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6.0 EZ Questions

toyotajeep

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2020
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Oregon
So my coworker used to own a bunch of 6.0 Fords. He has an 03 and it is stock as a rock and was parked because he had way too many cars. It is a left over from a previous business and he hates selling stuff. Nothing wrong with it, stock. It has been sitting for a long time but he drove it a few months ago for a day or two. I think it has about 125K on it. He has other 6.0s that have given him trouble in the past and is not mechanical.

He is basically wanting to pretty much give me a real good deal on it.

My question is are they as bad as everyone says they are? I am a lifetime Cummins guy and own two. One is a lifetime keeper (virgin 89 with right at 100K).

Looking for a budget wood hauler, weekend light-duty trailer tower.

I don't mind spending a some time and a few bucks, but I don't want to enter an unhealthy vehicular relationship. Minimal interest in mods, just want reliable.

A greasy weekend or two and say 4-700 bucks cure at least some of the issues? I did own a 2000 7.3 for a year and enjoyed it alot.

Thanks for your thoughts.

If I need to run fast, LMK I have some running shoes around here somewhere.......:grinpimp:
 
I'd buy one if it was real cheap, like cheaper than a comparable 5.4 cheap. 400-700 bucks will cover having it towed home a couple times when it shits something bad enough to not run. I like 6.0's when they're running but they can eat a guy alive if you have to pay to have it worked on. It'll feel like a fucking rocket ship compared to your stock 12 valve.

400-700 won't buy you a set of good injectors or an HPOP when the time comes. It'll cover an oil cooler though. The early trucks are a **** to air check the high pressure oil on compared to 04+ and they're still leaf sprung with the smaller front axle.
 
OK thank you. I have been reading more, I don' t mind a few preventative driveway mods. Cleaning out the EGR that kind of thing. I am quite mechanically inclined, which is why I have zero desire to do head gaskets etc.

Comparing my 7.3 to my first gen was pretty much night and day. My 24V and it were closer.

What are the minimum changes or preventative stuff a person should do to keep it alive for another 30-40K? Obviously a full fund change, likely look into the blue spring upgrade.

I am guessing that I could get into this thing about half the cost of a comparable Cummins.
 
Coolant filter helps, and get a monitor of some kind like a CTS3 so you can watch your oil and coolant temperatures. I'm sure in the current state of things you can't get tunes to delete them anymore but if you can find a way to get rid of the EGR it's worthwhile on any diesel IMO.
 
With the 6.0 you just never know. That is the thing, there are plenty out there running 500k and little to no trouble.

Then there are those that need towed home at least once a year.

Being towed home isn't so bad, problem is it seems like everything you do to it is $2k $5k or $10k.

In my experience there was no warning.

Walk out from the bank one day. No start. HPOP

Walk out to go to work one day. No start, FICM

Changed oil when I brought it home after buying and no start. LPOP no priming.

Right after I bought it the oil cooler went out. Bought all ford parts. It lasted 13 months. So I converted it from coolant to air cooling.

Couple oil changes later, upon start up it had a miss. Bad injector. No warning.

EGR cooler started leaking so I deleted it.

I think I put 3 injectors in it. Oh and had to clean and unstick the turbo once.

2 transmissions. 2nd under warranty.

It was a 2004 F350. Bought it with 72k miles, sold it 2 years later with 110k miles.

Probably forgotten some stuff in there too. Like ball joints and wheel bearings. It would eat wheel bearings like candy with stock tires.

I wanted to love it. But in the end gave up and bought a gas dodge pickup.
 
Geez. I live with a 24V Cummins that I drive basically daily. I am aware of the VP44 stories but they at least give you some warning (usually) or will get you off the road. Not trouble free at all compared to others but it doesn't sound nearly as exciting as a 6.0. Every time you leave the house you wonder if you are going to make it back :grinpimp:
 
It's amazing how these things have such a cult following and suck that much.

I don't think modern diesel and budget driver are in the same category.
 
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It could be a great trouble free truck. Have a friend that had an 03 extended cab long bed and never had it on a tow truck. My BIL just put injectors in his for $4100 bucks.

I skipped 6.0’s for other problematic stuff and I’m the fordest ford guy around here.
 
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My 6.0 has weighed 15,000lbs since 2004 and it's still chugging along perfectly.

If you buy it, replace the oil cooler.
 
I really liked my 05 Dully 6.0, tons of power.

I had not one issue out of it.

Ultimately I sold it as I could not take reading about the 6.0 problems so much and did not want to deal with having an expensive issue.
 
The guy was a Ford guy back when he had a large business and bought something like 6 of these. He bought them all close together and eventually got rid of several. He still has three. One ate a turbo or something, IDK and it was 5k to repair. Primo truck, dually crew cab. It is fixed, but he is basically afraid to drive it even though it has been pretty trouble free for the most part. The other has been to two different shops and he has spent somewhere around 4-5K on injectors and other stuff. Still broken. He hates that one.

He himself has told me that he hates them LOL and his dad was a huge car guy and laughed at him for buying so many.

I can't comprehend spending 5k on a repair. I never have had a car at a shop. I either drive new enough or so old that I can fix it easily.

Maybe buy the thing, drive it around the yard for a few days and make sure it is ok and trade it off LOL.

I like the concept of the looks, power and all that. I liked my 2000 alot. Zero time place or energy to be putting head gaskets on in the winter.
 
If you can't do 5k in repairs, diesel trucks aren't for you. They're great work horses for making money. If you're not making money with them, they're not worth owning.

For common repairs on a 6.0 l, there are a few. Turbos on a 6.0 last 100-150k miles and take like 2 hours tops to swap. Pretty cheap repair honestly.The oil coolers are the biggest issue. They plug up with junk. You need to replace this when you buy the truck. Plugged oil coolers cause a lot of other issues. Head gaskets are either good or bad from the factory in my opinion. Early on there were a lot of issues, but the trucks are so old now that if it's not blown yet, it's probably good. Plus it only goes out once. Mill the heads like you would for any engine that's apart, and add studs. It will never happen again. Cummins and duramax have just as many hg issues. Most of the bad opinions of the 6.0 is people not maintaining them or not knowing how to diagnose simple heui issues.
 
Tryloff said:
most of the bad opinions of the 6.0 is people not maintaining them or not knowing how to diagnose simple heui issues.
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And from not stopping immediately when something is wrong. Trying to make it to the next exit or make it home when it starts shuddering is responsible for a lot of broken pistons. The injector issue on a high compression diesel doesn’t leave wiggle room. You gotta have the wherewithal to kill it asap if the engine light starts flashing, or it’s shaking, or smoke of any color starts pouring out of the tail pipe
 
Cracked or melted pistons are a real thing. As well as fuel system glitter parties.
 
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For best results I hear you should run your mouth about how it tows shit up a mountain at 80 all day. :flipoff2:
 
arse_sidewards said:
For best results I hear you should run your mouth about how it tows shit up a mountain at 80 all day. :flipoff2:
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I mean… it’s true. Till it does that
IMG_6633.jpeg
 
510k miles on the odometer. I love this truck and I hate the motherfucker at the same time! I’ve learned pretty much everything on it I can smell something failing. I see prices of truck these days then I love my 6.0 again. When the AAA guy knows you already I have the mofo!
 
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