Afternoon all,

I've read the FAQ section on what to look for when purchasing a used diesel and as much as I have been able to on the 7.3l, but that purchase fell through.

I am now looking at a 2006 6.0 E350 to haul my bikes. No towing at all will it be used for. The previous owner had used it for the same thing, so its already setup for what I want to use it for.

It has 265K on the odometer. Has had a EGR delete kit put in as well as a new oil cooler he tells me. It also has a SCT X4 tuner as well. I called SCT to try to get an explanation on what that tuner is used for. he tells me that unit only takes custom tunes. No pre-set tunes available. That scares me that this van has been tuned already and I do not know what to. What if I want to go back to stock? What about these ARP head studs or bolts that I read everyone is putting in their 6.0. I've also read to check an outgas bottle for signs of bad news. Whatever that means. Do I need to stay away from these year 6.0s? At that mileage, is it a ticking issue waiting to happen? If you delete the egr, wouldn't the check engine light be on? Why would he have put the egr delete kit in do you think? Just to be pro-active? how can I tell if head studs have been messed with?

I know no used vehicle is guaranteed, but last thing I need is to be working on a vehicle that I just purchased. My wife will have mine in a chopping block.

Just trying to get as much info as possible before 8pm tonight.

Thanks

Sid

 

Hi Sid

I am by no means an expert, I come here to learn. But I've been reading this forum for a couple of years now and have since purchased two 6.0's. Hopefully someone else will chime in, but since I've got a few minutes I'll take a stab at some of your questions.

I don't think 265k is anything to be concerned about by itself - if the van is well maintained it should go a lot further than that.

I can't comment much on the tuner, I'm just starting to look into that myself, but I believe SCT is one of the better regarded ones for this engine.

The original head bolts on 6.0s were sub-par (2003-4), and were upgraded by Ford after that. I'm told the later bolts are less problematic. However many still favor ARP studs, especially if you are running aggressive performance tunes.

Checking the degas bottle - if there is white residue (or pink in my case due to red coolant) sprayed in the vicinity it could be an indication of blown head gaskets or in a vehicle that hasn't been deleted, a blown EGR cooler.

EGR deletes - they are done mainly because blown EGR coolers have ruined a lot of people's day. The reading I've done seems to point to the oil cooler clogging as the main reason the EGR cooler fails. And yes, deleting the EGR will set the check engine light, but the SCT tuner can be programmed to turn the light off.

I would strongly recommend finding someone local who knows and loves 6.0s to look it over for you, take it for a drive and watch live data on the SCT. There are some parameters that will send clear warning signs of impending problems.

Hth, Laurel-Anne