Need advice or experience, please. I am currently saving and planning to get my 6.0L puking problems fixed for good. I have been speaking with a couple of reputable shops on what should be done and they have recommended slightly different things:

Shop 1 = headstuds, egr delete kit, replace factory oil cooler (if necessary), provide custom tuner.

Shop 2 = headstuds, fire-ring gaskets, egr delete kit, oil cooler relocation kit.

Which recommendations should I choose? Price quotes are roughly the same. I am leaning toward shop #2 but what are your thoughts? How important is the oil cooler relocation vs. tuner? Thanks, Joe.

 

I've never heard of a 6.0 puking, only my bike. Headstuds you can't go wrong with. EGR delete solves a slew of potential problems as well. Oil cooler, I've never had a problem, and custom tunes you can have a lot of fun with.

 

Are you trying to spend money or do you want the most cost efficient fix?

Start with this:

A) check for leaking EGR cooler.

If that is it, dump EGR cooler and oil cooler (cheaper and easier at same time).

B) Headstuds

If you do not have an obvious reason for it to fail --- are you running mod chips, hopping it up?

Then, don't necessarily assume it is HG or headstuds problem. Stock engines that have not been used with mod chips, pulled heavy loads for a long time or in excess of capacity, etc. generally do not necessarily have a problem --- but you can always be the unlucky one.


What mileage do you have on it? Are you original owner?

 

The truck has ~160K on it and it is basically stock. I am not the original owner and do not know much of the specific history of the vehicle other than it was a one owner fleet vehicle prior to me. It has a gooseneck hitch but I don't know what kinds of loads it pulled.

I don't have the luxury of throwing money at the problem, but I want to fix it right the first time. I'd hate to fix the coolers and have the HG's go 6 months later. Anyway, the coolant tested positive for exhaust gases so I figured it's likely the HG's, if not the coolers as well. Thought I should bite the bullet and be done with it in one shot rather than risking repeat problems in the future.

I am on a budget, but definitely wanting the headstuds and EGR delete. It is more the other items I am questioning. Fire-ring gaskets, tuners, oil cooler relocations.....are these really necessary or do they just look cool on your vehicle profile?

 

If you don't want to throw away dollars then make sure you know what the root cause of the problem is before getting things "fixed".

There is a TSB that provides some good information on coolant puking, the number is 06-3-8. If you will go to the Full Text TSB section of the forum and enter this number in the field labeled View By TSB Number you should be able to read the entire bulletin.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/fulltext/index.php

 

Headstuds is very iffy.. come back after you consult the TSB.

I am not convinced it is needed yet. Have you done compression test?

Tuners? Oil Cooler relocs.. are all.. OPTIONAL if your factory stuff works fine.

Chances are your truck was used for some heavy duty towing (hence the hitch) and it is worked hard.

Before you call it head studs, it can also be ... cracked pistons / rings / valves..

So lets be through before $1,000 go for ARP for nothing.

 

Fire ring gaskets are not necessary. The aftermarket oil cooler is not necessary either, but you do need a coolant filter (and you need FREQUENT coolant system checks and flushes)

I believe that gauges are an absolute must (fuel pressure, EGT, boost, AND as long as you get the most recent flash from Ford, you get a CEL when the EOT excedes 15* over the ECT).

IMO, a tuner makes things nice, but if you get the Phalanx, you get a great tuner AND gauges from the OBDII port (does not have EGT or fuel pressure though).

I alsobelieve that the CCV re-route is VERY useful.

 

While working on those now, may or may not fix his problem in the short term, they aren't long term fixes as he would still have the stock bolts. Stock bolts have their issues, although they more or less depend on how the owner drives the vehicle, they do have their issues on their own.

Also, fixing a leaking EGR cooler doesn't mean that you fix the coolant leak either. Going for the EGR first is the favorite of most Ford dealerships for a variaty of reasons(of which I won't get into right now), but that doesn't mean that it truly is fixing the root problem. He may or may not have an EGR cooler, but that doesn't mean that it's the root cause of the leak.

Actually the stock bolts are an issue, hell even Navistar with their de-tuned versions of our engine had their fair share of bolts not holding up. I think you were one of the fortunate ones that didn't have an issue and therefore, think a little more positively then others. I have known one guy in the contractor business(plus was a farmer as well), he had gone through 3 6.0s, all stock and had bolt issues on all 3 and now he drive a Tundra(don't worry I never let him hear the end of that one). I know more stories then just his, I would say that the bolts from the factory are an issue to be concerned with. Now alot of this can be mitigated by how you drive as well, but it goes a little beyond that with regard to the headbolts.

My headbolts went as well, rather or not they were bad from the factory of if it was due to the tuner, or my driving before and during the tuner being on the truck, I don't know. I'm sure we all have our suspicions(and I'm pretty sure where yours would be), but suspicions and anecdotal "evidence" isn't definitive evidence.

Not exactly true. I know of a couple of people have had hitches and never used them. How many people have brush guards on their trucks and yet never been off into the brush, just because it's on there doesn't mean it was used or if it was, doesn't mean that it was used hard.


OP: I would do the ARPs as that would give you freedom to do other things with your truck(mods and have more comfort in not having the potential of issues either hauling or DDing or any combination thereof, or other scenerios as well.

Stock gaskets are fine unless you are thinking about making this truck an all out racing, sled-pulling truck. The gaskets aren't like the 02-04 mustang gaskets that had their issues. Just make sure your heads are flat, take your time and install it correctly, if you don't, you still run the risk of puking.

EGR delete or bypass may or may not need to be done. If you plan on keeping it at stock levels or just tuned, then you can just get it shut off electronically or if you have emissions testing would need to keep it on and intact. You can mitigate issues known with the EGR valve by how you drive the vehicle(I think that's the biggest thing in dealing with the EGR valve and most people don't want to have to deal with that). I would really only do the delete and/or bypass if you are wanting to do bigger mods that dictate more fuel to be flowing then what can be had with tuning and stock injectors alone.

 

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I printed out the TSB and will read it. Based on the bed dents and scratches and the wear on the hitch my guess is that the truck was used pretty hard.

I did take it into the local dealer and it passed a compression test on the cooling system. I keep the coolant level well below the min and have also replaced the original degas cap with no improvement. Dealer recommended an EGR Cooler test for $165. Debating whether or not this is a good investment. If it is bad, why would I want to replace it with another? He also told me EGR coolers are on nationwide back order until February 2010.

I like the idea of studs simply for the piece of mind. Joe.

 

What about a compression test on the engine?

Or, it can be done as a power balance test by killing cylinders one at a time and measuring the RPM drop.


Take a look at this:

6.0L Ford Power Stroke Engine - Ford Diesel Trucks - Diesel Power Magazine

If the truck is really bad, there is NO reason to believe it is just head bolts, but it can be cracked pistons, rings, etc.

See this:


6 0L Ford Power Stroke Engine Cracked Piston Photo



Or:



6 0L Ford Power Stroke Engine Cracked Exhaust Valve Ports Photo



Or:




6 0L Ford Power Stroke Engine Valve Slap Photo

 

I don't think there is anything seriously wrong with the engine. It runs very well, doesn't make any unusual noises, and has zero blowby. I wouldn't suspect anything wrong if it weren't for the copious amounts of coolant that get expelled from the degas cap when it gets worked.

It appears to me that the owner of the truck in that article was just not paying attention or simply didn't care. I am proactive and diligent about maintaining my vehicles, which is why the truck is now parked and any problems will be addressed before they become worse. I came here because I want be educated enough to go about diagnosing and repairing the issue properly.

 

That is something that really needs to be done especially starting with the 6.0. Alot of habits and ways of thinking really needed to change with owners of this engine and later ones. Probably one of the single most damaging factors is how the owners took care of the vehicle and how the techs at the dealership worked on it.

 

If you are not running tunes, modding chips, etc. and the stock head studs work, why fix it?

Get the coolant and oil cooler issue fixed... then just worry about other issues later.