Good Afternoon! Looking at a nice truck to buy and was wondering about the 6.0, it has 72,000 miles on it and has been modified to get better gas milieage. Should I be wary, or keep it on the factory settings to avoid any problems? Any help would be appreciated!

 

HOW was it modified? Is it a private sale or from a Ford dealer? Be VERY careful of this. Get seller to get an OASIS report from Ford with the VIN.

 

Where is the truck being sold at? IMO when you say it has been modified to get better gas mileage that in itself raises a whole lot of curiosity because I want that mod just like all other's on this site. You need to get the VIN of the truck and take it to the service department of your local Ford dealership and have them run an OASIS report on it. This will tell you the maintenance history performed by Ford. Also I know there is a thread floating around of things to look for when purchasing a used 6.0, but I unfortunately don't have it bookmarked, but I am sure someone else does and they will chime in. Basically you need to get ahold of a ScanGauge so you can monitor EOT and ECT temps, FICM voltage while cranking, and look around under the hood for evidence of puking from the degas bottle.

Matt

 

It was a hotmod, or something like that, which has three settings apparently, gas mileage, towing, and factory. It is bring sole by a dealership, but not a Ford dealership. The previous owner apparently had it put it, but also took real good care of the truck. I'll look under the hood for evidence of leaks and whatnot. Anything to look for when I test drive? How it starts, drives? I appreciate all of the help.

 

Here's the thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...used-6-0l.html

 

Chris if you really want a 6.0 get a SCANGAUGE and have it set up with all the 6.0 pids then you will know what is going on in the motor. It is the best tool to shop with .

 

Could be a great buy ... could be a heartbreak.

The dealers are amazing professionals at getting used trucks all shiney and new looking.
As a gross generalization ... the type of guy who has a nice Harley edition with a tuner on it probably kept it all spick and span too. I don't think I've ever seen a Harley Edition that didn't look like it wasn't polished 7 days a week.

However, the tuners can wreak havoc on the tranny and that can be expensive.

Buy a scanner and read the threads on buying a used 6.0.

 

Looked at the engine and it did not show any sign of leaking. Truck was in really nice shape. The only thing is there might be a ball bearing or tie rid loose on the front driver side. It seems to kind if rattle/wobble to describe the sound. Going to check that out, but otherwise I'm going to take the plunge. I'll get the routine maintenance done on it so as to be sure it is up to date. Do I have to worry about timing chain/belt with diesel? This is my first bin-gas engine.

 

Looked at the engine and it did not show any sign of leaking. Truck was in really nice shape. The only thing is there might be a ball bearing or tie rid loose on the front driver side. It seems to kind if rattle/wobble to describe the sound. Going to check that out, but otherwise I'm going to take the plunge. I'll get the routine maintenance done on it so as to be sure it is up to date. Do I have to worry about timing chain/belt with diesel? This is my first non-gas engine.

 

The mod is a triple gauge bully dog apparatus. Good? Bad? It was professionally installed.

 

Bully Dog is hard on 6.0L transmissions

one of many -
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ans-issue.html

 

Good info. At most it has been on the engine for $20k miles. Enough to do irreplaceable damage? Can I return the truck to factory settings and then unplug the tuner?

 

The shifting seems to be okay as far as I can tell. Is they key to check the transmission fluid?

 

Hope you like it. I have the same truck, bought it new in late 2005 at a discounted price since for 18-months the dealer hadn't had anyone willing to pay $50k for it. I'd wanted a King Ranch, but now after having the Harley version I plan to stick with black interior. I need to sell it since I plan to order a 2013 F450 dually, but the new one will have to have a black interior, I haven't decided on the exterior color yet, though I like the black on black pearl that the Harley has, especially since my actual Harley also has black pearl. I've never had any problems with mine except the rear doors not fitting right, but it does regularly take a couple hours to clean. I finally bought a pre-soak foam sprayer for a pressure washer a couple weeks ago and a Master Blaster 8hp dryer to replace the dedicated leaf blower I'd been using for years. Only used it last weekend for first time, can't yet tell if its any better. The heated air definitely will be in the winter, but right now its about 85 outside, so when I wash this weekend I doubt heated air would matter. For a leaf blower though, pushing cold air around is a slow way to dry a truck... I've not had any problems with the +80hp economy tune I use, but with or without the tune I've never pushed the truck, figure a diesel engine costs enough without me leadfooting and asking for something to break. I average about 13.6mpg in the city.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I dread washing it. I returned the tune to stock. Taking it to ford tomorrow to get a once over and to check for service done.