Awesome... well now I am all freaked out. I printed the "Buying used 6.0 considerations" Guess I will discuss it with my mechanic.

 

Take a breath.

I bought mine with out any of the info you have at your finger tips. Mine has been great too have. These are all suggestions for your information. Kind of a 'pre-purchase' insurance policy.

Some advise getting a Scan tool of some sort to go shopping with. Like a ScangaugeII. It gives a person a better understanding of what they are seeing.

We can fall head over heels for these trucks when we first start looking. I know why!!

Good luck!

 

yeah I'm not much farther ahead of you, I've had my '05 for nine months now and am still getting educated...

Gauges, such as ScanGauge II or Edge Insight CS or CTS, and I mean get it before you buy the truck so you can check things on the test drive.

That's only the start of things you need to learn quick, but that should not be put off at all. You'll be able to find out the condition of the oil cooler and FICM right from the start, so you can get an idea if there's going to be major expenses right from the start.

You're going to need to spend some money right off no matter what. Consider that when you look at what you're paying for the truck.

You'll want to replace the coolant, do an oil change and replace the oil and fuel filters, perhaps an oil filter cap, degas bottle cap, add a coolant filter...

An oil change takes fifteen quarts and it's not the cheapo car oil. It's about a hundred bucks for the oil and filter if you do your own (which you should). Fuel filters every other oil change. If you have to you can get filters from the dealer and other local places but if you have time to order from dieselfiltersonline.com, and get RACOR brand, that's the cheapest way. They're not knockoffs, this is the ones Ford buys and puts in their boxes, but it does matter, they need to be these filters only. You might go ahead and get a new oil filter cap from the same place just in case the one you have came with an aftermarket filter, those are garbage.

 

ScanGauge II

A couple people have mentioned this to me. Is this something that I, myself, can actually just "plug" into the truck? I have already test driven it... next time I will be seeing it is when it goes to the mechanic.

Can I order this and have the mechanic use it during the "prepurchase" inspection? Sounds like this little guy can check the FICM and EGR system issues I have been told need to be checked prior to buying?

As far as as maintenance... I can honestly say right now that I will NEVER be doing any sort of maintenance, even as simple as oil changes, myself. I will leave that work to the trusted hands of someone who does it for a living... though I will make sure they use the products you specified. This is all a little overwhelming not just because I am new to diesels.... I will be honest, I am the kind of girl who knows to take her car to jiffy lube every 3,000 miles (Oh, that and to check my tire tread with a dime!) and that is seriously about it.

Im trying here, but this is totally untread territory for me.

 

Jiffy lube type places are the last places you want to take a 6.0. Recipe for disaster.

 

seriously.

You can't even count on the Ford dealership getting it right.

And if you have to pay somebody to do everything you better be counting on having deep pockets.

Just for example I was looking through the magazine article included with my just-arrived BulletProof Diesel EGR cooler. It details a vehicle brought to the BPD shop and having these people who CAN be counted on to get it right, and doing ALL the stuff that needs to be done to make the truck as near bullet-proof as it's going to get, and it cost them $7,500 plus fluids.

I'm doing the work myself and I'm not doing head studs and I won't spend a thousand on parts, and maybe another $500 on tools if I go hog wild.

But, I want to do this, and I'll find a way to make time.

If you don't get a mechanic who has demonstrated a great deal of knowledge on the 6.0L you are asking for a heap of trouble. He can make the problem much worse and cost you a lot of trouble and money.

Does that mean I consider myself a better mechanic than your guy? Hell no. But I am specifically looking for info on THIS engine, not all engines as he is. His general automotive knowledge gives him a foundation to build on but if he counts on it alone he is going to mess up your truck.