Hey FTE, seriously looking into purchasing this truck. 2006 Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat Pickup Truck | Stock# 61965 | New, Used and Certified Pre-Owned | Springfield Illinois | Isringhausen Imports

I'm on the fence still, but if all goes to plan, I'll own it by the end of next week. One of the first things I want to do, though, is get a bit of input from actual owners instead of local folks around here who have never owned one and want to bash the 6.0 for stuff they have only heard or read about. I know a couple local guys who own 6.0's and have had them since new and love them, but that's about all I know that own one. One guy is bone stock and the other has done some light modding.

I have lurked in the background as a guest and read quite a few threads about the 6.0 and figured it was time I just join and ask the questions I have. I am very particular about my trucks and maintenance and always do everything on time. The questions I have are:

1. With the truck being 9 years old and only having 42,XXX miles, should I purchase a SGII for when I go to look at it or should I take the dealers word that it is in perfect mechanical and cosmetic order? They are a high-end car dealer and I have developed a good relationship with the dealer in the last week talking to him about the truck. He has told me they were very thorough with their inspection on it and wouldn't have kept it if it had any issues at all. He also told me they put on 4 brand new tires and 2 new batteries since the batteries were still the originals.

2. I have read posts by people who have had great success with leaving their 6.0 bone stock and others who have done stuff to prevent issues in the future. Leaving the truck stock would be great by me, but is one way better than the other? Would I be better off doing the little mods to prevent any failures in the future (EGR delete, ARP studs, coolant filter, blue spring, etc)? If I were to go that route, would I need to tune the truck or would I be fine without one? I had a 2010 Cummins that would have required a tune once I got around to deleting it, but I had to sell before I could get to all that.

3. What are the factory recommended service intervals for the 6.0? Oil change, fuel filter, engine coolant, etc.

4. Lastly, I would appreciate any and all advice and input y'all would have for someone buying their first Powerstroke, like me. This truck would be my daily driver and would pull a 20x8 enclosed trailer 1-2x a week. Sometimes though I may go a week without pulling. Trips into work are about 10 miles one way. Beyond that, there may be some long road trips here and there and there may be some short trips around town, too. So, if anyone thinks I shouldn't own the truck, please tell me so. I want to hear all sides. Thank you in advance for any input and advice!

 

First, that is a perfect looking truck. The price might be a little high but I wouldn't let mine go for under $25k.
The EGR delete is always a good idea for longevity. I wouldn't do anything else unless it needed it.

I change my oil every 6 months now or 3k miles. Coolant flushes every 2 years as well as transmission flushes.

Just like buying any 6.0, I would recommend a SG2.

Now, I personally wouldn't buy that truck to run it back and forth 10 miles each way from work, you will have EGR problems and a coked up intake manifold.

Oh by the way, I bought mine new in '05 and have loved it ever since. In 10 years of ownership I have under $700 in repairs, including batteries. Mine has just over 67k on it.

 

First off, I have to say that is a premium price. Even if it looks as good in person as it does in the pictures, it would never bring that kind of money in my area. It would have to be $7-8k lower for anyone to even look at it.

1. Yes, a monitor af some sort is a great idea to assess the condition of the engine. Temps for oil and coolant and the difference between them, ICP and IPR to check the condition of the high pressure oil system, map/baro/EBP to look at the turbo and FICM power just to name the biggies. A ScanGauge works well but there are many capable phone apps and other monitors available for the home mechanic to use.

2. While the 2006 trucks wer built pretty solidly, there are some issues I would address if they haven't been done, including replacing the commonly failing STC fitting on the high pressure oil pump, revised designed standpipes and dummy plugs and revised oil supply and drain tubes for the turbo. Some optional things like a coolant filter and the EGR delete are good ideas but keep in mind the EGR delete will almost certainly set a fault code for low EGR flow and will require a tuner to turn off the check engine light. Head studs are a whole nother level of expense. While it's a great idea if the truck has an issue requiring cylinder head removal or if you plan to run hot tunes or tow hard and heavy, I personally wouldn't pull a good running engine down that far just to do some preventative work.

3. Recommended oil change is 7,500mi under normal conditions and 5,000mi for severe duty conditions. I think most of us do th severe duty schedule. After much discussion here about oil lab results and the importance of oil to proper operation of the injectors it's just good practice. I change fuel filters every othe oil change (10k mi) I believe the recommended interval is 15k but really, it depends on how clean the fuel you buy is. One bad tank of fuel and you 500mi filter may need to be changed. Ford gold coolant I believe is recommended 30k mi interval, same for the trans filter. Some of the new EC-1 rated coolant dare advertised to last much longer but given the low expense, I'd change even the new stuff on a 30k interval.

4. In the end, it depends on what you want really. The turbo does tend to have issues if the truck sits for long periods or does a lot of short trips but it not a terribly hard or expensive job to break it open and clean it up, especially if you're handy and willing to tackle it yourself. These are powerful and comfortable trucks whe they are working right and it sounds like you have the right attitude and a good idea about what it takes to keep one up.

Some unrelated thoughts:
Keep in mind this truck appears to be detailed within an inch of its life. Take a critical look at the coolant for contamination and color. No matter how it's been treated, it's still a 9 year old truck and rubber parts have a limited lifespan and plastic fares only slightly better. Even with the low miles, the rest of the fluids could use freshening up, differential oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid etc. it looks like a clean, highly optioned truck with lots of miles left in it. Nice paint color also, I haven't see many of those. Good luck however you decide.

 

If you are buying because of the low mileage be carful. Sitting for long times can be REALLY hard on all components. I worked on a lot of motor home with low miles. After about a month most of the oils are no longer protecting the non flooded parts of the drive train and every start is the eqivolent of starting the engine without any lube. First thing I would show people is the differential cover. You Can see where the oil level was by the line of rust. Ring gear the same way. I really think the correct miles with good maintenance is better than low miles. I could go on and on with examples of low miles needed lots of repaires.Myself, I would save $15,000 and buy something just as nice with 100,000 miles and good maintenence records.

 

Thank you guys. I really appreciate the advice and info.

I agree the price is pretty high, but the dealer has hinted to me that there is some wiggle room on their side. He also said the truck came in pretty much that clean and that the old man that traded it in is very particular about his vehicles. So hopefully that means he was that good about maintenance, also.

My short commutes to and from work worry me the most, also. I'm no expert mechanic, but I don't mind turning wrenches on the weekend. So, as long as I can see some kind of YouTube video that lets me see how it's done right, I can catch on pretty good and fix things myself.

Like I said, I am still on the fence and I still can't decide what to do. My Ram 1500 can handle the trailer loaded most the time, but there are times we have some loads that really concern me.

Thanks again!

 

If I do an IPR EGR delete would that eliminate EGR problems caused by short trips? Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm researching and learning as much as I can to refrain from asking dumb stuff, but there's a lot on this site and I'm a pretty slow reader

 

Yes a delete will cure any potential EGR problems.

 

If I were you, I'd look around more. The price seems to be very high.

I've been looking for a while and just landed my truck two weeks ago. I'm familiar with used prices.

 

Also with low mmiles you'll possibly be changing out the turbo. They tend to rust up. On the short trips--other then not getting up to temp it will put a strain on batteries and alt. You would want to keep a battery maintainer on it to keep them charged. I bought mine for commuting but I drive 32 miles one way 5 days a week. On the price I paid 7k for mine with over 100k (although it's a cab chassis and didn't have a bed) it is bone stock except for the ipr egr delete I put on this spring. I love this truck but did alot of testing on it before I made a deal. You MUST test the truck before you buy. Check volts, ect eot temp splits, icp,ipr,ficm volts just to get the overal health then you know 80% how healthy it is. If it were me I'd test then offer 8000 minimum less then they are asking if engine checks good (the 8k less is for work you may or may not need to have done). Also if like most on here you do your own work you will save ALOT of dollars and have a bit of fun as well. Good luck hope you join the family.

 

Here's the way I look at it,I love my 6.0 i have had it since 2011,other than service jobs and regular maintenance I haven't spent that much on it.now that's not to say that every time I start the th thing I don't don't cringe and get nervous for the fear of what can happen.like I said I do like my truck and it turns a lot of heads when I drive around,but if I could trade it for a newer f-150 I would.

 

Thanks you all! I am starting to lean more towards passing on this truck right now and continuing my search. It's about 2.5-ish hours from where I live, and although it would only be a day wasted, I have a good feeling they won't go below $27,500 on it. The KBB and NADA values I found put it somewhere in the $25k range and feel that's where it should be. I'll keep looking and hopefully find something closer to me. Thanks again!

 

fwiw I picked this up a couple weeks ago 06 350 56K miles $19200 very good shape, solid. I expect to spend a few G, new FICM, coolant filter, alternator and batteries, complete fluid filters etc