Well, I finally broke down and bought a 6.0. I have been very leery of the 6.0's reputation. After, lots of convincing from a friend in a Ford dealer service shop I bought an '05. I have only put 80 miles on it this weekend, but I love the power. I'm not sure yet, but the warranty administrator told me he thought an exhaust would void the aftermarket warranty I bought. I am going to tow 15 to 18k lbs. on a fairly regular basis with it, and was wondering if the torque shift auto. needs any upgrades for safety. I will be installing a pyro, and tranny temp guage. But I was curious if that kind of weight would hurt the truck if driven carefully( not drag racing while towing.) Also wanting to get better mileage out of the truck. My mechanic told me the 6.0's don't care for tuners. I have also heard that the head bolts stretch causing head gasket failure with increased detonation pressure. If I add a programmer it will strictly be a fuel economy 50 or 60 horse. Is this enough increase to cause problems. I know there are a million guys who have never had trouble and are going to recommend I do it, I am looking for the guy that did it and had problems. Any feedback would be great, thanks. By the way, it is a F350 cc swb.

 

From reading on here it seems it all depends upon how much of a **** the dealership wants to be when it comes to tuners and chips. When you say "aftermarket warranty" is this Ford ESP or another company plan?

IMHO the only extended plan worth having is Ford ESP. I've read on other boards about other aftermarket companies that write warranties, then go under and reorganize under another name.

 

Had the head gasket failure, not while towing

Exhaust- As long as it is a cat-back system you should be OK w/ Ford. When you remove the cat, both Ford and the tree-huggers have issues.

Tuners- Your tech is right, the 6.0 can be tuned but it can have both good and bad implications. If you are mainly concerned about towing you probably will not run into problems w/ increased detonation pressure from a "tow-tune" causing head gasket failure. However, you may see high engine temps which when sustained can cause warpage of the heads towards the rear of the block where there is poor circulation of coolant. Matt at LIPD feels this is a great contributor to 6.0 head gasket failure and I would suggest getting in touch w/ him about your concerns. He'll have some good answers/advice.

I cannot address your weight/tow limit issues as my truck is used for towing but my primary concern is performance.

Enjoy your new truck as the 6.0 is a great engine that powers a really great truck!

 

fireman660r,

As for towing 15-18K, your F350 SRW is rated at GVWR 11,400lb & GCWR = 23,000. Your truck wet will weigh 8K or more, which leaves you a Max trailer weight of 15K, dependent on how much weight is on the axles in relation to the GAWR. At 18K you will be overload per the ratings.

Best bet is to go to your local CAT scale and weigh your truck wet with full fuel tank and you in it with your normal payload. Subtract this weight from the GCWR to give you a ballpark figure for Max trailer weight. Only way to really know if you are overweight with your trailer attached is to weigh the complete rig and determine your actual weights and distribution.

If you need to regularly tow 15-18K you will be better served by and F350 DRW.

Hope this helps

 

thanks for the info fellas, yes it is the ford esp premium warranty. 2 year 24,000 mile warranty. I talked to my tech again today and he told me that the tuners are a 50/50 shot on fuel mileage. He said they may work and may not. Just depends on the truck. He also said that the aftermarket exhaust companies put their temp. port further back on the exhaust to make it seem as though they lower temps, but in reality if the temp is monitored at the manifold a tuner and larger exhaust will actually increase heat. I think I am just going to stick with a cat back exhaust for now and no tuner. I am going to do a lot of work with this truck and need it as reliable as possible. Thanks again for the info and all info is appreciated.