Let me give you a little back story about what I am doing. In October of 14 I made the choice to start looking for a F250 diesel truck. In my research I have come to the conclusion that I want something from 2000-2006. These trucks seem to be in my price range. Knowing some information from these years about the motors they put in trucks I knew I was looking at either a 7.3L or a 6.0L. Like so many hearing all the horror stories about the 6.0 I eliminated it altogether. I have found many 7.3L but I started noticing that I was overlooking some really good looking trucks that had 6.0L in them. After reading this forum for the past couple of days looking at things in post and the tech folder. I am going to start giving them a serious look.

Reasoning for diesel truck: I currently pull about a 8k lb Horse trailer about once a month averaging about 300 Miles round trip. I am currently looking at going on longer trips and didnt want to put the stress onto my V10 that I have in my excursion and would like the ability to at least be able to stop at every other gas station.

Other valuable information:If I choose to use this as a daily driver the route that I use for work is approx 70 miles round trip with very little stopping (red lights and stop signs). Traffic is not an issue 90% of the time. Route is consisted of highway and interstate travel.


What I would like to hear is your stories about your 6.0 how well you like it or hate it. Would you buy it again knowing what you know now? Do you think that the 6.0L would be a good applicationb for what I am looking for?

Thanks in advance for your insight.

 

I'd buy another one.

The key to keeping the motor healthy is maintenance with OEM filters and monitoring.

There are factory upgrades and some aftermarket upgrade for reliability. You can read about them in the tech folder.

It sounds like a 6.0 would work well for you if you chose to go this route. If you are the kind of person who will put off maintenance because of cost or ambition it will come back to haunt you and is probably not the best option.

 

You need to go here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...used-6-0l.html BEFORE you go out looking for a used 6.0. (2004-2007) You'll get all kinds of need-to-know stuff BEFORE you look at the first used 6.0 you see.

 

I wouldn't discount the Ford V10, although I think a 6.0 will be better overall for you. At work we used to use an E350 with the V10 and it seemed to do as well as the 7.3 they have now, and there was well over 200k put on that van with 75% of that towing a 6-8k lb trailer. The big downside was fuel economy: while it was 17-18 mpg without the trailer it as 8-10 at best with it.

I bought a 2005 6.0 in May of 2013 that had just under 101k, and now it has about 122k. I researched a lot before going with a 6.0 and found it was reliable as long as you maintained it well and didn't hot rod it without doing some upgrades first. Most 3/4-ton and above trucks around here are 6.0s, so logically I knew they didn't suddenly blow up at low miles like the internet would have you believe.

 

Well said and with that I would buy another 6.0

 

Just bought an 04 250 with 109K on it, 2 weeks later I got a crank no start, ended up being a FICM harness.

I was ready to bail on it and trade it in to get rid of it. After awhile I settled down did some research on it.

The biggest thing I came away with was that yes the 6.0 does have some issues, but those issues have been well documented and fixes are readily available.

You can pick up a good used 6.0 with low miles on it because people get scared of the cash they might have to put into it to keep it going.

So bottom line is...If you can do the required fixes yourself, then yes the 6.0 is a good choice. Once done these fixes will make the 6.0 a very strong and dependable engine.

If you have to have a shop do these its gonna cost you a lot... For instance I'm currently tearing into mine and one item I will end up doing is the EGR delete. Found a kit from IPR, should run about $350 for the kit. I've been wrenching on it for about 2 days (going slow to learn the 6.0) and will get it installed myself. A shop to do the same thing would be north of about $1500.00

Just my 2 cents, hope this helps...

 

I would without hesitation buy another...

I went hunting for the 6.0 Excursion I have now September 2013 and found it October 2013.

I found mine 700 miles away in the Panhandle. When I found it, it had a leaking EGR cooler and a clogged oil cooler, which is why I think the PO traded it in. It had weak, corroded batteries, the engine was literally covered in dust, little did I know the alternators days were numbered, it suffered from a serious case of stiction (later found out it was oil AND fuel side), and other than oil changes, the fluids had NEVER been changed in 123K.

I knew what I was up against and came to the table financially prepared to spend the money to fix it.

I drove it 700 miles home and God truly smiled on my that day as the EGR cooler didn't rupture, destroy my engine, and leave me on the side of the road. A few days after I got it home, I had it towed to Dorian Reyna of Powerstroke Enginuities. I told Dorian all I wanted to do was drive the truck and not have to worry about anything, he said ok and made it so. When I got the bill it was a laundry list of things:

-Injectors all resealed
-New Rocker box gaskets
-ARP studs
-OEM headgaskets
-Updated Dummy plugs and standpipes
-Updated Ford Oil Cooler
-EGR Delete
-Glow plug connector o-rings
-4 inch flo pro exhaust
-New Serpentine Belt
-New Degas Bottle
-Coolant flush with VC-9
-New intake gaskets
-Shell Rotella ELC

When all was said and done, I spent $4K on top of what I spent for the truck. Do I regret spending that money? Not for one second! It was worth EVERY penny and I almost felt guilty that I didn't pay more for it.

Since Powerstroke Enginuities Bulletproofed my 6.0, it's been a lean, mean, powerful Monster (hence it's name). The work was done at 124K and (knock on wood) almost 50,000 miles later, I haven't had a single problem with my 6.0 and ABSOLUTELY LOVE driving it! Me driving ->

The bottom line here is that when you buy a 6.0, you sometimes have to be prepared to spend some money to fix what someone else didn't take good care of. Since I've spent the money on my 6.0 bulletproofing it and changing all the fluids and filters myself, it's been a trouble free truck that got a new lease on life at my hands.

My advice to you: Don't hesitate to buy a 6.0, you may have to be prepared to spend some money on it, but your only regret will be that you didn't buy one sooner! It's an amazing engine that will blow you away with it's awesomeness.

 

When I bought my 2004 6.0 F350 it was with the intention that this truck would last a long time. I bought it to tow a 23' travel trailer and it did well for the first 8 months or so and then the (now well documented) 6.0 issues started appearing, stranding us more than once in the middle of nowhere, and mind you this was with no performance enhancing mods. I eventually started pulling a 35' fifth wheel toy hauler but the reliability was constantly an issue, and this continued with numerous mods and dollars spent to make it more reliable, which eventually it seemed to become. However, in the ten years I've had it, every trip we took somewhere was a nail biter due to the unsurety of what issues we might encounter next.

I recently sold the 5th wheel and now have no need for the truck so it'll be for sale soon. Bottom line, if I had to do it over again would I buy another 6.0? No, and for that matter I won't buy another Ford again either, no matter how good it looks or what kind of reviews it has received. Ford's lack of commitment and support to its customers who purchased 6.0's spoke volumes to me and they will never receive another dollar of my hard earned money.

 

Thank you for the link. I had already gone through the list before I made my post. I wanted to have as much knowledge as possible. Knowledge is power.

 

I bought my 05 new knowing the issues the 6.0s where having and had no clue to what the maintenance entailed! Now 10 years later and less than $3k in repairs/mods I consider the 6.0s to be worthy as a power stroker. Love mine and would buy another.......in fact I just bought another 05 a month ago!!!!!!!!!!