I posted this on the Excursion Forum last night and have only had one reply. I thought maybe I could get some more info on this forum:

I currently have an 2003 V10 with 4.30 gearing. and 140,000 miles. I tow a 10,500 lb loaded travel trailer with the X. Son was in a car accident this week and I have an idea the adjuster may call the vehicle totaled. In anticipation of this, I have started looking for another X with the V10 and 4.30 gears. They are hard to find. My dad has a neighbor who is going to be selling his 2004 Limited that has the 6.0 Diesel. the truck has 200,000 miles on it. He has taken very good care of it and the interior is immaculate. He thought he was going to want $8,500- $9,000 which seems to be a bit below book value. I have heard numerous horror stories on the 6.0. However, I also read where it seems if they have not had problems at 125,000 mark, it may be a good motor that will run many miles. Am I crazy to even be considering a 6.0? The owner told me the vehicle has been used to haul kids to sporting events and has towed an enclosed snowmobile trailer a few times. No real heavy towing. He has kept up on maintenance and seemed very honest. He pointed out every little flaw when I talked to him on the phone. I had asked if he experienced any issues with the cruise, radio or windows to which he told me no. He then called me back 10 minutes later and said he had egg on his face as his wife told him that occasionally, when using the steering wheel controls, the volume would go up when trying to change the station. Not a big deal to me and made me feel even better about his honestly.

Am I nuts for considering a 6.0 or does this sound like something that may be worth looking at?

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset"> Originally Posted by Jesser02EX
Like all of these trucks, if they are cared for and not abused, they will run good and long. Ask in the 6.0 forum, but check the build date to see if it's and early '04 (2003 motor) or a late '04.

Get a scan tool and watch the difference between coolant temp and oil temp. If you don't know diesels and especially the 6.0, find an honest shop and pay them to check out the rig for you. Just because it looks great, doesn't mean it was treated great.

I'm a 7.3 guy, but a well cared for 6.0 would be worth an evaluation. Get a bright flashlight and look all over the truck from the top down.

The price is good if it's not a rust bucket and the head gaskets aren't blown. Plan to have some maintenance... It will happen and if you can't do the work yourself, it'll cost you. That's life with any truck, but diesels cost more because people are scared of them.

Give it and honest evaluation!
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It's a late model 04. Owner made sure he pointed this out to me and told me the later models much less issues. No rust except some minor bumper rust and some surface rust on roof. Not sure why it is rusting there. He said he had a body shop fix it 4 years ago and it started to return.
I'm very confident the owner is being honest with me on the vehicles treatment. He owns a construction company and has told me stories he has had with some of his earlier 6.0's. He has never chipped it.

He has replaced the ball joints, shocks, and tie rods in the last 10,000 mile.

Also had transfer case serviced, FICM 2013, fuel pump 2015, fuel IPR (injector pressure regulator) and IPC (injector control pressure) sensor, EGR valve, fuel pump November 2014.

As I am not a diesel guy, most of this means nothing to me.

I guess I am wondering if I am better off continuing to search for a V10 with 4.30's or should I consider this. I am not very mechanical and have heard it can be 4,000 plus to bullet proof these engines. However, if it has 200,000 and has not been modified, is there any need to do anything to the engine. I often hear diesel owners say the truck is just getting broke in at 150,000-200,00 miles???

 

If it is well maintained should help alot for the health of the motor.

I wouldn't shy away from it myself, but a HUGE part of the equation is the health of certain known weak points on the 6.0.

Ask the owner if it has head studs or the stock head bolts. Have his show you a head stud if he says it has them.
Ask him if it has an EGR delete, stock EGR cooler or a bulletproof EGR cooler.
Ask if he's ever changed out the oil cooler at some point.
After the vehicle has fully warmed up, take the oil fill cap off while it is running to check for blow-by. You should see very little to none on a healthy 6.0.

Does the truck/suv have any signs of "puking" from the degas bottle?
What color coolant is in it? Green is not good. Gold or red is good.

BRING SOME KIND OF DEVICE TO MEASURE CERTAIN VALUES:
A bluetooth adaptor with the torque pro app is good. I use a scanguage 2 myself (when I'm not using my programmer that has gauges)

Check oil vs coolant temps after a 20-30 run at 65mph after it has been warmed up. You want to see the oil at no more than 15 degrees higher than the coolant. 12 or less is preferred. This is to check for a clogging oil cooler.

Check FICM voltage on a cold start and while running. You want to see no less than 46v at any time.

Check battery voltage about a minute after it's been running and make sure it's over 13v. It should read around 11.5-12.3v for about a minute after first starting it.

Check the IPR value (also called ICP duty cycle when at full operating temp at idle in park. You want to see .21-.23 with all the accessories turned off.

Monitor turbo boost on WOT at highway speeds. It shouldn't read less than 20psi and ideally, get up to 26-28psi.

Run it hard after it fully warms up and check any puking from the degas bottle afterward. Puking indicates EGR cooler problems or head gaskets.

Make sure you are able to hear it cold start without the block heater plugged in. It shouldn't have to crank for more than a few seconds and should sound smooth when dead cold. If it sounds like it doesn't fire on all cylinders cold, but smooths out when running, that is classic stiction. It means injectors aren't too healthy.

The transmission is very solid on these, so as long as the trans fluid isn't dark and it shifts fine, then don't worry about it.

If all that checks out, i wouldn't hesitate buying it. The 6.0 is a powerhouse, especially when towing and you'll find it is much nicer towing heavy than even than the triton v10.

 

Brandon,
Thanks for the info. This was some of the service work he had perfromed in the last two years

"Also had transfer case serviced, FICM 2013, fuel pump 2015, fuel IPR (injector pressure regulator) and IPC (injector control pressure) sensor, EGR valve, fuel pump November 2014."

And since I have never owned a diesel, I'm not sure if that covers some of the stuff you had talked about.

He owns a construction company and has 5 other 6.0's. He said this has been the most dependable but it has not been worked like the others. He said they will tow 20,000 lbs regular basis. He said he maintains his vehicles per the book.

 

It sounds like the guy knows his stuff, or at least has them serviced my someone who does.

The 6.0 can last over 400k miles, but some dont live long after 200k or even make it that far. Its all in the maintenance and it sounds like this one has good maintenance. A little luck comes into factor as well.

It still wouldn't hurt to get a reading on the oil/coolant temps, ficm voltage and check for blow-by. A simple bluetooth adaptor can be had very nowadays and any smartphone can download an app to check those things. If you end up buying it, these are things you want to check periodically anyway. I always have my gauges running. I had an alternator get very weak very fast in my truck, but the gauges let me catch it before the low battery voltage took out my ficm.

I used to sell cars and appraise trade-ins, so i'm always trying to look for issues with a vehicle first before i do anything else in the buying process. That's my preference, especially on a diesel truck, due to higher repair costs. It's good to be a skeptic when buying any used vehicle.

I also learned a tough lesson buying the truck before the one i currently have. I took the previous owner's word (seemed very honest) for everything, only to get burned bad on that truck. Long stroy short, it drove nice before i bought it and ended up needing over 6 grand of work and on top of that, had odometer fraud. The odometer read 142k miles and carfax showed it was 350k+

Run the carfax on it! I cannot stress it enough. I forgot to mention that in the last post.

If this is the vehicle you want, i see no reason not to get it yet.

Unlike the trusty v10, these engines are very complex and can hide expensive issues for a while and later, bite your wallet hard. The reason to check those things i mentioned is to minimize risk of buying a vehicle that will need thousands in repairs soon.

The oil cooler, for example, costs nearly $2,000 to have fixed at a shop and sometimes more. An undiagnosed clogged oil cooler can cause the EGR cooler to rupture and hydrolock the engine, ruining the whole block on a worst case scenario.

 

Absolutely always get a carfax. I just looked at a truck locally with 132,000 miles on the odometer. Told him I'll take it just need the vin. Ran the carfax and it showed title branded not actual mileage. Turns out the truck actually has 270,000 miles on it. Best 40 bucks I've spent all year