2003-2004 6.0 Ford Diesels

[Harbor_hunter]

A friend of mine is looking at buying a used truck, likes Fords in this year range and price range.  Curious what people's opinions and experience are with 6.0 Fords in this year range.   I know early 6.0's have gotten a bad rap, fairly regularly it seems. But you hear others who have had no issues regularly as well.  I have an 07 6.0, with 120,000 miles and it has been a great truck and no engine issues, but I cannot speak to early 6.0's.  Does anyone have any input?  Things to look for in trucks of this year range?

 

[tritt007]

I have an 03 with 253xxx miles on it . Not studded . Just has egr delete and has had the oil cooler replaced and some other random mantinence. Great truck until the injectors recently started to go out . I think his best bet would be to find a later model 6.0 that has been bulletproofed with receipts and was more of a grampa truck . Not a punk kids diesel truck he just rodded around town and definitely stay away from trucks owned by people who log or have logged or work construction or rock quarries such as myself haha . Other than that I don't think they are bad trucks .and they are usually fairly cheaper than other model trucks so spring for the lariat package and all the works when looking for one . I'll never go back to cloth unheated seats
 

[JWEBB]

I have an 04 with 150k. All bone stock. Never any problems. Yeah if your constantly pulling 12k and hammering it your gonna have problems and I wouldn’t recommend this truck if that’s the way you drive. Otherwise they aren’t as bad as most say. I won’t give up my 6.0 anytime soon. Tons of power and the gas mileage is phenomenal

[Smokepole]

My 2005 has 190,000 miles on it, and has been dependable.  Had the oil cooler replaced and egr deleted.  Haven't had any problems with the head gaskets.  Original injectors.  Haven't done much else except change fluids, and drive it.

They say, "Drive it like you stole it", which I do from time to time.  Mostly, I don't push the truck too hard.  Hoping to get at least 500,000 on it before I need a new one.  One thing that really helps is a digital monitor mounted to the dash.  I have an Edge CS2.  You can set high-temp alarms and generally keep track of everything from ficm volts to oil temp.  Really helps you get to know these engines, since they don't have much for gauges.   

[bear]

Had an ‘06. Best truck I ever owned. Put an off road exhaust and an air intake on it early. Had the egr go out but under warranty. Deleted the egr at 90,000. Finally ended up selling it at about 120,000 cause I was afraid it was gonna give me trouble. Loved the way that truck drove though. Switched over to a Dirtymax.

[h2ofowlr]

I have a 2003 6.0 with 111,000 miles.  No issues so far.

[dyhardhuntr]

I have an 04 with 185k on it. I’ve done most of the normal stuff that goes out: oil cooler, egr cooler and such. If I keep it I’m going to have to do injectors as I’m having stiction issues but nothing I didn’t know when I got the truck. The 6.0 gets a lot of flack but it’s a great motor once the issues are fixed. You can probably find one that’s already had most of the work done for a good price. Also like others mentioned get some sort of monitoring system where you can see ficm voltage, oil temp, coolant temp and exhaust temp. I love my truck but the wife hates it because it’s too big for her to drive. Also if you find one for a good price you could bulletproof the motor and be good to go for years.


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[baker5150]

Owner of my company had one.  Did the head gaskets, turbo, studs, etc at about 90k.  Then blew the head gasket again at 174k.
No aftermarket chips or anything, and rarely towed with it.  Un real.

If he likes these model Fords just get one in a 7.3 and drive it for 500k. 

[95powersmoker]

Just ask your friend if he is a gambler. That or budget for repairs on those years of truck. I am a Ford Powerstroke guy through and through. I had many 7.3's, still have one even, but I skipped the 6.0 and 6.4 and recently bought a 6.7.

[Special T]

Imo there are 2 really bad design features on the 6.0L. The oil filter relocation is a must. Filtering oil depends upon 2 plastic tabs that go through a bunch of heat and cool cycles that can prevent filtering. $5 in parts can destroy a motor.
The 2nd is the oil cooler. The temp from your radiator will never be less than 190 so how much cooling do you think you will get from this matrix of cool and and oil? Probably works good in mild climates but not anyplace it gets hot.

The bullet proof products are the only way to stay legal for a commercial vehicle and fix the problems.

I've been told a big reason for turbo failure is the ease at which you can overheat the oil... and if it's not filtering correctly that doesnt help either.

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[Blacktail135]

 If bone stock, get one with a round EGR cooler. Run away, fast, if it has the square EGR cooler. From my research, 2003's and some early 2004's had the round EGR coolers. My 2003 does. Keep the oil clean (injectors will love ya' for it). Don't back in to a big rock with the tailpipe. It'll push the exhaust system over in to the driveline and make a heck of a noise when the driveline starts turning again. Then you have to get on the muddy ground under truck and bend it back away with you're feet.  Mines a early 2003, 95,000, bone stock (except tires/wheels).

[jackelope]

Any 6.0 from '03-07 can have EGR cooler issues. They don't all fail though either. The problem is when they do fail, they're expensive as hell to fix correctly. By fix correctly I mean replace the cooler, replace the oil cooler and do all the stuff with it while it's apart.
Head gaskets seem to not fail very commonly at all. I've always been told that if you're going to run a tune and allow the turbo to make more boost, there's no need to put head studs in it. If the head gaskets do blow, put ARP head studs in it while it's apart but don't bother unless it's apart.
Don't forget about FICM's failing on them too. They're not cheap either and they fail frequently.

We've done all of this stuff to 2 customer's trucks here that I can think of. Granted these folks have $$ and didn't mind spending it...it's not cheap. Really nice quality stuff and no issues installing any of it.

https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/BPD-heavy-duty-engine-oil-cooler-6-0L-upgrade-kit-p/bpd-eoc-bpof-heavy-duty.htm

https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/bulletproof-EGR-undelete-kit-ford-6-0L-diesel-p/bulletproof-egr-undelete.htm

https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/BPD-ford-6-0L-complete-FICM-p/bpdficmupgrade_complete.htm

[C-Money]

Just dropped of a 06 with the 6.0 work rig at the shop this morning. Its been a real challenge to keep that thing on the road for any length of time without going in for repairs. For me on the 6.0...NO WAY! I know folks have had some good success with the 6.0, but I really have not, and I've been around a few of them. All have ended up costing a lot of $$ to keep running. I bought a F350 with the V-10 when I needed a new pickup. I wanted another diesel to replace my trusty 6.9, but did not want to go 6.0, so gladly chose a V-10. 10 years of regular maintenance, and zero issues. Glad I went with the V-10 and not a 6.0.  Hope your friend finds a great deal that fits his/her needs.

[Special T]

Just dropped of a 06 with the 6.0 work rig at the shop this morning. Its been a real challenge to keep that thing on the road for any length of time without going in for repairs. For me on the 6.0...NO WAY! I know folks have had some good success with the 6.0, but I really have not, and I've been around a few of them. All have ended up costing a lot of $$ to keep running. I bought a F350 with the V-10 when I needed a new pickup. I wanted a diesel, but did not want to go 6.0, so gladly chose a V-10. 10 years of regular maintenance, and zero issues. Glad I went with the V-10 and not a 6.0.  Hope your friend finds a great deal that fits his/her needs.

Imo the smart $ for a new rig is a gas one nowadays.

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[jackelope]

Also...


[/Rethinking the EGR Delete - What you need to know

The EGR delete has long been described as a solution to every 6.0L problem. Have a problem? Just delete it! If only life were that simple. Have you ever thought to consider WHY the EGR cooler fails? We did, and we know the answer. Do you?
b]

https://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/Articles.asp?ID=368