If you are frightened by a CEL light, this is the wrong one for you.

If you are a naturally curious tinkerer who is aiming for 500,000 miles of reasonably trouble free service, read on.

It is the wrong one for you if you do not need the high HP / Torque output on a sustained basis (e.g. towing 7,000+ pounds 50% of the time or more).

You are better off with a 5.4 gasser that is perfectly adequacy,

BTW, I own both - so I can compare.


Anticipate having to put $3,000 in mods, fixes etc. into it right off the bat (complete filter and coolant change, etc).

- add a coolant filter, and gauges, and have a primitive scan tool (like my $50) in your cab.


IMHO, you sound like you should get the 5.4 gasser.


People like you keep me in cheap 6.0s


Rickart: 265,000 miles now... verified by members on this forum!

 

The 6.0liter will be higher maintenance than your 7.3 with out question. If you were looking for low cost of ownership and easy maintenance you probably should have went with a gasser assuming you didn't need the towing capacity.

If you only do one mode I would definitely recommend the coolant filter. You can get a kit for under $200.

 

There is no way to make a modern diesel (2003 onwards) that are EPA compliant and still have pre 2003 maintenance levels.

Go through the forum, and you will find that:

Exhaust Gas Recirculation Subsystem is the No. 1 issue.

Right up there is problems caused by mods / tunes, etc (not Ford's problem).


Buying a van means it is unlikely to be modded - it was worked more likely. Many of them that are not in ambulances (do not buy) are lightly worked delivery trucks.

The van 6.0 is also detuned to produce less power.

I would go with 2006 or later to avoid the early year 2005s.


Take out these two issues - and the basic vehicle is pretty good.


Oh, if it is in a rust belt --- serious corrosion issues, with wiring both inside and out.


If I were do do it again, I would go for a 2007 today with a nose under 90,000 miles, leaving me 1 year of warranty and the option to extend the factory warranty to 200,000 miles.

The absolute best year for the 6.0 is 2007... and it was produced in the E series right up to the 2010 model year.

 

No i dont need the torque and i dont need to throw 3k at my work van.
I just need somthing to throw my tools into and drive around.
besides the diesel added 4k to the price compared to a simelar gasser
Too bad cause its in mint shape and was only used for expediting packages
long distance. i m not such a mechanical moron but i got better things to do. look for it on craigslist

 

I was debating between starting new thread or jumping on this one (It's obvious which way I decided to go). My 5.0 equipped '89 F150 finally developed more problems than I could fix (I'm definitely not bad-mouthin' it... It served me well for a long time). After being blessed with a 2005 F350 super crew dually about 4 months ago... I started hearing stories about what a POS the 6.0 was. I can't tell you how much I love this truck. I never thought I would own anything as nice as this truck... so hearing something negative about it, was quite disheartening. Can anyone offer any insight as to why the 6.0 has developed this reputation?

 

Welcome to FTE GildedSplinter -

There are well documented weaknesses to these engines. That being said, even the trusty 7.3L had issues (CMP sensor, tranny, I have had a few other things in the 240k it has been running). BTW - I certainly enjoy my 6.0L and would not trade it for anything at this point (unless someone was just giving something like the new 6.7L away).

Gearloose1 hit one issue squarely on the head - the EGR system was new to Ford and it has caused many headaches. There are ways to keep it from biting you, but you do have to be proactive with these engines (some people have just run them without issues, but I wouldn't recommend it).

One other issue is that the 6.0L can be quite difficult to diagnose. It is very important to find a good dealership and/or tech. We are very fortunate to have several techs here that are willing to give us their valuable time for free.

For a 2005, one added weak point is the "snap-to-connect fitting on the HPOP. It is not cheap, but there is a known good fix for it. A tech friend of mine is going to help me get mine changed in the near future.

Routine maintenance is the most important thing. Good oil, proper oil changes (5k to a MAX of 7.5k IMO), try to always get good fuel, proper fuel filter changes (10k IMO), tranny fluid changes and external filter changes (30k minimum), coolant flush (every 50k miles) - they are all very crucial!!!

Gauges are very critical IMO. An easy install would be the Edge Insight (or a more expensive DashSAQ) and a fuel pressure gauge (several options here).

That being said, there are several threads I would suggest you read up on that will give you an idea of the issues and the ways to minimize your potential for problems. Start in the Tech folder. I can post some links to some good threads later on today.

Then there are a few reliability mods that are fairly easy to do (and really do help), but not everyone thinks they should have to do them - so they don't. From my readings and experience, that is somewhat short sighted, but that is JMHO.

 

First off... thank you for your kind welcome.

Second... It's abundantly clear that I've come to the right place! This is my first (and hopefully last) diesel. He's an '05 with a little over 120,000 miles on him. He's in like new condition, and has everything I'll ever need. I want to do everything possible to make him last forever (or as close as possible). After even this one posting, I can see I have a lot to learn.

Given that I already own it... I'm choosing to ignore the negativity about the 6.0, and do what I can to make it last.

Thanks again!

 

Stick around here, you'll do fine..

 

129000 miles and runs great I tow a 26ft Sea Ray Sundancer with it and it does great.

 

you still want to sell it cause i know a good carpenter that couls use it, i'll even come and pick it up from ya!

 

Sometimes I think I would enjoy my truck a lot more if I had never heard of FTE. Even so, I guess it is better to be informed than to be blissfully ignorant. Because what you don't know can definitely be expensive. Welcome aboard, keep reading, and keep on loving that truck!

 

Removed by Max

 

Like buying a 747 and expecting to do the maintenance of a piper cub. Buy what you need and do your homework before you buy, not after and then bitch about the product.

 

Looks like this thread is a for sale ad.