So need some advice what, if anything I should do. I will try to keep this as short as I can but want to try and get all the info I remember.
So, I have a 03 Ford F550 with 239,000 on it. It was bulletproofed by a local Ford Dealer before I got my hands on it but I got the receipt and it was bulletproofed. This truck was lucky to see 10,000 miles a year and I owned it for about 6 to 7 years. I got it with roughly 189 on it.
So what happened: Roughly 10 weeks ago we went to a job about 10 miles away. Ran perfectly fine to the job. After being there about 3 hours I started it and it seemed to run a little rough but it was cold that day so did not think much of it. Glow plugs did not work great. Only had to move it about 100 yds. So then after completing the job we started it again and still running a little rough. My guy drove it home and I followed him in another truck. He said it had big lack of power issue where it would take like 50 to 60 seconds to get up to 50 mph. Went home the 10 miles and I saw no smoke except for maybe 2 or 3 real fast puffs of black smoke. But 99% of the ride, no smoke. So I had met a guy about a month earlier that owned a shop that said he knew about 6.0's and so I had it towed to him. He diagnosed it as a bad HPOP. I told him I was a little tight but would do what needed to get it fixed. He said he would put an HPOP in that he had. I was there when he started it after he said he replaced it. It seemed to run ok but he was racing the engine. He said he had to work the air out of the system. Then after a little bit it didnt seem to run as good and he said it wasnt getting base oil pressure. Kept starting and running it but then another kid there told him to shut it down that he saw oil coming out of the pass side of the engine. I left. He then said he had to replace the oil cooler. After that he said it was fixed and to come get it. I drove it home but was not running right. He said it would take a little time for the air to work out of system. When I got home I saw oil leaking. I saw that the oil was coming from the front top of the engine. He had it towed back to his shop. It was the oil cooler cover that was cracked. He said he replaced it and to come up that it was again fixed. When I got up there I noticed that it had oil residue in the Degas bottle and there was a pulley that was loose. It was started and it again did not run correctly. He then said he would figure it out. He then supposedly replaced some other stuff. Again called up to get the truck. This time I made it about a 1/4 mile down the road and it ran like crap and blowing blackish smoke. After I made it about a 1/4 mile down the road and I let off the fuel pedal it died. I had to call him cause it would not start. He jumped it and got it started and I limped it back to his shop while I heard a noise. Got back to his shop and he said it sounded like the turbo went. He checked the shaft play in front of me and it moved all over the place so he said it was shot. He went inside to get something and I checked the oil. Nothing on dipstick. It took 2 gallons of oil before it showed on dipstick. He said he would make it right. (Yeah I know, I should have gotten away from him but I didnt). So then he calls me and said he has bad news. He thinks it has a spun bearing. He sees metal in the oil. Then the very next day he calls me again and says him and a couple mechanic friends listened to it and think it is not a spun bearing but it was the turbo that put the metal in the oil. He would replace and it should be good. Well then a couple more days he calls me back to, "come take it for a ride to see what I think". So he starts it and seems to idle ok. As soon as I give it fuel leaving his shop it again runs like total crap making a noise and shooting black smoke again. Died at the same point as last time 1/4 mile down the road. Got it started and got it back to his shop and I just left. I had a guy come tow it to another place a day later. The guy that has it now said he cannot get it started. He said he has had 3 starters in it all tested good on bench test. But all they do is the starter spins but wont engage. He said the little area on the flywheel he could see seems fine with normal wear so cannot figure out why it would not engage. But I decided to stop him at that point cause he showed me all the glitter in the oil filter. He said it most likely spun either a crank, rod or cam bearing. He told me I am looking at $10 g's easy to rebuild. So I dont know whether I should just part this thing out if there is even any merit to doing that or whether I should even think about trying to salvage it. This thing ran awesome before this happened. Never any major issues with it.
The guy at the first place asked if I kept up on oil changes and if it ever overheated like he was going to blame this on me. I said I did oil changes with rotella and motorcraft filters. I did not count the miles but I know I did not go over what I should. I was good with that I believe. The last time I did do one I got the rotella but I could only find the Napa filter at that time. That was literally like 3 weeks before this happened. But I am not concerned about that. I had a look at the oil several times as this debacle was going on with never a hint of metal in it. It was the last two times I went there is when this thing just went to hell. So, any advice what you guys think I should do. I am mechanically inclined but dont know what I should do at this point.
Below is the filter from the last guy that could not get the starter to engage. (The oil was changed at some point at the end by him) The previous times, I dont believe oil was changed cause when the 2 gallons of oil was put in that one time it showed up low, it was very close to black in color

 

Ain't nothing Bulletproof.

Hard to say. From the description, I would say you made a couple of bad choices on the repair facilities. I wouldn't trust any of them.

You also said you were tight for money when probably an HPOP was just thrown in without any good reason. And you need a turbo. And you need to tear down the complete motor to find the cause of the metal, doubtful it was from the turbo.

A complete motor rework is going to be above $10-12k. You might take a chance on a salvaged motor in the $3500-4000 range. For the miles you put on it, I'd punt and buy a trailer.

 

An eighteen model year old vehicle with 239,000 miles on it is hardly worth any money as it stands, in running condition. Since this is an F-550, it is obviously used for a very specific purpose. That $10 to $12G figure could easily grow, depending on what level of rebuild you are looking at (does that include labour? How about new injectors? You mentioned it needs a new turbo, etc...). How long will it take you to recoup that money once that work is done? This is also assuming there are no other issues to be addressed, outside of the present engine issue. At that mileage, it is highly unlikely. My opinion, is to take that $10 to $12G (assuming those funds are available) along with however much you can scrounge up, and put towards a newer equivalent vehicle that will meet the needs of what you were using that vehicle for.

 

Yeah really never thought about spending that to rebuild the engine. Kind of just wanted to know if from what you saw, is it a catastrophic failure, which I am sure it is. And then if it was worth much parting out. I just wanted to see what I could get for the truck either parting it out or as a whole. Yes, I use it for my business of mobile home setup. I already got another truck but just wondering what you guys thought about this one.

 

You would probably get much more in totality, if you were to part it out.....at the expense of having to arrange a spot where it could be parted out, leading to the eventuality of having what's left of it towed once you've parted out every worthy part. The question for you remains whether it is worth the headache and inconvenience of parting it out, or simply just unloading it whole and being done with it.

Without seeing/hearing it run, it's really difficult to say if it was a catastrophic failure or not. Whether or not you made poor choices with where you took it in attempts to address the present issue is a moot point now. You need to weigh your present options on what is most cost effective to address the situation.... which I've already suggested above.

​​​​

 

So a trailer won't replace it. I'd list it for sale as is, take what you can get, and move on.