I didn’t take it that way either, just someone who got screwed.

 

I appreciate the advice and support. Just a crappy situation. Drove 3 hours to a higly recommended shop just to have issues. Either way thanks guys.

 

That's a huge bill 11k for and warranty that sounds useless

 

WOW, Hewitt looks good compared to this guy.

 

Haha I hear you guys loud and clear my wallet is very mad at me (and the wife) but it gets better. Turbo inlet boot came off 20 minutes after picking it up.

 

Just drove it back the 3 hour trip and temps stayed good 192-194 oil 196-198 and checked looked under the hood and looks like degas bottle is empty. Going to let it cool down before pulling the cap and calling the lawyer. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would go this far. In the beginning I was sold on replacing the 6.0 with a rebuilt 5.9 cummins. He said that would be a little more than 6500 that he could make the 6.0 run perfect. Think I made a mistake.

 

It's been implied before, that the two "avoidable" mistakes that gave the 6.0 a bad rap were, #1- a bad mechanic and #2 - unrealistic tunes without any modification. Looks like you got stung but #1...

If you think you're having trouble with this, just imagine how many doors for trouble would be open with these guys doing an engine conversion. I'm getting the feel that it would have been much worse, and I doubt any attorney would have represented you once you did have trouble, especially since the shop tried to talk you out of going that route.

 

I bought a good running used complete 6.0 last week off of Ebay for $1500 plus $200 freight, no core. Now I have my original engine, complete with turbo, injectors, etc. for parts. BTW, my first engine went 580K on the original block and heads and head bolts but was getting hard to start. Found fuel in the coolant so time to swap in another. Probably a cracked injector cup.

 

I agree a motor swap probaly would not have turned out well with this mechanic. Just irritating. I have enjoyed the 6.0 but i have a 180k miles and having major issues while my buddies with duramaxes and cummins are going strong. And i didnt get a lemon just didnt get the miracle. Thats awesome you got 580 you got your monies worth. I love the truck just expected the 580 not the 180. But never can tell. My biggest thing is I have a 1959 3/4 ton 4x4 ford that i could have saved the 6.0 build for thats why i considered the swap for my daily.

 

Crack probably started back when Ford "fixed" it at 25K. There is ALWAYS a better than 50/50 chance heads, other things get damaged on blown head gaskets. The Ford (dis) service dept took short cuts to save money, time.

That follow-up repair shop really rip'd you off -- I'd post their name and address here as a warning to others, nail them on Google Reviews, other social media.

You are spot on about cummins, not so sure about duramax.

 

My guess is that the crack was there the whole time and mechanic figured it just needed head gaskets and failed to verify other potential sources. What specifically does it say regarding work they were going to do on the heads? Was that work to be done in house or sent out?

At a minimum (for the amount you paid) they should have completely redone the heads which includes pressure check, surfacing, resetting valves and any needed parts (guides, seats, etc).

Because these heads commonly crack, the pressure check is a critical step. One shop that does alot of head work said it’s not uncommon to see 10% or more fail the pressure test requiring a replacement casting.

If they said they were pressure checked and did this work in house, walk in there unannounced and have them show you the procedures and tools used to do it. My guess is they won’t (since they probably just charged you for the service without the tools to actually do it). Might be worth recording the conversation in the event you have to take the next step to get this resolved...

 

I know a Cummins tech, they are not problem free. He owns two pickups.
One is a 2006 6.0, the other work truck is a 6.4
Google 53 series block for starters, or the 5.9 dowel pin issues.

Last year the boy was pulling a load of ATV's back from a trail two hours from here.
He friend with the Cummins was the one that threw the turbo and overheated.

Are they less prone to failures?
Probably, but they are no trouble free.

 

 

When the owner operated shop that works on my 6.0 does warranty work on parts he purchased, he doesn't charge me a dime. Even though, he pays for the labor (not sure if Ford compensates any labor). In my opinion the owner of the highly recomended shop you took your 6.0 to allowed his ego to overide common sense. Let us know if he offers you an invoice or an apology.

 

I'm walking down this road right now...

When I started reading about your situation, my first thought was that they either didn't machine the heads period or they just had them cut and threw them on without going the whole nine.

The shop that initially did my engine work had a mechanic that was grumpy and they changed the way they paid him to motivate him. This, however, had the opposite effect...

He did my head gasket job, but years and many miles later when things started happening, I thought: "Ok, just some wear and tear, no big deal".

-No heat unless I was driving
-Degas would puke even in the stock tune
-Radiator cracked
-Degas cracked several times
-Water pump took a dump
-Kept having coolant leaks anywhere possible

^^^^All tell tale signs of a failing head gasket. It wasn't until the engine started billowing white smoke and finally Hydrolocked from coolant that it was game over and obvious what my problem really was.

When I pulled the head, I found that they HAD NOT been machined and a grinder was used to remove the material on the head to make it clean enough to seal with a new gasket.

I called the shop owner and even though this was 4 years and one month later, he paid to have my heads properly machined and checked.

All this being said, I'm doing the work myself so this time, I know it's done correctly and I don't have to think or worry about if it was done correctly. No shop will ever touch my truck again!

Bottom line: You don't owe them a DIME! They failed to properly repair your truck the first time using best practices. They cut a corner, it bit them in the hind end, and now they're trying to pin it on you.