What Would You Do?

[DMas]

Would like a little advice from the group, but don't want to start a war. We currently own a 2003 Ford F350 dually with the notorious 6.0L diesel with a standard 6 speed transmission. I have put a lot of time (and money) into setting this truck up to haul our Lance 1161. It also serves as my daily driver. It has 85K miles on it. One of the reasons for the low mileage is the amount of time it spends in the shop!

Without getting into all of the details, the truck has been unreliable to say the least - EGR, head gaskets and bolts, ficm, hpop, rear wheel bearings, the list goes on and on. Once again, it is in the shop. It died on my way to work last week. Had it towed to the shop (again) and received a call that afternoon that it started and ran fine, No codes had been thrown, everything check out. The tech and I decided that he should keep it to see if he could replicate the condition. So far, nothing.

So, I would just like to start a friendly discussion as to what I should do. I have totally lost confidence in this truck. Most times that it failed, I was fairly close to home - but if this continues to happen on the road, say, in the middle of nowhere, what then? It has happened before and was not pleasant. I could tell some stories.....

Anyway, when do I cut and run? Do I abandon Ford completely and buy a new Ram with a Cummins and a 6 speed? What would you do? I'm open to suggestions. Sorry for the long rant.

[sleekcrafter]

If the truck is paid for... I would bullet proof it. I know Brian from BTS has bought many orphan 6.0 and 6.4 trucks. There are known weak points in these trucks, and he can make a solid 450 HP truck out of them for under $4500. I have the 7.3 much better out of the box, but the 6.0 can out do me when fixed! I've got the BTS 4R100 after the second transmission failure. My point is if you want to keep it, it's going to be an investment, much cheaper than new truck payments.

[dakonthemountai]

cewillis wrote:

DMas wrote:

Anyway, when do I cut and run?

Now.

I agree with this. I spent years and many thousands of dollars on my old 1977 F250 to upgrade, restore, refurbish, make pretty, haul, tow, etc. only to STILL have it not be reliable when I needed it most. I LOVED that truck, but I sold it when I finally gave up on trying to get confidence in it 😞

Best of luck in whatever you do purchase!

Dak

[jimh406]

KansasKen wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_dhaWv9Z4k

Great link, btw.

[billtex]

Yeah...a lot of the OP's concern has to do with his confidence in the truck after all the trouble he has had.
If it were me, I don't think any amount of aftermarket $ would give me a high enough level of confidence, with a vehicle that has been so much trouble, to take my Family on extended trips.

We tend to keep our vehicle for 10 yrs min...but when they get unreliable...it is time to replace them...no matter how old/new they are.
Right now we have one 7 yr old truck, and one 14 yr old car. Both dependable.
The PIA factor is too great when you can't trust your vehicle.
When one of these gets shaky...it is gone.

B

[KansasKen]

I have 7.3 2001 F350 with which I have had zero problems, though low mileage. You may or may not be aware of this guy, but I found his videos informing though he is a bit crass, and in some camps controversial, but has a whole lot to say about the various Ford diesel engines. I believe he has a video(s) on how to bullet proof the 6.0L. I know many have posted getting rid of it. I would just add that, depending on whether you are consider new or used, if you could achieve a reliable engine for 10% of the cost of a new truck, I might tend to go that way....assuming of course I had enormous trust in who is doing the work, and therein lies a major concern with that alternative. Search YouTube for Powerstrokehelp, the following url is one in which he compares the 7.3, 6.0 and 6.4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_dhaWv9Z4k. I bought my F350 in 2001 with the intention of buying a TC within a year, well that year went to 2011 but with the 6.0 problems and the later and latest EPA requirements on diesels, I'm glad I got the 7.3 when I did, btw I "saved" it for the TC, it only has 70K miles and is in mint condition.

[jimh406]

billtex wrote:
Well...except in the case of the infamous 6.0l...these issues are wide spread and well documented...as noted by the OP.

What's good about this is that they are well-documented since it is 10 years old. The fixes are, too. I'm not saying everyone wants to deal with customizing. Some people like customizing, some don't.

[billtex]

firemedic08 wrote:

As for My take on the Things, Its been My Past Experience, All Brands, Makes, Models have their Issues.

Well...except in the case of the infamous 6.0l...these issues are wide spread and well documented...as noted by the OP.
We are not talking about a minor cosmetic problem...these motors have expensive,seriuous, catastrophic failures of the turbos, heads, etc
Does this mean all of the 6.0's will fail? Not really...but plenty have...and the OP has already been down that road.

I would go for any of the big 3 new trucks...or even an older model...but not a 6.0.

[firemedic08]

I was all Set With My Buttered Pop Corn, Waiting on the Thread to take a turn for The worse..... Im Actually Surprised. Good Job Guy's N Gals. LOL

As for My take on the Things, Its been My Past Experience, All Brands, Makes, Models have their Issues. At this Point If i were you, I would cut my losses and start Shopping.

[jimh406]

Every fix costs 3000-5000 ... not likely.

[Farmerjon]

our friends have a 04 6.0, they have had the typical problems with it and also a generator and high pressure oil pump.every fix seemed to cost from 3000 to 5000. They were lucky for the 1st 150,000 miles.No problems.
They don,t haul anything at all with it.
It's a Kingsranch and it's her daily driver. It now is pushing 300,000 miles.
They are still happy with it, in spit of the expensive repairs.
Her brother and nephew have had 6.0s in their loging bussiness and they ran them with chips but not until they bullet proofed them and then they had transmission failures.
If you could find a low mileage 7.3 you could switch to that.
I think if I were you I would take it to a really good independant diesel shop and run it by them and see what they would suggest It shouldn't be that big a mystery about the current problem.
Good luck

[mooring_product]

ICP sensor.. have them check it, they tend to leak and cause the problem you mentioned. My old truck did the same thing.

I loved my 6.0 but I deleted the EGR and installed headstuds.

I just sold it and purchased a Ram 3500 Mega. As soon as my wallet recovers the EGR and DPF are gone.

[billtex]

I think you already know the answer...time to move on...
My Buddy has the same vintage 6.0l and has been through the same thing. I'll bet there are a lot of low mileage 6.0's around for that reason. His has been sitting in his yard more than he drives it...he picked up an old beater S-10 as a daily driver...he is a union carpenter and needs a truck...but he cannot trust that Ford. He has ~ $13k in repairs into it. He can't afford to sell it(too great a loss) and is afraid to drive it...he doesn't know what to do...so it sits there.
I think you'll find all the new trucks are awesome. If you don't want to deal with emmsision you are limited to pre 2007.
If you want new and a stick, I believe Dodge is your only option.

But that begs another question; why on earth would you want a manual tranny when there are autos like Allison, ect available now?
These new autos are incredible.

Any way, good luck. I know what I would do...

B

[portscanner]

I had to replace the turbo, fuel injectors and EGR on my 6.0 F250 when I was on the road. The service manager at the Ford dealership took me to the side when I picked the truck up and told me quietly, "if I were you I would get rid of that truck as fast as I could."

I took his advise and sold the truck within two weeks of getting home.

I had purchased the truck as a "factory buy back" and it had several repairs made by the factory. I figured that plus the extended warranty I got was a pretty good bet. Well, the extended warranty took care of the above repairs and I transferred that warranty to the new owner - still good for another 12 months - which probably was the item that closed the deal.

YMMV

[Bedlam]

Almost 93K miles on my 6.0 and still planning on keeping it. Unscheduled repairs have run less than $4000 after eight years and this truck has either pulled an 11k lb tow hauler, ran winter mountain passes or carries my current combination most of those miles.

Some vehicles are more problematic than others. Once you lose trust in its reliability or the costs get to the point you could upgrade, it's time to get rid of it and start over.

When I am ready to replace my truck, I am not brand loyal. The manufacturers will have fight for my dollars and I will expect them to deliver their best vehicle from which I will choose.

[MN_Ben]

I have the 2002 7.3PSD. Trade in your truck for another. Take your camper mods off and wash your hands of it.