Please advise on the durability and dependability of the 6.0 diesel engine. I'm looking to buy one but have heard of so many people being unsatisfied with them!!!

 

You should probably ask this in the 6.0 forum. I got no problems. Stock motor, 145K miles

 

Mine has 138k on my 04 I have an egr delete replaced oil cooler and no issues. Runs great. Oil change intervals and coolant along w an egr delete or upgraded unit are some key things.

 

Kind of a hard question to answer because I am not sure what the target performance goals were. We have owned 6 of those trucks in the past, we are down to our last two units. So far we have gone through 8 new engines. One of those failures was caused by our driver. The other failures seem to be due to poor design.

I don't think we are especially hard on our trucks, they all receive the same care and maintenance and many of the other models are holding up well. The 7.3 liter Ford/International trucks are still doing great as well as our ISB Cummins (Kenworth/Freightliner) models.

Good luck with your search.

 

Unlike earlier diesel engines (read before emissions crap) extended idling is bad for the 6.0.
Also it seems to have taken a few years before folks learned NOT to run simple tuners..

 

Moved to the 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel forum.

 

First thing to know is the factory gauges are really idiot lights (engine temp, trans temp, and oil pressure) so don't rely on them. A ScanGauge ($160 @ AutoZone) or other device that plugs into the OBD port is your best bet to assess the condition of the truck. The first order of business would be to look at the oil temp vs the coolant temp. If there is more than 15deg difference the oil cooler may be plugging up. This is the beginning of a cascade of failures that can cost several thousand dollars to repair. When the oil cooler plugs, coolant flow to the EGR cooler is restricted enough to eventually cause it to fail (and/or the oil cooler can fail, allowing oil to enter the cooling system). Coolant from the EGR cooler enters the intake manifold and the combustion chamber causing extreme pressure that can stretch the head bolts and allow the head gaskets to leak. Without accurate info (gauges) all this (or just part of it) can happen with little to no warning.
Many people have used aftermarket parts to remedy some of these problems and you may find a used truck with head studs instead of the factory bolts, EGR cooler deletes or EGR coolers replaced with stronger units.
I'm backing up a little here but the beginning of these problem is thought to be a coolant issue. Good maintenance is the key to getting long service out of a 6.0 and ignoring the coolant can kill it. There is some debate about wether the coolant type is the problem or casting sand left in the coolant passages during manufacture is the problem. There is much reading you can do here on FTE on that issue. Look for white residue around the coolant overflow tank on any truck you are thinking of buying. That would indicate the cooling system may have been over pressurized by an engine problem or the cap has failed.
The turbo on these trucks is a variable vane design with no pressure relief valve. They have been a little prone to sticking if the truck sits a lot, spends a lot of time idling, or is driven easy all the time. It seems to help to "blow it out" every once in a while.
Fuel injector "stiction" can be an issue on a higher mileage or poorly maintained truck. Arrange to crank the truck cold and listen for very rough idle compared to a hot start, or the other side of that coin, a slow start or even no start that could indicate a leak on the high pressure oil system. There are other causes for cold start issues but be aware the fuel injectors are expensive (a whole set dealer installed can be $2k) and negotiate the price accordingly. So, oil cooler, EGR cooler, head bolt, head gaskets, turbo, and fuel injectors, just to name the biggies.
The good news is - under all these issues is a very good engine in a great truck. Many, if not all, of the thing I listed can be avoided by keeping up with services, so you're looking for a truck that has been kept-up very well. Lots of folks have lots of miles on their 6.0 without any of these issues. Some important things to know are; Use Ford/Motorcraft/Racor oil filters, many aftermarket filters don't fit correctly and allow oil to bypass the element. As a matter of fact, it's better to stick with Ford filters for the whole truck, an aftermarket oil filter would be a red flag on one I was looking to buy.
An Oasis report is a list of dealer repairs. It's good to know what repairs have been done and how many. You'll need the VIN of the truck to get it from a dealership.
I hope this info helps. It's pretty general. Hang around here on FTE and get into the Tech Folders and learn the "search" function for more complete info. There are many knowledgeable folks here and even a few Ford Techs that can help with specific questions you may have.
Good luck!

 

Rusty that is a great post!

 

Mine runs like a scalded a** cat. Love it. 79K miles.
Should have bought one sooner.
Must be maintained. No shortcuts.
Only thing not stock in mine is SCT tuner with tow tune only, Kitty gone and EGR cooler gone. Still have both but not in my 6.0.
With FTE and a wrench, I am DA MAN.

 

hey i appreciate your post rusty!! very helpful! im actually new to FTE and i look forward to exploring and learning about these awsome trucks! thanx everyone

 

I would have rep'd Rusty but I'm in rep jail for him for now...

So my thoughts are that it really depends on your perspective: what are you coming from and what are your needs from the truck? "better" is always a relative term.

I had an LLY Duramax before I traded it in for my brand spankin' new Ford, and comparatively, I could have taken my Ford and everything I wanted to put on top of and behind and hitched up the Dmax too, and the Dmax would probably still have overheated while the Ford did all the work.

Are you new to diesels? owned any other trucks? I've owned all 3 of the majors, but mostly I've had Fords and while I like the Cummins as a powerhead, it's the rest wrapped around it... Well, you almost just need to own both to know why I own a Ford. I will never again give GM a cent of my money. They screw both their customers and their stockholders and why the government rescued them and their crap management is beyond me.

But I digress, and you were asking about a 6.0 purchase... There is a lot of truck that is around a motor that needs to be taken care of. And that is why there are deals to be had.

Read up here, follow Rusty's sage advice and you will end up one damn happy camper!

 

The main problem now is the same with buying any used truck. You have to find a good one that has not been abused.

As Rusty said, if you are serious about buying one, don't do it without a set of gauges - the scangaugeII is one of the cheapest unless you have an i-pad.i-phone/etc, or Android device. I also carry a pressure gauge on a long tube. I check the degas bottle pressure and also the crankcase pressure on test drives.

Some people look for trucks that already are studded. While studs are better, the previous owner could have put cheap head gaskets in it, prepared the surface wrong, didn't check for cracks, etc. I would almost rather be looking for one completely stock. That might make it more likely that it wasn't abused and that it hadn't seen a tuner (not saying tuners are bad, just that they can be an indication of a "hard life"). That being said, when the mods are done properly, the truck can become a heck-of-a buy. It all needs to be done properly - that is the main point.

There are lots of threads on buying a used 6.0L. Rusty hit many of the main points. Do a search on this forum and you will learn a lot.

Be sure to do the test drive when the engine is fully cold - ie hasn't been driven in 10-12 hours. You want to know how it performs from a cold start. Sometimes a FICM issue or injector issue will be pronounced when the engine is cold. Then you need to make sure it starts easily after it has been fully warmed up (approximately 200 degrees oil temperature). A leak in the high pressure oil system will be more likely to show up on a fully warmed up engine.

Aftermarket air intakes are of no benefit. Sometimes they can cause issues with the combustion controls and you can get a lot of soot generation. Just don't look at this mod as being an advantage when truck shopping.

Poor injector health, weak fuel pumps, poor charging sytem, use of bad fuel or aftermarket filters - can affect fuel delivery, which causes poor combustion and soot.

Soot buildup can cause EGR issues and (as Rusty mentioned) can cause issues with the variable geometry turbo. Other issues cascade from turbo and EGR problems.

The 6.0L needs to be brought fully up to temperature regularly. Short trips that never get it warmed up can cause problems. Romping on it before it gets up tp temperature can cause problems.

OEM oil filters and good maintenance are critical. I would want to buy from someone that had all of the maintenance records. 5=7.5k miles on oil changes. 10-15k miles on fuel filter changes and again, OEM filters are important. The tranny external filter sgould have been changed every 30k miles and the tranny fluid should be flushed on this interval. The tranny fluid MUST be Mercon SP or LV. This is an often-ignored area. Sad, because the tranmission is a great unit when cared for. Coolant flushes really should have been done every 50k miles, but the book says 100k miles. Make sure you know what coolant is in it and how long it has been there.

Lots to learn, but if you want to invest the time, chances are that you can get a good bargain on a great truck.

 

You hit the nail on the head Dan when you asked if i was knew to diesels!! I'm a complete newbie when it comes to diesels and big trucks! So i'm picking up that the 6.0 is a good engine if its given a lot of tlc!! Somebody asked what this truck was intended for... weelll i'l have to admit that i'm just a big fat powerjunkie so if that don't tell you anything i duno what will. In other words lets just asume that this thing is gona be tuned and have everything i can give it to get more hp out of it! I know that not many trucks are designed for that but i can't help that that's just how i am can i?? i shuda put that on a earlier post but anyway that's the destination of this truck. I duno if i'l actually end up with the 6.0 or not.. what i'd really like is the 6.4 but they come with a price tag!!

 

And a even BIGGER one when they break

 

Pick up a few diesel performance magazines and you'll have trouble finding many 6.0's on the cover. It makes some good power in stock trim and there is more to be had but it's just 365cid. On the other hand, someone posted a video of a 6.0 making a sub 11sec quarter mile pass. As much as I love my truck, (speaking as someone with a muscle car background) if I wanted to go REALLY fast, I'm just not sure I would start with it. On my budget anyway.

I wrote this post 3 times and still don't like it