Anyone have the 6.0 Powerstroke?

[SledheadPaul]

Who has this truck? Are they as bad as I hear? I am getting the itch to get into a newer rig, but I am not seeing any 7.3's that are the model/ shape that intrests me. I am seeing a lot of the newer ones just wish they had the 7.3. Most everyone I have spoke to says do not go 6.0. How say you?

 

[mountaincat68papa]

I have a 05 6.0 , with 45000 on it. It has been trouble free so far, knock on wood. I like it, tows awesome, mileage 15- 16 unloaded, 9 to 10 towing a 27 foot enclosed. Which i guess is not so bad. Reading the ford truck enthuasits forum and there are 6.0s with a lot of miles on them with no trouble never been to a shop. Then there are those that are night mares , heads, turbos, injectors, etc. lot of money to fix. I don't think the 6.0 takes to mods well, likes to blow head gaskets. So I guess the bottom line is some are good some are not so good.

 

[BRUSHMASTER]

I have an 04 6.0L with 130,000 miles on it. It has had its problems. But who is to say that the only diesel motor out the that has problems is the ford 6.0, they all have their problems. I can say with my truck that I have had to replace the head gaskets at about 70,000, but put in ARP head studs and haven't had a problem since. The dealer replaced EGR cooler and EGR valve but was under warranty. Also had to replace injectors at about 115,000 miles but put in larger injectors. Also a new FICM module, ever since I made all these improvements it is my favorite truck ever, I hope that it never wares out and have to trade her off. Hope this dosnt scare you away from buying a 6.0 but from day one my truck has had some type of programmer on it, and may have been the cause of my problems. But remember that you are buying somthing mechanical and mechanical things wear out and break. Good Luck

 

[modsledr]

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums (500,000+ members)...

here's a link to the 6.0 section: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum107/

I have an 04 with the 6.0...No issues for 100k...but after 100,000 miles when the warranty ended I've put $10k+ into the engine.
*EGR cooler twice. once at 101k, once at 130k.
*Head Gaskets (as a result of the first EGR cooler...it blows and fills the cylinders with coolant creating a hydro lock situation).
*Replace Turbo at 140k.
*All 8 injectors at 130k.
*High Pressure Oil Pump at 160k.

I'm not brand loyal at all...I really like the Ford Truck, but their diesels have some serious shortcomings (inlcuding the 7.3...plus the tranny behind the 7.3 is built like a tin can). Because of the type of injector Ford uses, you have to change your oil religously (larger injectors doesn't change the problem). EGR cooler is a SERIOUS weak link. Head bolts are a weak link. High Pressure Oil Pump is a weak link.

Cummins diesel is probably the most reliable and can handle the mods, but Dodge put it in front of a cr@ppy transmission until recently.

Duramax and Allison is a reliable combo, but the GM truck product leaves a lot to be desired...and they are the most expensive.

 

[burf91]

6.0

6.0 have had there fair share of trouble,like all stated before..injectors,egr coolers/valves, head gaskets and high pressure oil pump/fitting concerns...but beyond that the bottom end is bullit proof..I work for Ford as a tech and have stayed busy..lol...In all honesty though, if you can get one and can buy it right to afford to do a few things too it,you will love it..We have many customers come in and say do what you have to do to make it strong..Start by installing arp head studs, delete egr cooler, replace all high pressure orings and fittings,, and last of all simple fix to extend your fuel injector life is to remove the fuel pressure regulator spring in the secondary fuel bowl,stetch the spring out a little( which allows higher fuel pressure), and you will have a truck that will last a while..I know this sounds like alot,but if you purchase it right, remove the cab and do everything at once, you will be good to go..I have bought a few trucks needing head gaskets, did all of this and sold these trucks to friends and have never been concern of selling a piece of sh.t to a buddy..Good luck with what ever you get..as long as it gets you to the mountains!!

 

[dfinn]

No personal experience (i own a 7.3) but my mechanic, who is a very well known and respected tuner said to stay far away from the 6.0.

 

[1badcowboy]

i had a 06 6.0 powerstroke and it was always giving me probs. the 2 best days of my life was the day i got it and the day i sold it. i now have a 2009 duramax with a ppe tuner 5in exhaust and cold air intake and it runs and pulls like a champ

 

[SledheadPaul]

6.0 have had there fair share of trouble,like all stated before..injectors,egr coolers/valves, head gaskets and high pressure oil pump/fitting concerns...but beyond that the bottom end is bullit proof..I work for Ford as a tech and have stayed busy..lol...In all honesty though, if you can get one and can buy it right to afford to do a few things too it,you will love it..We have many customers come in and say do what you have to do to make it strong..Start by installing arp head studs, delete egr cooler, replace all high pressure orings and fittings,, and last of all simple fix to extend your fuel injector life is to remove the fuel pressure regulator spring in the secondary fuel bowl,stetch the spring out a little( which allows higher fuel pressure), and you will have a truck that will last a while..I know this sounds like alot,but if you purchase it right, remove the cab and do everything at once, you will be good to go..I have bought a few trucks needing head gaskets, did all of this and sold these trucks to friends and have never been concern of selling a piece of sh.t to a buddy..Good luck with what ever you get..as long as it gets you to the mountains!!

Hey thanks for that info. It just doesn't sit well with me that a 4 or 5 yr old rig should need all of this and exactly what I do not want to get into after spending 20K. I am going to guess the above mentioned work/ prevention is running on the better side of $4,000.00 ???

 

[coolx2]

I have an 07 6.0 all stock,and knock on wood have had zero issues. Just turned 80,000on the odometer. I use this truck all year towing 7000 plus pounds on weekends in the summer and hauling sleds and plowing snow all winter. I'm not looking forward to some of the issues that have been discussed. before this truck I had a 7.3 with 170,000 before I started haveing electrical issues. But I would still rather have ethier the 6.0 or 7.3 compared to the new trucks.

 

[modsledr]

I have an 07 6.0 all stock,and knock on wood have had zero issues. Just turned 80,000on the odometer. I use this truck all year towing 7000 plus pounds on weekends in the summer and hauling sleds and plowing snow all winter. I'm not looking forward to some of the issues that have been discussed. before this truck I had a 7.3 with 170,000 before I started haveing electrical issues. But I would still rather have ethier the 6.0 or 7.3 compared to the new trucks.

If I could go back in time to 100k, I would get an extended warranty (I think they run about $3k)...

 

[sibola]

Look for a 6.3 all of the above isuses have been addressed in one way or another from the factory. Or better yet if you can hold on for another 2 years. There will be used 2011 on the market. Awesome truck and I think the new powerstroke will be just has good as the 7.3 or better. There new tranny will be the question mark.

 

[sledfreak89]

If you like the look of the 05's but want the 7.3 just buy a 99-2003 7.3 and put the grill update http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005...&ps=63&clkid=9124837734309205491#ht_500wt_956 and it will look identical. Thats what im doing. You can even put the new 08 tailgate if you wanted to get real fancy...

 

[Surly1]

The 6.0 has its issues, and there are things you can do to make it strong. Most of these things have been stated earlier, but they are as follows:
- ARP Headstuds
- EGR Delete (or aftermarket EGR Cooler) - your call on this one the EGR delete will not pass emissions tests
- Oil Cooler (this is why the EGR cooler blows on the 6.0)
- High Pressure Oil Pump and fittings
Overall, all the diesels have their issues, depending on what you want and what you want to do to it. If you are going to leave it stock and drive it, the 6.0 is a good truck, just make sure you buy it correctly and have some money left over to fix what needs to be done (if it hasn't been done already).

As stated above, if it is just the front end styling you are after it is an easy swap. I have personally gone back to the 7.3 in a 2003 model (I have had a 6.0 and a 6.4, and contemplating a new 6.7), and put on the complete '05 front (next up replacing the front leafs with the '05 coils). Once again this will cost you some money, but it does look a little better, imo. The beauty of the Superduties is that alot of the newer parts can be retrofitted to the older trucks (ie. '08 tailgate and taillamps, but wait til you see the price on a '08 tailgate).

 

[Transporter]

Does ford have an update for the headstuds or do they just put the crap ones back in if they do headgaskets. Reason I ask is because I had some trouble with that stuff and they when I went to pick it up they said they replaced headgaskets and I never had a chance to tell them to use the ARP's.

 

[jthussey]

They will use the tork-yield bolts (the crappy ones). Its really a sad thing that they will keep using those bolts.

 

[dmkhnr]

Dad has an 06 6.0 with 80k on the clock and it was trouble free for the first 67,000 miles. Last 13,000 it has had $30k in warranty work and just isn't reliable anymore. He's got it for sale but everybody knows to stay away from these trucks and if the price isn't low then nobody's buying it.
Everybody that advertises them for sale says that they have had no problem with their truck but there's a reason why they have a bad rap.

I've got a bone stock 7.3 with 80k on it and in absolute pristine condition. No lift, aftermarket wheels, but stock tires. It's the next best thing to driving a brand new one off the lot. I want $20k for it (don't really care what bluebook says). Buy a new one for $55k or buy a bulletproof low mileage 7.3 in new condition for $20k.

 

[Summitseeker]

I traded my 05 6.0 in on a new Duramax Silverado last fall. The 6.0 was good until just over 120,000 KM and then there were endless repairs to the motor, head gasket 3 times, EGR Valve twice, EGR Cooler 3 times, Fuel Injection Control Module twice, all eight injectors and the list goes on. The warranty expired at 160,000K so I traded it when it hit 159,900. There was over 40G worth of mechanical repairs in 40,000 KM and I could not continue to drive the POS truck without a warranty. Not to mention that the truck was in the shop almost every few weeks. Even the cab mounts wore out from the stealership have the cab off so many times doing repairs. Ford even told me that if they had to realize how much they were going to dump into it they would have bought it back or gave me a new one.

Word of advice! Stay away from the 6.0 after it gets higher mileage on it! I had a 7.3 with 260K on it when I traded it for the 6.0 and it was flawless.

Now that I drive the smooth and powerful Dmax.....I could not see me going back to a Ford until at least the new 6.7L Powerstroke has a few "proven" years behind it.