Hello everyone, I'm in the market for 6.0 f250 or f350 Crew cab. My poor old Expedition is on it's last legs and it's time to move up. (at least that's what I'm telling the wife )

I'm on a strict budget, max $20K but I'd really like to keep it around 16-17K and from everything I'm finding 03-04 is the years that I can afford in that price range.

I'm not familiar with diesels at all and I'd like some advice on what to look for when looking at these trucks. I've been doing a little reading here and it seems the 03's have more problems than they're worth? What tell tale signs should I be looking for? Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

Get a Scangauge II or an Edge Insight to go shopping with. Check the ECT and EOT when test driving what ever you look at. When you decide, you then have gauges for the truck.

Both just plug into OBD port.

 

you'll have to explain that in English what is ECT EOT? and what exactly should I be looking for?

 

Engine coolant temp and engine oil temp. When you are at operating temp 190 + on coolant temp. That will take 10+ minutes to get to depending on ambient temp. You dont want the differnece in the two temps to be more then 15 degrees difference.

 

Im voting for Edge Insight.

 

After its hot, run it down the highway while testing the eot and ect.

 

thanks for the replys.

I think I've gathered so far that the 03-04's had the most problems. I'm going to avoid those.

Definitely have to pick up the guages, that's good info.

are the 05-up still having issues with blowing the head gaskets because of the EGR cooler failure? I heard there were still some turbo issues too, anything to look for to ID problems?

 

If I may.... Why are you considering a diesel? Do you need to pull or haul some heavy loads? If not I would recomend staying away from diesel. Just my opinion.

I have two diesel trucks in the drive way, van, f-150, and wifes/daughters car. I can tell you I spend more money to maintain and drive the two diesels that the others combined. Also the fuel in my area is up to something like $3.40ish a gallon. I seem to be jumping in the 150 allot more the last few weeks!

Nothing can replace the diesels for pulling the camper, boat and horse trailer but thats what I have them for. Running to the store.... one of the others.

Now that I am done with that i would say your estimation is correct about the 03/04 models. The big thing with the 6.0 is proper maint. intervals and please what ever you do try and get an OASIS report from Ford on the prospective truck. This should tell you what has been done to the truck and possibly lead you to knowing what mat still need to be done.

Spend some time in the boards here and I think you will get some great advise from the guys here and if you read around you should get a feel for the common issues with the 6.0. There is a tech folder and a thread for the new owners as well i would say you should check out.


Good luck and please let us know if you go with the PSD!

 

If your on a strict budget then a diesel may not be a wise engine choice. You should realize that the maintenance and repair cost associated with a diesel are far greater than a gas engine and if you compromise on the maintenance of the 6.0L you will find your truck in the shop with costly repair bills on your hands.

Check out post number 22 of the following thread for some good tips on what to look when buying a used 6.0L.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...uy-6-oh-2.html

 

I wouldn't do a diesel for you. Too many instances that could lead to problems down the road.

However, there are a few things that I feel should be mentioned.

I doubt the validity of the 03-04 engines being the most troublesome. Why, that is when you had the most ignorant owners, the techs that didn't know how to work on them, and general warranty and repeats that shouldn't have had to happen.

I see that in one post even you fall into that trap on some things. EGR system isn't really the issue, its the plugged up oil cooler that leads to EGR cooler failure. That connection wasn't dealt with in the early years, so a lot of people were doing repeated EGR repairs and thus thinking that the EGR system was poorly designed. However, they had that repeat issue due to not knowing the connection between EGR cooler/oil cooler. Either not knowing or not wanting to deal with. This goes somewhat with questionable techs that i mentioned earlier.

Also it isn't the head gaskets that are the things that usually go one you, it's the stretching of the head bolts. Stock gaskets are fine.

Owner related issues usually result from people not knowing how to take care of the truck, not knowing which tuners to use versus not to use or even know how to handle that newfound power no matter which one they used. Then eier not realizing what they have done or choosing to ignore it, they blame the engine. Then other people that don't look deeper into what those people are saying believe what they see/hear and thus the reputation of the 6.0 is born.

Are there some that are just bad, sure. But how many out of all the claims are there that legitimately are bad versus those that were screwed up later on but still blamed? I am willing to bet a lot more then we will actually know about.

 

biggest reason is the 9000lb 25ft cabin cruiser! (which is why I'm on a budget lol!) I also pull a 33ft camper on occasion, (sisters) I could do it with the Expy but it was right at the rated limit.

my other biggest reason is longevity, I want a truck that I can put another 200K on. I have nearly 170K on the expy and it shows every mile of it.

 

that's good advice there, I'm going to print that and take it with me..

 

that is why I came to ask people who know...