So my 2001 5.4 4x4 spit a plug in the middle of town, 3 miles from the dealer. I decided to limp it there and guess what? Engine fire and I killed it. So now I am looking for a new one and I always wanted Diesel. I would love a 2003 Black and Tan 7.3 with DVD but they are 30,000. So I have found a 2003 6.0 with 115,000 for 15,500. Any sage advice before I purchase?

Steve

 

When purchasing a 6.0 it's good to have a disposable 10k for bulletproofing. I was very happy with my 6.0 but it took me 12,500 under the hood to make her a reliable beast.

Would I do it again? Damn right I would!

 

15k is too much for a 6.0 truck especially an 03'. My F350 with the 6.0 has had many thousands into it. Everything has been done but head gaskets and it's running great but now it's losing coolant. Have to spend a bunch more now unless I decide to try it do the heads myself.

 

You had an engine fire that totaled out the EX all from a blown plug that was driven 3 miles?

 

X 2 on that. Any more info and pics.?
Not the first I've heard about blown plugs, which still has be completely baffled.

 

Blown plugs on the earlier (pre-03-ish) 5.4 and 6.8 engines is a real thing for some folks. The heads only have 4 threads for the plugs and the factory spec for the plugs is only 11 ft/lbs, which is kinda not tight. Many owner have addressed this issue by overtorqueing to 26/28 ft/lbs, rechecking that torque after some miles and changing plugs well before the factory recommended 100k mile mark. This seems to pretty much eliminate or at least greatly reduce the occurrence and excitement of a blown plug.
If a plug should blow, disconnecting the electrical plug from the fuel injector and removing any parts of the plug, boot, spring and COP from the plug hole will allow you to safely continue on your way to get to a safe place for the repair job. (That's why the V-10 is better, it has two spare cylinder for when a couple go down on you! )

 

I have purchased two 7.3 4x4 Excursions for less than 8k each. They were higher mileage 285k and 312k when I bought them. Both still start and drive without issue. I wouldn't hesitate to drive either across the nation. I also have a 7.3 F350 dually with 275k. Check them for blow-by. If that checks out fine, then run em like you stole them. Regardless, a 15 plus year old truck is going to probably need seat covers, carpet, etc. The 7.3 will give you 500k miles easily unless it was abused. When that engine goes, they are a dime a dozen in salvage yards with under 200k all day long for under $2k. I am one of the few that would rather pay for a higher mileage truck and fix things vs paying ridiculous prices for a low mileage truck. Diesels are made to roll and work. A higher mileage rig that was pulling a camper across country is probably better than start stop grocery getters with low mileage. Just a different perspective. Those rare unicorn low mileage excursions are just not worth the $15k to $20k premium over a higher mileage truck because they have 150k less miles. That is just my opinion and others may disagree. These aren't 67 Stingrays that are collector items with low mileage. These are work trucks/suvs. Mileage is a badge of honor to me, not a wart.

I also had a 6.0 Eddie Bauer Excursion. Worse vehicle I have ever owned. Here is Texas, I see them blowing all the time even after bullet proofing. Some are rock solid with super high miles and pushing stupid horsepower while others can't stay running regardless of what the owner does and spends. It is a strange vehicle. Simply put, I don't trust them. Every 6.0 owner I know is always watching the gauges. I never bother with my 7.3. Cheap fuel, weak batteries that fry FICMs, wrong coolant, etc etc it just doesn't impact the 7.3 like it does the 6.0 The old 7.3 will fire and run. If you get a 6.0, you must stay on top of all maintenance all the time. Even abused, the 7.3 are reliable. Best of wishes on your search.

 

A 6.0 will be good to you, it's just a matter of assessing what it needs and taking care of it. The problem is that people don't take care of a precisely engineered engine, cut corners, and expect it to perform and run. A lot of the customers that end up coming to me for work, had some simple negligence that caused their truck to quit. Wrong oil cap, Dorman this, Chinese fuel filter, That was loose, something haphazardly repaired, or a problem they just plain ignored.

In my case, the PO changed the oil, but it never ended up in the shop for extended maintenance unless it stopped running. Mine had a leaking egr cooler and clogging oil cooler when I bought it. Knowing what I know now, I could've done the work myself and been back on the road, but most shops will charge around $2000-2500 to do an oil cooler and egr while doing a few housekeeping items.

If you're like me and you planned and budgeted on having a shop go through the engine, you could just have them stud it at once. Make sure and do your homework on shops, there are some that know what they're doing and plenty that don't. Mine cost me $4500 to go through and stud, money well spent. I only have Torque Pro up because it accurately tells me what the dash doesn't and I learn more about how these engines are supposed to perform. My 6.0 brings me joy when I drive, more so than my recently resurrected 7.3 Excursion Rudolph. I could go on, but you can't beat the power and performance compared to a 7.3. I have both and know firsthand.

A 7.3 will also serve you well, but you still have to follow a good maintenance regimen to make sure you have a healthy truck you can depend on. A top end reseal as well as injector seals, glow plugs, and harnesses make a 7.3 happy. Throw a few parts in from Riffraff Diesel and you'll have an engine that runs better than it did from the factory while overcoming the engineering flaws. Ask me how I know...

The trans on both is easy to maintain you just have to do it. Btw, if the trans is running good and shifting correctly, a fluid change will only help and keep it happy. Most folks never change it, wait until it starts failing, flush it, then that's what caused the trans to fail. I've done this on several customer vehicles and haven't had one come back and tell me their trans failed because I performed a fluid flush.

A little off topic, but hopefully you get the idea that fluids, filters, and maintenance will keep either engine happy.

 

OP... here is a rust free CA one for a decent price exactly what you want

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/6412610793.html

 

Two little words... "it's just".... that cost too much money (for me).



There is a member on the 6.0 forum who METICULOUSLY maintained his 6.0 with all OEM parts. In fact, he used to be the field test engineer for the OEM supplier to Ford for the Super Duty and Excursion OEM service brakes that were in production from model years 2005 until at least 2007.

I've read his posts online for the last 17 years. Every drop of fuel his 6.0 consumed is tabulated on a spreadsheet, nevermind his oil changes, fuel filter changes, coolant changes, coolant filter changes, etc etc. He even charts his battery voltages, in a no holds barred effort to protect and maintain the life of his FICM.

So when I recently read that his 6.0 liter was strewn about in pieces on his work bench, from the truck which he has owned since brand new, so no PO involved, I had a sobering realization. If his 6.0L couldn't go the distance without major engine work, then I doubt that anyone's can. At one point or another, sooner or later, major money sucking service will be needed on a 6.0, no matter how well it was maintained.



Case in point.

 

Precise engineering? I have to disagree my friend and say it's anything but a precisely engineered motor. The engineers utilized too few head bolts which provides insufficient clamping force on the heads, poorly designed EGR cooler that requires delete or a better designed one, composite gears on the early model HPOP that failed, or the end client i.e. Ford who upped the horsepower/torque on the PCM beyond what International recommended and used a coolant that breaks down under heat and clog the oil cooler.

Bullet-proofing is fixing the engineering deficiencies of the original design. A precisely engineered product doesn't require 3rd party parts that fix engineering deficiencies. I 100% agree that it is a technologically advanced motor over the 7.3, but it was an engineering debacle. A debacle so costly that it ended a long standing and reputable relationship between Ford and International and resulted in numerous class action lawsuits.

Yeah, they are fast and can be made reliable, but I still hold to the fact that every 6.0 owner is constantly watching those gauges on trips. I listen to tunes and read road signs on trips. The only gauge on my radar is the fuel gauge. I personally would never own another one but I know guys who swear by them.

It is one of the most debated and polarizing topics in the diesel community. Many of the companies that swear by them are the ones selling parts for them. The 6.0 has made 3rd party companies and shops a ton of money. A friend of mine is a shop owner and has been a diesel tech for 40 years and loves them. His own words, not mine, "I would never own one, but God bless the 6.0, 6.4, and 6.7. I will never have an empty bay in the shop as long as those are on the road."

In the end, people will have favorites. I like all trucks and will always own diesels.

 

So far my 7.3 has been very reliable , it's my first diesel, I've plowed through an extreme amount of money in the last year, on some general maint, and corrections to nearly all that the previous owner touched, many thousands later, and I'm just now getting to the high mileage things like the glow plugs, harness gaskets, replacing sensor harness plug ends Ect. I found and read all 7 pages of the " Melling LPOP Install" by duck fan Aug of 2010, I hate reading actually, I thought great, I should do this, but I realized not once have I experienced any of the LPOP symptoms that anyone else has, so fortunately I feel can skip that re-work for now. There are just so many rabbit holes when it comes to general maint, mods, and preferred maint. Becomes mind boggling. Everyone rightfully has their own opinion on what works and what doesn't, which makes things tougher to decide on. I personally don't think any american made, and or designed gas engine qualifies to be meticulous, that's my opinion, makes me part of the diverse pool of opinionated people too! I guess the discerning and logical auto owner has to just stand back and really focus on the research, and results.

 

I paid about $14k for mine in 2014 from the original owner with 141k on it. I basically jumped into it without knowing much about Ford diesels, except that the 7.3L is the one to get. After all the work I've done to it and how well I know the truck now, it was 100% the right decision. I do not regret it for a minute. It's a reliable beast of a pulling machine.

 

I wouldn't drive a 6.uh-oh if someone else paid for all the parts, maintenance and fuel. My dad has a babied 07 that blew the head gasket. He is another of those meticulous engineer types, and his still went down for the count. NO WAY anyone should EVER have to spend $4500 to have peace of mind, Razzi. NO WAY. Not unless it is the only vehicle available to purchase...and the 6.uh-ohs are not the only vehicles available. I would buy a 5.4 Excursion before I bought a 6.uh-oh...all day, every day.

 

I wouldnt even touch a 6.doh X or truck, too many failures at work, even with scheduled maintenance, the most common were the stupid design injector top O ring, all the ones we had which were like 8-10 of them had this problem, plagued with other stuff like clogged up oil coolers and egr coolers and head gaskets. If you can do all the work yourself and have at a minum of 5k (just in parts) go ahead if not get a 7.3.
Just my worthless .02