Do I really want to buy a 6.0??
#1
06-27-2018, 07:33 PM
Do I really want to buy a 6.0??
Hello New member, but been lurking for a few wks. Im looking, I think, for a 07 f350 to pull a fifth wheel. Im still a yr away from partial retirement. Im having second thoughts on this after reading the last 20 pages of this forum. All I see is dead 6.0's Does anybody have one that starts and runs?? Was going to try to find one in the next 2-3 months and then bullet it over the winter in my shop. Somebody convince me or talk me in to something else. Thanks
#2
06-27-2018, 07:51 PM
Depends on your perspective. You are talking about an 11year old vehicle, perhaps 150-200k miles. Regardless of engine type there are bound to be issues.
My son purchased an 04 with 210k miles. It had just been studded, egr delete, starter, oil pan replaced, oil cooler, standpipes too.
In the past 2 years and 50k miles he has, replaced all injectors, glow plugs and module, rebuilt dash cluster, 2 batteries, alternator another starter, brakes & calipers all around, turbo, 2 window motors, had the front seat reupholstered too. Getting an occasional code for cam position sensor that leads to no starts, but may have fixed it now after much wire tracing. Few other things like a/c now works, cruise now works, remote entry now works, overhead console now works.
He he would say it is normal for that age and mileage, others would curse their bad luck.
None of this is specific to the 6.0. He has friends with similar vintage GM trucks and they are not trouble free either. Many an evening as been spent in our garage deep into someone’s engine or electrics.
My son purchased an 04 with 210k miles. It had just been studded, egr delete, starter, oil pan replaced, oil cooler, standpipes too.
In the past 2 years and 50k miles he has, replaced all injectors, glow plugs and module, rebuilt dash cluster, 2 batteries, alternator another starter, brakes & calipers all around, turbo, 2 window motors, had the front seat reupholstered too. Getting an occasional code for cam position sensor that leads to no starts, but may have fixed it now after much wire tracing. Few other things like a/c now works, cruise now works, remote entry now works, overhead console now works.
He he would say it is normal for that age and mileage, others would curse their bad luck.
None of this is specific to the 6.0. He has friends with similar vintage GM trucks and they are not trouble free either. Many an evening as been spent in our garage deep into someone’s engine or electrics.
#3
06-27-2018, 08:09 PM
yep it does. Thanks for the reply and overview. I too own 3 vehicles right now that are 10-18 yrs old. Just bought an '13 F-150 last yr. Haven't bought new in 20 yrs. At my age and with what I want to do with this truck, I need dependability out on the road. Not planning on going in debt 50-60K for a truck.
#5
06-28-2018, 06:24 AM
Tuned
Well is it critical that it starts up and runs?. I bought mine because I like wrenching on stuff and buying Motorcraft parts. I don't really mind that it doesn't run. I think if any of us could get one of these 6.0's running, it would be a fun truck to drive.
#6
06-28-2018, 07:04 AM
I just bought an '04 F350 Lariat with just under 60k on the clock. Body is in 100% condition, never been driven in the winter, was only used to haul a camper/toys. EGR was deleted at 30k and Turbo was upgraded at 35k. Right now I'm working on the 60k maintenance, and everything else that comes with bringing a new truck into my garage. Oil cooler might be next up, but need to flush the cooling system to be sure. The Truck runs great, and it is 14 years old. There are some gems out there, but you have to be careful.
I would stay away from the 6.0 and really any Diesel if you are not willing to spend the money on maintenance and repairs.They all have their subset of problems, and many aftermarket companies have come to aid in keeping them on the road with better parts. Once you get through the minor issues they all have and replace with better parts, you should be great for a long time! If you can do most of the maintenance yourself, the cost shouldn't be an issue. My biggest thing is spend the money on the little things to avoid the costly head gaskets/studs repair, which generally are around $5k.
Edit: One thing to take in and consider. Out of all the people on the forum posting about issues, how many does this compare to the amount of trucks sold and still on the road. I don't come here and post that my truck is running great, and just ran 2k miles with a gooseneck to pickup my '59 Chevy. Most of the people here are only here due to problems, with quite a few good souls that are always here to help. The amount of negative posts do not correlate to the reliability of the 6.0.
I would stay away from the 6.0 and really any Diesel if you are not willing to spend the money on maintenance and repairs.They all have their subset of problems, and many aftermarket companies have come to aid in keeping them on the road with better parts. Once you get through the minor issues they all have and replace with better parts, you should be great for a long time! If you can do most of the maintenance yourself, the cost shouldn't be an issue. My biggest thing is spend the money on the little things to avoid the costly head gaskets/studs repair, which generally are around $5k.
Edit: One thing to take in and consider. Out of all the people on the forum posting about issues, how many does this compare to the amount of trucks sold and still on the road. I don't come here and post that my truck is running great, and just ran 2k miles with a gooseneck to pickup my '59 Chevy. Most of the people here are only here due to problems, with quite a few good souls that are always here to help. The amount of negative posts do not correlate to the reliability of the 6.0.
Last edited by Soler25; 06-28-2018 at 07:08 AM. Reason: final thought
#7
06-28-2018, 07:18 AM
Trending Topics
#8
06-28-2018, 07:26 AM
Do you need a hobbie?
While most of the motors ills depend on how well they were treated in life, fifteen years after production the aging process can take its toll on things like electrical harness and devices as well as seals even in the best of cases. Those who are mechanical in nature and deal with the issues without the expense of labor. Those who do not like being under the hood can pay dearly. However, any of the later production vehicle have a complexity that tends to push moderately mechanically gifted individuals back to the dealer.
While most of the motors ills depend on how well they were treated in life, fifteen years after production the aging process can take its toll on things like electrical harness and devices as well as seals even in the best of cases. Those who are mechanical in nature and deal with the issues without the expense of labor. Those who do not like being under the hood can pay dearly. However, any of the later production vehicle have a complexity that tends to push moderately mechanically gifted individuals back to the dealer.
#9
06-28-2018, 07:31 AM
I bought my 2005 Excursion October 2013 with a leaking EGR cooler and clogged oil cooler. By the Grace of God it drove back to Houston without blowing the EGR cooler, so I took it over to a well known shop and they went to town on it.
-Dummy plugs and stanpipes
-Headgaskets
-Studs
-New injector seals
-Oil cooler
-Intake Manifold Gaskets
-Rocker box gaskets
-Cooling System Flush
-And a few other things I had them do while they had it
I ran 124K November 2013 until December 2017 and the only problem I had that left me on the side of the road was two blown top injector seals. The trans failed in March and I did the engine work to fix the injector seals while the trans was being built.
My 6.0 Excursion proved to be one of the most reliable vehicles that never let me down. I gave the truck what it needed and what it wanted, it always got maintained and never went without. This is why even though I need to rebuild the engine because of my own stupidity, I couldn't bring myself to sell the truck and still refer to it as My Favorite and most reliable truck.
All that being said...
The 6.0 got a bad rap because people treat it like a 7.3 cutting corners on maintenance and using whatever they can get their hands on to maintain the truck. The 6.0 doesn't work that way, it was never engineered that way period.
If you address the known issues with the engine (Dummy plugs, stand pipes, Blue fuel spring, Heads, EGR etc) change the oil every 5K, use Motorcraft filters and parts, drain and refill the pan on the transmission every 20K, and change the fuel filters every 10K, YOU WILL NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. I know this because this is exactly what I did with my truck and it always delivered flawless and unrivaled performance for over 4 years and 124K.
You're probably asking yourself "Then why do you have to rebuild your engine?" Because I listened to Schaeffers reps and ran the oil longer than I should have and listened to their oil analysis people telling me to run it up to 8000-9000 miles. I did that over the course of 4 oil changes and now I have bearings that are worn and showing up on the drain plug. I could still drive the truck, but I don't need or want an inspection window in my block.
Bottom line: Find a reputable shop and have them go through the engine. You will end up with a truck you can trust and depend on.
-Dummy plugs and stanpipes
-Headgaskets
-Studs
-New injector seals
-Oil cooler
-Intake Manifold Gaskets
-Rocker box gaskets
-Cooling System Flush
-And a few other things I had them do while they had it
I ran 124K November 2013 until December 2017 and the only problem I had that left me on the side of the road was two blown top injector seals. The trans failed in March and I did the engine work to fix the injector seals while the trans was being built.
My 6.0 Excursion proved to be one of the most reliable vehicles that never let me down. I gave the truck what it needed and what it wanted, it always got maintained and never went without. This is why even though I need to rebuild the engine because of my own stupidity, I couldn't bring myself to sell the truck and still refer to it as My Favorite and most reliable truck.
All that being said...
The 6.0 got a bad rap because people treat it like a 7.3 cutting corners on maintenance and using whatever they can get their hands on to maintain the truck. The 6.0 doesn't work that way, it was never engineered that way period.
If you address the known issues with the engine (Dummy plugs, stand pipes, Blue fuel spring, Heads, EGR etc) change the oil every 5K, use Motorcraft filters and parts, drain and refill the pan on the transmission every 20K, and change the fuel filters every 10K, YOU WILL NOT HAVE A PROBLEM. I know this because this is exactly what I did with my truck and it always delivered flawless and unrivaled performance for over 4 years and 124K.
You're probably asking yourself "Then why do you have to rebuild your engine?" Because I listened to Schaeffers reps and ran the oil longer than I should have and listened to their oil analysis people telling me to run it up to 8000-9000 miles. I did that over the course of 4 oil changes and now I have bearings that are worn and showing up on the drain plug. I could still drive the truck, but I don't need or want an inspection window in my block.
Bottom line: Find a reputable shop and have them go through the engine. You will end up with a truck you can trust and depend on.
#10
06-28-2018, 07:33 AM
Do you need a hobbie?
While most of the motors ills depend on how well they were treated in life, fifteen years after production the aging process can take its toll on things like electrical harness and devices as well as seals even in the best of cases. Those who are mechanical in nature and deal with the issues without the expense of labor. Those who do not like being under the hood can pay dearly. However, any of the later production vehicle have a complexity that tends to push moderately mechanically gifted individuals back to the dealer.
While most of the motors ills depend on how well they were treated in life, fifteen years after production the aging process can take its toll on things like electrical harness and devices as well as seals even in the best of cases. Those who are mechanical in nature and deal with the issues without the expense of labor. Those who do not like being under the hood can pay dearly. However, any of the later production vehicle have a complexity that tends to push moderately mechanically gifted individuals back to the dealer.
#11
06-28-2018, 07:39 AM
#12
06-28-2018, 08:44 AM
More Turbo
#13
06-28-2018, 09:12 AM
Edit: One thing to take in and consider. Out of all the people on the forum posting about issues, how many does this compare to the amount of trucks sold and still on the road. I don't come here and post that my truck is running great, and just ran 2k miles with a gooseneck to pickup my '59 Chevy. Most of the people here are only here due to problems, with quite a few good souls that are always here to help. The amount of negative posts do not correlate to the reliability of the 6.0.
As far as my 6.0 goes.. the engine itself has been mostly problem free for me. i bought it little over 5 years ago with 112K on the OD.. (since then ive added quite a few more to it).. truck had 2 prior owners with the first one using it commercially, no clue what the 2nd owner did with it. First owner i have the maintenance records for.. 2nd other the truck disappears for 50K miles. While i havent had alot of issues with the engine running, my problems have been in the rest of the drivetrain because the 2nd owner didnt keep the truck maintained. When things worn out they just left them to stay worn out which tore up the surrounding items. on a close tolerance truck this is a very bad thing to do.. as cost of repairs quickly sky rockets..
to buy a 6.0 or not to will really be up to you okiecat. its really a 50/50 thing if you get a good or a bad one depending on how well its been taken care of. Personally for me i feel the rep the 6.0's for being problem children is really undeserved. if you take care of it itll take care of you..
#15
06-28-2018, 12:25 PM
First, thanks to all for the reply and clarifications and opinions too. Let me give a few more details about me and my situation. Im 67, self-employed as a owner-operator of a dozer service for the past 47 yrs. I have had diesel pickups before, and of course trucks too. I run a Cat D-6N everyday and have done 95% of all service work since I started. I had a 99 ram 250 that had 412K on it when it accidentally burned"my fault" last winter. All I ever done was put a FASS system and gauges on it and drove the *&$% out of it. The 6.0 looked like something that I can maintain myself. Just can't work on it all the time. I have a business to run. Im still looking at it with open eyes. Thanks