6.0 liter Ford Diesel

[Old Forester]

I have a 2006 Ford F-350 with a 6.0 liter diesel.  It's been a great truck, only has 95,000 miles on it, use it to pull a 30' gooseneck trailer to haul tractor, equip, log, sawmill, ect, but I am concerned about the engine.  Have had a couple of problems with the engine, replaced cam sensor, and the EGR system once.  The reputation for this engine is not good and most mechanics say there are only 2 classes for this engine, either it has problems now or it will have problems soon.

No one wants the truck on a trade in, so will take a real beating if I try and sell it or trade it and I would like to keep it.  My question I could use some help with has anyone found a way to reliably fix this engine?  Is there a company of shop that has solved the problems with the 6.0 engine?  I would rater invest the money in this truck if I could be reasonably sure that the fix was a good investment and the truck would not turn into a money pit.

Any experience of suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[brendonv]

Coolant filter a must. Head studs. Seem to do good with the previous.

[thechknhwk]

http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/?gclid=CP_Aocy87b4CFXQiMgodLD8AQA

No first hand experience with this, but I've read about them quite a bit and consensus seems to be that they need an EGR delete and a head stud kit.  Take that for what it's worth.

[wwsjr]

I have a 2004 F350 with 6.0 diesel, 72,000 miles. Replaced turbo at 50K at a cost of about $3,000.00. I do not need it any more since I went with stationary sawmill and hope to sell sometime this summer. I am also interested in any known "fixes" and cost to do so. I may "take a beating" and let go at some price so the buyer can possibly afford to fix.

[thechknhwk]

I have a 2004 F350 with 6.0 diesel, 72,000 miles. Replaced turbo at 50K at a cost of about $3,000.00. I do not need it any more since I went with stationary sawmill and hope to sell sometime this summer. I am also interested in any known "fixes" and cost to do so. I may "take a beating" and let go at some price so the buyer can possibly afford to fix.

crew cab 4x4?

[wwsjr]

Crew cab 4X4, 9' flatbed with 4 toolboxes under bed. Lariat package. Auto trans.

[snowstorm]

i had 2 of them. traded 1 last fall for a new 6.7.  the first thing to do is delete the egr cooler. when it leaks the engine will burn coolant and that results in head gasket problems. the egr cooler failure isnt just a ford problem everybody has problems. be it cat cummins or detriot. i left the egr valve in place and it did not trip the check engine lite. filters buy ford or racor. racor builds them for ford. stay away from napa or any others. the ficm will need to be replaced at around a 100k miles. $600 for a programmed aftermarket  1k at the ford dealer. i bought a new turbo last winter it was $1400 i put it on. it was new not a reman. 3k seems like a lot to replace the turbo. they use a variable geometry turbo. if you dont really work the truck or beat on it the unison ring will stick in the turbo. then you get to buy a new one

[barbender]

Yep, all the manufacturershave had trouble with egr valves.

[PaYoungBuck]

Delete the egr. Put the new exhaust in it. Head studs with good gaskets. Arp sells a kit. Not a ford guy but a lot of my friends run them and I've turned enough wrenches. Look up warren diesel in guys mills pa. They are one of the top shops for fords in the country. They make every thing themselves and test on their own trucks. Their number is (814)853-0147

[CTL logger]

Google bulletproof 6.0 diesel thy have lots of ideas on making them reliable.

[Upnorth]

I had an '07 F250 with the 6.0 litre. It was ok at first till it hit 60,000 miles. Then it happened....transmission, head gaskets, paid the $1000 bucks for the good head bolts, even though the repair was on warranty, power steering pump, head gaskets again, then the lift pump went out making it nearly impossible to start. Once I got it going, it made a one way trip to the dealer. Came home with a new 250 with the 6.7. Love it. Incredible power, smooth, quiet. Like everything about it except the payments

In short, that P.O.S. 6 litre cost $20,000 in repairs in 5 months. Not kidding. It was cheaper to buy a new one. This wasn't some bush beater either, it was babied and I maintained it well.

Hope you all have better luck.

[JDeere]

Like Upnorth, I also had a nightmare 6.0 POS Ford Diesel. My breakdowns included 23 injectors, a turbo, transmission, head gasket, etc. etc.. I couldn't get rid of that truck fast enough. I told the salesmen when I traded it that the speedometer shows 34,000 miles but technically it only has 33,000 miles because a 1000 miles of it was behind a wrecker. I had the pleasure of being towed in 3 different states. I also told him, "don't sell this to any of your friends." In 2011 I bought a 6.7L Ford Diesel and so far (42,000 miles) it is the best truck I have ever owned.

[CTL logger]

Like Upnorth, I also had a nightmare 6.0  Ford Diesel. My breakdowns included 23 injectors, a turbo, transmission, head gasket, etc. etc.. I couldn't get rid of that truck fast enough. I told the salesmen when I traded it that the speedometer shows 34,000 miles but technically it only has 33,000 miles because a 1000 miles of it was behind a wrecker. I had the pleasure of being towed in 3 different states. I also told him, "don't sell this to any of your friends." In 2011 I bought a 6.7L Ford Diesel and so far (42,000 miles) it is the best truck I have ever owned.

I'm on my second 6.7 l my '11 had 160000 on it was thinking of keeping it but they had some good deals on '14 so I traded it. One of the best trucks I've ever had only went to dealer once for a NOx sensor and that was it.  I've got 27k on new one and so far so good. They've really improved these from the 6.0 days.

[Woodboogah]

I have an 05 F350 crew cab short bed.  I have deleted the EGR and replaced a turbo.  So far that is it.  THe truck has 127XXX miles and I cant really complain about it.  I have read all the horror stories.  Unfortunately nobody jumps online to write about how good their truck ran.  I think the shop mentioned above in PA is the same guy that has a youtube channel, he has a wealth of knowledge about 6.0 litres.  I know head studs are a downfall on these motors, I have not had to do mine yet.  I work my truck, i take care of it but I wouldn't say it babied. 

[justallan1]

The ranch I work for has 3 of them and they spend way to much time broke down. These trucks are pulling horse trailers and used as fire rigs in the summer, so they are getting used pretty good, but not any worse than others.
Personally, if they were mine, I'd take a loss on selling them. I think it would be cheaper in the long run and less headaches.

Allan

[scsmith42]

Yes, you can make them into a good, solid engine (I've had 3 and still have one with over 165K miles that spends 95% of it's time towing a 7000 lb trailer).  Little things like a cam sensor, etc will go bad with anything, so I would not use that experience as a negative against the engine.

The engines do not last well with an aftermarket tuner unless some modifications have been made.  Many of the problems that they encountered in the early years was due to tuners being added w/o any additional mods. 

From a durability standpoint, as others have mentioned there are two major improvements to make.  First, delete the EGR "Cooler".  You can keep the EGR valve, but when the cooler goes bad it can fill the cylinders with coolant, causing a hydro-lock and a very expensive repair.  It's best to totally get rid of it and thus the potential for a replacement engine.

Second, install high performance head studs and upgraded head gaskets. 

These two modifications will position this engine to go for 250-300k miles or more.  They will also allow you to install an aftermarket tuner (H&W makes a good one) to improve your towing and fuel mileage.  I would suggest staying away from the high performance tunes, but the towing ones are fine.

Re the turbo, these vehicles have a variable vane turbo and if you let them idle a lot the bushings for the vanes will carbon up, and the vanes will lock up - drastically impacting performance.  The latest ECM flash from Ford has a modification that causes the servo to cycle the vanes a bit at idle, which significantly reduces the problem.  It's a good idea to have it installed. You can reduce the frequency of the problem by not allowing the truck to idle a lot. 

You don't have to replace the turbo's when the vanes freeze up, but you will need to remove it and manually scrape the carbon off (I've done one of mine twice).  Cost for parts is around $50.00 for the gaskets and replacement studs / nuts.

A larger exhaust system (4" or larger) will help to improve performance, but won't have as much of an impact on longevity.  The aftermarket shops will try to sell you an intake and air filter setup, but this too won't impact durability much, just give you a few more HP.

An excellent source for advice and parts re these trucks is Rudy's Performance Diesel in Durham, NC.  There are other excellent shops around the country as well, but I can personally attest to the folks at Rudy's.

Sometimes around 150K miles you will need to replace the high pressure oil pump in the engine.

Without question the 6.4's and 6.7's are more durable than the 6.0's, but with the added emission equipment you potentially have more expensive repairs down the road. 

[brendonv]

The above mentioned but i was going to say that you cant let these new trucks idle. Run them, and get them hot. Everyone wants a diesel as a grocery getter, but spend all that time driving it like a station wagon and you will have issues.  All my diesels get ran, ran good. Not beaten on, but drive that thing!

[kiko]

The engine is currently out of my f250 , 288k with out major problems till the cam follower went out and wiped out the cam.  I have heard the horror stories , numerous injector failures , turbo ect.  When this repeated failures happen over and over it is because they were not repaired correctly.  The injection system is nothing more than a hydraulic system, IMO mechanics with no hydraulic experience have trouble wrapping there head around the issue of progressive damage. Repeat injector failure is not because of bad injector , it is because of air bubbles in the oil created on the suction side.  Hydraulic system will always fail when air is being introduced into the system.  Also an issue is containation,  after a high pressure oil pump failure the hydraulic system must be flushed and clean clean clean or contamination is introduced into the new parts such as injector causing them to fail again.  A scan theta shows a faulty injector does not mean that the injector is bad.  Leaks in the high pressure system can cause an injector or injectors to show low contribution. I love my 6 oh!. But that being said, if I had to pay someone to repair this truck every time I would probably feel differently.  IMO no other truck even compares to the ford as far durability and comfort so I will deal with the engine issues.

[Woodboogah]

SCSMITH hit it on the head IMO.  You can can get a tuner for these new diesels and add a lot of extra ponies.  Without any added mods something is going to break.  I believe most of the horror stories are because of this.  Get a new coolant cap too!

[Old Forester]

Thanks for all of the input and information.  It looks like if I want to keep my truck, I had better be getting some work done on it.  Really appreciate all of you information.

[OneWithWood]

I hope I don't jinx my truck but I have 146,000+ on my '05 F350 single cab very stock truck.  Pull a 10 ton log trailer on occasion and haul a 300 gallon tote full of glycerin a few times a year (that is approx. 2540#).  I did have to replace some end cap seals on the fuel rails at about 25,000 but other than that the truck has been the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned.  I run B100 from about mid-Feb through mid-December with lessening blends culminating in 100% petro diesel during the sub zero days of late Jan early Feb.  This is in a truck that everyone said would not be able to run bio-diesel.

[shinnlinger]

I was talking to a former ford/ih  diesel mech today.   He said all the way back to the 6.9 days some motors were solid workhorses and some were nothing but problems. 

[UN Hooker]

Yeah, I had one of them 6.9s in my "84",finally got sick of it and fixed it permantlly.
  It now has 500K on it and is running great - still gets 20+ mpg instead of the 11 the 6.9 got.


 

[br389]

I know my old man had a 2005 f350 and a guy he worked with had one as well and other then the common ware and tare tire, brakes, etc. they had to replace the egr but my dad's truck had 315,000 miles on it when he traded it in and the guy he worked with had 385,000 and is now being used as a site truck