Not for me, but FIL just picked one up for very reasonable money. 221k on the clock.
Anything to look for? Known issues? Known fixes?
It'll be pulling a 14' open trailer and a 20' enclosed, and on rare occasions a 5th wheel camper. None frequently. And he goes slow.
*edit. He just informed me he plans to put a part time CNG conversion. I don't know why he's so enthralled with the stuff. It's hard on diesels or so I hear. Should I try to steer him away from that?
Super loaded questions. So much could go wrong with them. And some are seemingly problem free. There are people who hate them and consider them the worst domestic diesel engine though the 6.4 powerstroke is even worse in my opinion.
What year is it?
The later (06-07) ones are way more reliable than the earlier engines. I miss my 2006 F250 everyday.
In reply to yupididit :
2003. I don't know use history or service.
I'm not an expert but at that mileage I'm pretty sure either all of the issues have already been addressed or it's going to blow up tomorrow.
I know people call them PowerSmoke sometimes and that's pretty funny.
If it has a tuner, walk away. If it doesn't have a very detailed service history, walk away. If it is on its first set of head gaskets, walk away.
The 6.0 is a very good engine that was ruined by Ford not being honest with International about what emissions tier it would be used in. They have a lot of issues in light duty pickup truck because of the emissions equipment. I learned to drive in my dad's 05 F250 with a 6.0, I love the power and response they 6.0 and VGT turbo have but they have a lot of issues. Any major engine issues is a body off the frame service.
Look up on the internet "How to bulletproof a Ford 6.0 Powerstroke diesel". They have a lot of well known issues, but they all have known solutions.
My old 2003 currently has 350k miles, its never been touched. I ran it to 100k, and sold it to a friend who still uses it. Original head bolts, head gaskets, injectors etc. Plenty of "experts" who say you MUST do X, Y, and Z, but maybe just leaving it alone works too :)
In reply to Steve_Jones :
My F250 was completely stock as well. Minus and upgraded oil cooler. I was the second owner and the original owners had service records. Other than some minor warranty work between 20k-30k miles it was fairly trouble free. At 60k it had an oil cooler issue which they replace with an aftermarket unit. From there it only had routine maintenance done. In my ownership it needed a FICM at 202k miles. Was stolen from me at 220k miles. I had 80k of trouble free driving and towing from it. I bought that truck for $15k and insurance hand me $22k for it. Never could find another one that was that clean with meticulous maintenance.
I got mine as a retired fleet truck. It was on its 3rd egr cooler when I got it. I had four cracked, but working, pistons when I sold it. 358k
In reply to yupididit :
Damn that was a good looking truck. The one photo I've seen of this one is not clean. Also the hood struts have left the chat.
Seems like it should be ok as long as it hasn't been abused or monkeyed with. I'll see if I can swing by Monday and get a closer look.
I've owned mine for nearly 11 years now. It has never left me stranded, problems yes, but never ever stranded. This includes a radiator hose failure dumping all the fluid out on the interstate doing 75mph at 2am. Parts store delivery guy showed up around 9am with fluid and hose...away I went.
Just delete the EGR cooler if it hasn't been/when it goes. This has been my biggest and repeat problem. If you're in an inspection location then weld the exhaust inlet/outlet up solid with plugs and leave everything hooked up. This eliminates the EGR flow/ isolates the coolant leak and no check engine light.
At mileage over 200K the heads get worn out. If it needs major work in the future just replace them. The guides will be shot and it's not worth rebuilding vs new heads. And Studs....absolutely do ARP studs if its apart that far
They need to worked/run hard to keep clean. "Drive it like a pissed off teenager once a week" - quote from Ford engineer at AERA tech conference
Let the damn thing warm up a min or two. Do not just fire it up and drive. Like all engines cold is the most wear/damage causing. I have 265K with the stock turbo....some people replace turbos every 50-100K
I would steer him clear of CNG. No real benefits other than particulate emissions (which I applaud) but added complexity and added failures for not much gain anywhere else.
We used to call the 6.0L the six-point-oh-no when I worked for Ford. They have known issues, but chances are at 221k they've either been fixed or they'll be fine. The EGR cooler likes to die as does the oil cooler. The frustrating part about those is that they're a royal pain to access and expensive to replace. I agree with deleting them. Most of them have head gasket issues. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but in order to get the heads off you have to remove the entire cab from the frame. Always do upgraded studs on the heads. Factory ones were weak enough that the slight overheating you can get from the EGR cooler being clogged can cause them to fail.
Just take it one day at a time. You might get another 200k out of it. Just be aware of things. If you get any white smoke out the tailpipe, it's the EGR cooler. Don't continue driving it, and don't let it sit for a couple months while you contemplate fixing it. You're introducing coolant into the intake and it doesn't take long for stuff to rust. Pay attention to the oil. If you get the slightest bit of milkshake, it's the oil cooler and the same thing applies. Don't drive it and don't dally getting it fixed or you'll be replacing an HPOP along with the cooler
But trust one thing... if you have one of the failures, fix it ALL at the same time. That's why we call it bulletproofing. You don't want to pull the body off to replace head gaskets only to re-use the same oil cooler, EGR cooler, and EGR valve. Do it all and save yourself the trouble of having to do the labor multiple times.
I will also slightly disagree with RaceTruckRon about the tuner. If you go wild with fueling and injection timing on a 6.0L you can cause cylinder pressures that will stretch the head bolts and cause head gasket failure. As long as your head gasket isn't leaking, a tuner doesn't hurt a thing. The 6.0L is actually one of the go-to blocks for race diesel builds like pulls and drags. Once you get decent head clamping, they are a remarkably strong longblock.... as in over 1000 hp and nearly 2000 lb-ft before things start breaking. My neighbor at the farm has a 6.0L putting out 650hp and 1020 lb-ft to the wheels on a bulletproofed 250k 6.0L. He likes to tease me about having "only" 938 lb-ft in my Dmax, so I have to remind him that my 3/4 ton SRW will spank his long bed dually anyway because his is 800 lbs heavier.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
It looks to already been smashed
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
Looks worthy, but could be a money pit given how much it's smacked up. 5R110 trans is likely on its last legs, so prepare for $4000 fix soon.
Odd that it has the 6.0L and not the 7.3L. 6.0L didn't come out until April 03 and that one was made in January.
You'll need to log in to post.
