i want to get a diesel truck, not sure what years to avoid, looking to get a f-350 lariat crew cab 4x4. have not heard good things about the 6.0L but not sure if i can afford 6.4 or (6.7?) any advice is appreciated,thanks

 

You have 4 main options here.. 7.3L, 6.0L, 6.4L, and 6.7L.

The 7.3 is a tried and proven motor with a huge following. It is paired to a lesser transmission, but just like with anything, it will be more than adequate with proper care. Many people report going 200k+ miles with no transmission issues.

The 6.0L as you are aware was plagued with issues. However these were pretty much fixed for the later years of its run. 2003-2005 6.0L motors generally have the majority of the problems. The 2006-2007 motors have far fewer issues, although not problem free, but what motor really is?

I am not very familiar with the 6.4 but I believe it was an improvement upon the 6.0, but not without its own issues. Someone will chime in with more info on the 6.4 who may be more experienced on it.

Same with the 6.7, but it is a new motor, and is not even one model year old yet, so as far as reliability, it is mostly unknown how it will preform after years of service.

 

main point is to avoid first years of 6 liter.
I would love to have new 400 hp diesel, but I am about $59,000 short on cash for it, so I struggle with my 7.3 pulling 30,000 lb sets.
Not that I complain. I bought the truck very cheap and now, 5 years later it is worth more than what I paid.
So do you have 60 grands burning hole in your pocket?

 

I love my 6.0. Man its a hoss. Born to work. Sure they have had problems. The good news is they can be fixed. If you ever work one of these things you'll know what I mean.
1 secret to success is install some gauges. Learn the compondent your monitoring. Know the signs of the common failures and your pretty much set.
The thing is as there's a lot of troubled units there's a lot more that never had any issues. My brother bought his 05 325k miles on it and the only thing it done to it was a thermostat replaced. He bought it right and he didn't want to sweat it so he upgraded the oil cooler and deleted the egr and egr cooler. Had head studs installed and running a tuner cause it was needed for the egr delete. Now you wanna talk about a bad boy. That truck is a boss. It tuck its sac and run like a scalded dog.
Don't fear the 6.0l. Just get to know it.