03 6.0L
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Senior User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 107
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From: Alberta Canada
03 6.0L
Ok guys, back for a few questions. Ford guy all the way, cut me, i bleed blue lol.
Give me the Good bad and ugly on the first year 6.0L. We all have heard the horror stories. I have come across a nice truck here. 03, F250, 4x4 ext cab, 8ft box, 6 sp manual. Canadian guy here, 247,000 kms so aprox 154,000 miles. Truck has a 4 inch exhaust and cold air intake. No other mods or deletes from what the ad says.
Is it safe to think that in that many miles, any bugs, issues etc the 6.0L may have had, would have been rectified by now? Or are the first run 6.0l something to stay away from. I'm looking for an interim truck to use for a year or two while I wait for the 2011 and up diesels to drop in price. Biggest thing i pull is a mid 80's 24 ft trailer. 6000 lbs. The rest is sleds or atvs on a deck or trailer.
I picked up a 03 f350, V10 recently and found out its engine is on the way out, so it is too
. So I'm back on the market for something. This is a sweet looking truck but i don't need to buy another boat anchor or PIA that i'm always fixing. Yet I have friends who ran the early 6.0L in their fleets and had no real issues.
Thanks, always appreciate the opinions
Ed
Give me the Good bad and ugly on the first year 6.0L. We all have heard the horror stories. I have come across a nice truck here. 03, F250, 4x4 ext cab, 8ft box, 6 sp manual. Canadian guy here, 247,000 kms so aprox 154,000 miles. Truck has a 4 inch exhaust and cold air intake. No other mods or deletes from what the ad says.
Is it safe to think that in that many miles, any bugs, issues etc the 6.0L may have had, would have been rectified by now? Or are the first run 6.0l something to stay away from. I'm looking for an interim truck to use for a year or two while I wait for the 2011 and up diesels to drop in price. Biggest thing i pull is a mid 80's 24 ft trailer. 6000 lbs. The rest is sleds or atvs on a deck or trailer.
I picked up a 03 f350, V10 recently and found out its engine is on the way out, so it is too
. So I'm back on the market for something. This is a sweet looking truck but i don't need to buy another boat anchor or PIA that i'm always fixing. Yet I have friends who ran the early 6.0L in their fleets and had no real issues. Thanks, always appreciate the opinions
Ed
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 21,113
Likes: 3,939
From: Ohio
I may be biased....
but actually 2003 is the best year to purchase. As always it is buyer beware on a used vehicle, visit our Tech Folder and read up on things you should look for. If you have a Smart Phone you can down load the Torque App, purchase an OBD 2 Bluetooth, plug in and drive to get readings on how healthy the engine is.
An after market cold air intake is more prone, if not cared for, to dust the turbo. If you can, try to get a cold start when looking at used vehicles. Plan on changing all fluids for your budget, never assume what a seller tells you is accurate.
but actually 2003 is the best year to purchase. As always it is buyer beware on a used vehicle, visit our Tech Folder and read up on things you should look for. If you have a Smart Phone you can down load the Torque App, purchase an OBD 2 Bluetooth, plug in and drive to get readings on how healthy the engine is.An after market cold air intake is more prone, if not cared for, to dust the turbo. If you can, try to get a cold start when looking at used vehicles. Plan on changing all fluids for your budget, never assume what a seller tells you is accurate.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 794
Likes: 1
From: Ontario
I believe the issues with the first gen 6.0s were a weak HPOP and some ICP sensor failures, which isn't too bad in the later years. But the 2003 is in the back 
I bought my 2005 6.0 with 199,000KM on it (Canadian too), and being in the salt and a contractor truck i've spent well more money fixing everything around the engine. The 6.0 itself has been nothing but good
I bought my 2005 6.0 with 199,000KM on it (Canadian too), and being in the salt and a contractor truck i've spent well more money fixing everything around the engine. The 6.0 itself has been nothing but good
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,727
Likes: 42
From: Almost back in TX biotche
I have 317k miles on my 03' 6.0 and I still love it. The disclaimer I tell people with buying a 6.0 that has had nothing done to it or you don't know the history well, is be prepared to spend $7-10k in repairs and upgrades in the first 1-2 years. It may never break on you or it may need head work fairly quickly. My HPOP went out at 230k miles, injectors at 235k, did studs and gasket at 270k (gasket was still good, but it was my downtime and I was about to do some serious hauling the next year). I just now replaced the turbo at 213k and that has been causing me issues for a couple months.
I still wouldn't trade it in for anything, it fits my needs perfectly. I bought the truck for $8,000 3 years ago and now have a total of $30,000 including all the repairs and upgrades.
I still wouldn't trade it in for anything, it fits my needs perfectly. I bought the truck for $8,000 3 years ago and now have a total of $30,000 including all the repairs and upgrades.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 457
Likes: 0
Ok so on the subject of 03 6.0's I just got mine with 150,000 on the clock. It came with an air raid cai, a 4in turbo back exhaust, and a edge programmer I'm running eco tune but God only knows what the guy before me did. I have only had it for maybe 2 weeks but I've changed fuel filters, oil & filter, installed 7in tablet with torque pro, watching egt on edge, ordered fuel pressure gauge and another pressure gauge to watch coolant system pressure. I am waiting on my transmission fluid/filters and am just waiting on a day off to do my backflush of my oil cooler and my coolant flush with vc-9. I have bought a coolant filter just waiting to finish the flush to install. I plan on egr delete but want to see if this flush helps my cooler out or if I'm gonna replace (deltas sometimes around as high as 23*). I've ordered the blue spring upgrade, and replaced both batteries. She ran great when I bought her and still does today but is there anything else I should do? Or anything to monitor? I mean idk what's left to look at. I don't plan to stud considering I don't believe I'll ever try and make more power than I currently have. So outside of that can i start planning cosmetic upgrades now or is there another thing to do maintenence or longevity wise first?
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