the expectation of having to do some work on it. And I'm personally not sold on the necessity of the coolant filter. That's just my opinion based on my research. Not that a coolant filter is a bad thing, I'm just not convinced that it's all that important.

[DiskDoctr]

Yep. A little research and money now is much cheaper and easier and will help your Ford 6.0 give you years of awesome reliability and performance.

[buddyIam]

MFinCA

I would be interested in hearing your experiences. I am thinking of buying used also. Only one manufacturer makes a stick like I would like. And I am still not sold on the urea.
If it wasn't for the high prices I could over look some of that. But!

I've got a gas pickup and for a 30 grand investment they would ask me to run in the Christmas parade. 🙂

[Golden_HVAC]

I put a water filter on my brand new 1997 gas motorhome. I have never had a problem with the water pump, overheating, or water leaks.

I installed it to keep the 'junk' out of the engine. It also helps to extend the coolant changes to 10 years. Napa part #FIL 4070 filter and #FIL 4019 kit to install the filter in the heater hose. For a truck that never had a filter, the first one should plug in about 800 miles, then 2,500 miles and the final one should last about a year. Change them every September, before you need the heater again.

Even my brand new 97 motorhome plugged the filter in about 10 months, and the heater stopped working in September. Lucky for me, I was heading to the Albuquerque hot air balloon fiesta, and they have a huge Napa store there. I was able to change it out easy on the road. I cut apart the filter, and it was full of sediment and what looked like sand, but was fine, like baking soda or something?

Good luck with the newer truck!

Fred.