Seriously considering moving from my chevy 2500 6.0 gasser to a diesel truck. The chevy is rusting out badly and only gets 10mpg at the most due to the 4:11 towing gears, so I am wanting to upgrade slightly. This truck would be used daily for my HVAC business so reliability and longevity are a serious concern. My budget really only allows for a purchase of a used diesel around at least 6 or 7 years old. I really like the looks and performance of the Ford super duty, but I have been told by a few people to stay away from the 6.0 diesel. I am looking for opinions about trucks/engines of this era. I don't want to make a purchase of something that can turn into a nightmare of repairs and down time. Not looking to mod this truck, just wanting a solid reliable daily driver that can handle my job trailer and tools. Any advice on what to look for or expect in a truck around 2005 to 2007 with around 75k to 125k miles on it. Thanks for any help.

 

Welcome to FTE Jason Since you will not be towing hundreds of miles and for a business, I would look at the V-10 to be honest. If you want a diesel, check the history through OASIS at the Ford dealer. OASIS will show any warranty repairs that were performed, out of warranty would be buyer beware.

 

your on a diesel site about fords, on a forum about 6.0's . most of us love them but there may be a bias do to the above.
all diesels in the 6.0 eara have issues. as well as the next gen engines. the one currently doing the best are the latist and greatist.
as far as ford/navastar goes IMO the 6.0 is the less of all evils. I personal love mine and its been good to me.

 

Two words, statements, of caution. The 6.0 does not like short grocery getter type trips. It is also mandatory to strictly adhere to maint. schedules and use only OEM filters and recommended fluids. It loves to work hard and hates to loaf around. Think about how your going to use her.

 

The biggest thing about the 6.0s that will help you in reliability is become familiar with the newer diesels. The 6.0 has the least amount of "new" tech and it's only going to get worse with later engines.

I still maintain the belief that the worst enemy with the 6.0 is ignorance. Either owner or tech.

 

The guys are being realistic and telling you straight up. The 6.0L is a good engine once you understand how to maintain and use it. The HVAC business is not really about towing across the country and heavy hauling.

 

I think the 6.0L is a great engine. It does have it short coming but they are fixable. An if it's maintained properly it will last ALONG time. One guy on here posted a picture of his odometer. It showed 500,000 miles an still running strong.

If your looking for a low maintains daily driver. You may want to look at a 7.3L.
But whatever you do get. Stuff will always break an need fixing no matter what you drive.

 

I should have got a gas powered truck. I thought I would do more camper / trailer towing but plans didn't work out. These motors or any modern diesel in my opinion are made for working and putting on lots of miles in a short period of time. My truck runs great but very minimal short trips, mostly highway with relatively long / speedy runs and I avoid idling like the plague. So I have a nice truck but it is not the proper truck for my use. Love the power and decent fuel economy - really love it with a load and pulling.

40 years in the mines - I guess I have to do another 10.

 

Why does everyone always say avoid short trips and idling? These engines are used on worksites all over the place idling for long periods and short drives here and there.... put a high idle mod on it if the idle bothers you and I just don't see how short trips are going to expedite the possible failure. Anyone have proof of these things causing issues?

 

Ford has done a LOT of software upgrades to try to improve the 6.0L reliability. MANY of these addressed things like the EGR valve operation at idle, the turbo vanes cycling when starting up and idling, etc. All if this is because it is absolutely a fact that carbon is generated (incomplete combustion) when the engine is not fully up to temp. Excessive carbon in the turbo can cause the vanes to stick and an overboost to occur. Carbon in the EGR system can cause the EGR valve to hang up and can further magnify poor combustion issues. Carbon in the intake can cause other problems.

Bottom line is that the EGR system and VGT system has made it more important to operate your engine at proper temperatures vs frequent short trips. How many issues and the severity will vary, but it is BEST to operate these trucks on long trips when fully heat saturated.

Also - this 2006 6.0L has been the best truck I have owned. Been very reliable (at 110k miles).

 

The problematic items are the vanes in the turbo, and the EGR valve, if the engine in question still has it.

The turbo vanes tend to stick if not driven fairly hard. The exhaust side of the turbo doesn't get hot enough to burn off the excess carbon from unburnt fuel, and the vanes either stick in place, or if they don't hard-stick, they suffer from a severely reduced range of motion. If the vanes stick closed, the engine suffers from an overboost condition; if they stick open, it suffers from an underboost condition.

The EGR valve will also become covered in the same unburnt fuel and get gummed up. Then it sticks open, giving continuous EGR feed when not requested.

Documented multiple times here, with pics.

Even if you DO drive many short trips, one long and hot trip per week will go a long way towards absolving your engine of the short-trip sins.

The 6.0 is the first in the "This is not your Father's Diesel Engine" line of engines under the new EPA regs of 2000+.

Long gone are the days when you could expect the engine to happily burn whatever crap you came across, going 20K miles on an oil change and never so much as burping, much less having injector or turbo issues. If you're not OCD (or close) on maintenance, you probably won't be happy with a 6.0.

-blaine

 

Comparing the competition and knowing what I know now about the 6 liter, I'd buy another in a New York minute
You get so much truck for the buck. (this is coming from a former 7.3 powerstroke owner.)
I had more issues with my old 7.3L in the first 36k mi. than to date with this 6.0.
Welcome to the 6.0 forum, Jason.

 

I agree with everything posted by Frankenbiker down to the tee.

 

Thanks for the tutorial, a lot of good info!

So lets assume short trip driver and frequent idler have deleted the EGR and have an aftermarket turbo installed.... any better now or still issues?

 

as a sparky talking to a tin knocker, i'd look at the V-10.

my 2006 went without a hiccup for 91K miles. then, well, it didn't go
so well. i just changed fluids at intervals, not knowing that there are
some very small mistakes that can be made unwittingly that have huge
consequences.

my pass thru the engine, fixing it so it'll run the rest of the time i
need a work van, was a smidge over $10,000

few months out of warranty. the bill was all mine.