As some of you may already know, I am back to being to being someone that everyone loves to hate. A used car (mostly truck) salesman.

There's been a few trends I've noticed with my customers that are looking for diesel trucks.

1. I have had quite a few customers specifically ask for a 2008-2010 6.4. When I ask "why not a 6.0?", they usually reply that they have heard the 6.0 is bad, but they like Ford, so they want to avoid the 6.0 and get a 6.4.
The 6.4 IMO, is one of the worst engine choices out there. They have a lot of problems, and unlike the 6.0, a lot of these problems don't have a solution. On top of that, they are CRAZY EXPENSIVE to fix and I very rarely see one make it to 200k miles on the original engine, deleted or not. My dealership only buys 6.4s because we have customers that specifically want a 6.4. We just bought 3 at auction and only 1 will end up being for sale here. It has 170k miles and had the original engine replaced at 130k. The other 2 each have at least 1 dead cylinder and so much blowby that the oil fill caps fly off when you remove them if you don't have a good grip. They will fog out the whole garage within 10-15 seconds with the shear amount of blowby chugging out.
On the other hand, I have seen plenty of 6.0s that have over 200k miles and have very little to no blowby.
I just find it funny that so many people fear the 6.0, thinking it will break often and be expensive to fix, but have total faith in the 6.4. I wouldn't buy a 6.4, no matter how cheap I could get one. Between working outdoor electric and fiber optic construction and working at this dealership, I have seen a whole lot of 6.4s and from what I've seen, they are the worst money pit out of any truck.
I have also driven 6.4s and been behind them when they go into regen. More often than not, when they go into regen, they belch a bunch of white-ish grey and/or blue smoke that smells horrible. I have had people call the "how's my driving" number on the 6.4s only to complain about the smoke and smell of the rig I was driving. One rig had 78k miles and was about ready for a new engine. The other had 140k miles and engine #2 was on its way out as well. They were both very well maintained fleet trucks. Some of the 6.0 fleet trucks had 300-400k miles and still ran great.
Bill Hewitt may be a source of comedy for some, but he does have some good information. He owns a 6.4 for his personal truck and even he claims they are garbage. A 150k throw-away motor at best. He also mentions that they are rarely a candidate for rebuilding.

2. A lot of people seems to think the 5.9 cummins is the end-all-be-all diesel engine and nothing else is even an option. There are also some people that are same way about the 06-07 duramax, but not as many.
I have a 2003 cummins H.O. 5.9 and a 2006 6.0, which i'm in the process of selling. After having the cummins for a month, I like the 6.0 about the same as the 5.9. The 5.9 runs WAY hotter EGTs than my 6.0. I can hit 1300F fairly easily with my light tune or on stock tune on the cummins. The only time I ever got to 1250F was from a 0-130mph WOT run on my SRL+ tune. I never saw over 1150F on my ~60hp tow tune towing over 11k at 70mph up a 6% grade. The cummins also runs hotter more easily easier in general while making less power. Both trucks have a 4" turboback exhaust.
I also keep hearing people say they want a cummins because they last longer than anything else. The only cummins I can see outlasting a 6.0 is the old 12 valve. Those, like the 7.3 can last a really long time, but only if you leave them on the stock, 160-215hp gutless factory power level.

The one thing I like a lot more about the 5.9 is how much easier and usually cheaper they are to work on. If the cummins wasn't a dually, fuel economy would be about the same as my 6.0.

At this dealership, we sell a lot of 6.0s and one of my favorite challenge is getting someone that says "NO 6.0s. I have heard they are garbage and have lots of problems" and turn them into a 6.0 owner after some education. Bonus points if I can convert a cummins shopper.
I am not brand loyal at all. When I first sold cars a few years back, I lost brand loyalty fairly quick. Now, I don't care what the brand is and care about if it is a good year or not for that brand/model. The main reason I went with the cummins is that it was the EXACT configuration and color I wanted. I also got tired of holding my breath waiting to find a 6-speed 6.0 that wasn't a regular cab XL trim.

I don't care what the haters say, the 6.0 is hands-down the best value in the used diesel market. If you know what you doing and know how to weed out the ones with issues when you are buying one, They are by far the best bang for your buck. The cummins or duramax trucks cost way more to buy and definitely aren't immune to needing expensive work if you don't know what to look for when buying.
for example,
a clean 2006 6.0 at 150k miles goes for anywhere from $16-20k when I'm at.
a clean 2006 cummins or duramax with 150k miles goes for anywhere from $25-30k.

Thanks for reading.
What are your thoughts on the 6.0, compared to other diesel engines? I know it will be somewhat biased here, but I'd like to hear what you guys/gals think.

 

My thoughts on the 6.0 are that is probably the last diesel engine in a Ford that most J6P like myself can do most of the work on and for the most part afford parts for. I've heard plenty of bad things about the 6.4 and the $$$ required to repair certain problems. I know of one that is on engine #3 and I think under 200k miles. Crazy........
While I know little about the 6.4 suffice it to say it to say I know which one I would rather wrench on.
With that said, if you posted this over on the 6.4 forum you would probably get a whole laundry list of responses as you likely will here. I know awhile back someone was cussing the 6.0 over at the Hoover vacuum, I mean the V10 forum, and it ruffled some feathers lol.
At the end of the day, whatever your flavor and brand, pretty much any one have good things and no so good things going for them.
Unless you are talking a 350 or 6.2 GM diesel, that is another story and I have owned both lol.

 

you have the advantage that you get to see lots of these trucks. over here diesels are almost as rare as hen's teeth. I know of 2 guys with diesel trucks - myself and someone with an F350. As chance would have it we both have the 6.0l. He's had head gaskets go, I've had the no hot start - new HPOP - and a new FICM.

Mine cost in your price range, a 2005 with less than 60k on the clock. I spent a long time making the decision with what I read about the 6.0, but in the end you only live once, we need it for the horses, and the wife loves it.

Can't say much about the Cummins and Duramax but I also hear bad things about 6.4 repairs, and a 6.7 is way complicated - and too much for me to buy new for the warranty. We'll probably be keeping ours for a few years yet.

You talk about the diesels, you also sell a lot of gassers? how do they stack up? Previous truck was a 1997 F150 with 200k when I sold it. Very few problems in 60k over 4 years.

 

I agree about both the 6.0L and the 12 valve, but I do wish I had a F-350 with the 12.

I fell in love with diesels when we were running a Dodge dually manual trans under test out at TRC in Ohio. That combination was incredible under full weight. When we had to turn it over to another company for testing the other company's engineer drove it to his site. Then he couldn't believe that under the bed cover was the full GVW weight package.

A very good friend is a Ford FSE and when we've talked diesels several times he has brought up I don't want a 6.4L. He has stated they are too problematic, too expensive just as you said.

He has tried to get me into a 6.7L but since I'm long term ownership I have to look past warranty for costs, and that is just too high for my taste. If going new diesel I would be seriously thinking about something I have never done, leasing.

 

I've had three 2008 F450 6.4's. Only problems I had were a leaking radiator at 60k on my first one and a leaking y-pipe under the degas bottle of the second. My third was a manual transmission truck I absolutely loved, and no problems. Fortunately I got all of them at fairly low miles and was able to do proper maintenance on them. I did hear from a friend at the dealership I sold the first truck to that the next owner had lots of problems with it. No idea about the other two.

I am now the owner of a 2005 Excursion with the 6.0. I bought it with 84k miles on it last February. I had to replace the oil cooler (50 degree temp difference...fortunately it didn't rupture!), decided to delete egr and cat, coolant and oil filtration, replace radiator, and some other things in the interest of making it reliable. It is now at the dealer for blown headgaskets, and they will stud it. Even with all of that, I still love this truck more than my others. Except for the headgaskets I've done everything myself. The 6.4 would have been a huge pain to work on, you'd need a lift to take the cab off for most things. Fortunately I never needed to during the time I owned them.

 

You pretty much read my mind on 6.0 vs 5.9 and 6.6. I was shopping about 2-years ago and came to the same conclusion. 6.0s about $10k less and usually in better shape. Plus the overall Ford truck seems to hold up better than the other 2, larger back seat, etc etc.

 

I agree on the 6.0 I came to this forum 6 yrs ago to find out about 6.0's and just recently became a member. Originally I was in the market for a truck to pull my 5th wheel and i started researching all makes . Every make in my price range had problems. My 4 best friends who i worked with were partime used car salesmen when not working our main job. One friend kept my truck(2004 f250sc) on a lot for over an year. People would say just the truck they wanted until they found out it had a 6.0. My friend dropped price to $8,000 and I jumped on buying the truck. did a vc9 flush without guages. When guages came in had a 37 degree delta. Now 133,000 mi later have 308,000 total mi. Only replaced egr and oil cooler

 

About a year ago, I had to bring the company truck to the Ford dealership and got talking to their diesel mechanic. At that time my 6.0 was down with a blown EGR cooler and I had a good line on a 09 6.4 Lariat, so I asked his opinion on what I should do. If I should fix my 6.0 and trade it for the 6.4 or keep the 6.0. He didn't even hesitate. Fix and keep the 6.0. The problem he has seen with the 6.4 there and read about thru the Ford network and talked with other diesel shops he thought that if Ford would of kept the 6.4 as long as 6.0 Ford could of easily been knocked out of the diesel market. I also asked him about something I heard that "6.0 breaks hard it breaks the checkbook and if the 6.4 breaks hard it breaks the bank" and he said that's about right. he mentioned that there is a diesel shop down the road that repairs all diesel engines and they have replaced more 6.4 engines than any other and if they have to replace a stock 5.9 Cummins or 7.3L they are so surprised.

 

I have a buddy of mine that currently owns a OBS 7.3L and he looking to upgrade. We talked about the 6ohL and at first he was very interested.

Lately something has changed his mine, and I don't know what it was.

Now he's talking about finding a '99-'03 7.3L Automatic, and he stated that he is also looking at the '08-'10 6.4L.

What a waste of money, and worst thing is, he's not in the best financial shape either.

Some people just don't want help.

 

Ive got a 6.4 sitting in my yard , needs $10 grand plus worth of work.


I'm driving a 6.0 and would never buy another 6.4, once I figure out how to get rid of the lemon I have.

 

A coworker of mine has a 06 Duramax and relentlessly craps on me for having a 6.0, claims the duramax he has is the best-of-the-best as far as engine/transmission combos go's, blah blah blah. He's had a successful year with it so far: 8 glow plugs, 8 injectors, two wheel bearings, and $3,000 in rust repair...and now he is pricing out a suncoast transmission because his Allision is slipping...but its still a Duramax

 

I was hesitant to buy a 6.0. My dad and brothers had 6.0s. They had massive failures. They were all the 04s. Dad bought an 11 6.2 gas and he likes it. The one brother went with a dodge and cummins.

The more I drive mine, the more I like it.

When looking I was planning on gas. Either the 6.8 or 6.2. They were hard to find. The 6.0s were priced right. So, a bit of due diligence and research I ended up with my first diesel. Granted, I've drove plenty of diesels of all shapes, sizes and vintages.

 

Just out of curiosity, what were the failures?

 

The old man had head a gasket failure, was pulling a loaded stock trailer. The FICM failed.

My brother had injectors drop, and the turbo failed.

 

Was he running an aftermarket tuner when head gasket failed?

I wouldn't consider a FICM failure to be a big deal. It's easily swapped out. Not trying to be argumentative..

My brother had injectors drop, and the turbo failed.[/QUOTE]

I suspected that.

IMO the injectors suffer cold weather poorly. I've had other people in frozen northern states insist 6.0 injectors cannot last more than 100K. I have 270K on my original injectors (and turbo). However, cold starts on this engine (under 35F) could be counted on one hand. In the rare event I'll have overnight temps close to freezing I'll plug the truck in. It's been a few years since I've had to do that.

IMO the 6.0 doesn't suffer abuse well. Aftermarket tuners, neglected maintenance, and below-freezing temperatures all take their toll.

The high mileage guys have seen some lifter failures, even on well-maintained trucks. So far so good (knock wood), but it's something I'm keeping an eye on.