I've tried finding this on my own but am coming up short of what I'd see as a pin point answer. I'm looking for a 6.0 and wouldn't mind a bullet proofed puppy but honestly I'm not fully informed on just what bullet proofed truly consists of. What all is involved in a true bullet proof? I've seen many say they are and some sayin' "semi" bullet proofed. I'm thinking that there isn't an in between its either done or not. Am I to look for certain name brands on parts? I'm sure many others have asked this and am sorry if its here but I can't find it.

What exactly makes a 6.0 100% bullet proof. (if you got a 06-07 250/350 king ranch or lariat that meets this let me know)

Thanks

 

No such thing as a 100% bullet proof 6.0
or 6.4
or 6.7
or any other engine on the face of the earth

Some things though you can look for are the obvious things like if it's studded.

That said, there are a lot of "bullet proof" 6.0's with over 200k miles on them running EGR coolers and stock TTY's, pulling fifth wheel trailers all day.
And then there are bullet proofed 6.0's with studs, oil cooler bypass, etc etc and on the second set of head gaskets.

Confused yet?

 

The term "bullet proofed" seems to have originated with Bullet Proof Diesel. See analytics graph here:
What does it mean to Bullet Proof an engine?

However, many people just mean that upgrades have been made to the truck to address some of the most common points of failure.

 

There are also stone stock 6.0's with over 200,000 miles with no major engine problems. Bullet proof doesn't mean you can abuse and not have consequences.

 

Unless there's a receipt from every shop that touched it, then it's not "bulletproofed", it's "shade-trade hack-job bull****" and should be priced as such. Just cause some goober with his finger buried up his nostril put studs in it doesn't mean anything.

And considering the term has nothing to do with the electrical, transmission, body, chassis, or suspension, the overall condition of the truck should drive the price more than a half dozen engine parts.

I'd prefer an unmolested engine, but they're getting harder to find since "everyone knows" you have to bulletproof a 6.0 or it's a cousin-kissin-POS.

We have a 2007 F250 Lariat that is unmolested, and oddly enough has had significantly fewer problems than other people who have gone rampaging through the engine bay in their spare time. Shocking.

 

My last truck was "unmolested". A 2007 XLT 6.0 that I purchased used with 114,000 kms. Owned and driven for four years, and put almost 100,000 kms. before I unloaded it over two years ago now. The only thing I replaced, was a cylinder #3 injector. Original EGR cooler, EGR valve, FICM and head gaskets still present and no signs of any failure when I sold it. I still miss that truck. The only reason I sold it, was curiosity getting the better of me with what it'd be like to live with a 6.7 truck.

 

Absolutely 100 percent NOT correct. The term has been around for decades and in a variety of realms. Not just in reference to Powerstroke diesels or even automotive applications. And it has always meant what bit means now. Durability under extreme usage. Efforts to "bulletproof" something are attempts at addressing known weaknesses to prevent future failures. Even a 15 second Google search will pull up forum entries from the early 2000's referencing how to "bulletproof" one's 4R100 transmission. Bulletproof Diesel did not coin the phrase, they pulled a term out of common usage that already conveyed what they were trying to get across. I get why they did it, it resonated with their intended audience, it conveyed their message, and it sounded good. But it was already out there and now it seems like they are getting lawsuit happy if someone else utters the phrase.






This is how the term has been used for decades.

 

Fair enough, I should have been more wordy... "the popularity of the term, in regards to Power Stroke Diesels, seems to have greatly expanded since BPD came on the scene."

 

Yeah no such thing as bulletproof. I just spoke to a friend this weekend with a"bulletproofed" 6.0 f250 that was egr deleted and studded a few years ago. Guess what, it now has blown heat gaskets again.
I agree with the above statement saying just because some booger picker replaced the head gaskets and installed studs it doesn't make it better than before. The quality of the work is more important than the parts used to "bulletproof" your 6.0

 

This term is used loosely so be careful. Some replace or remove the EGR cooler and tout it as bulletproofed. That's well short of what's required. Also some items are difficult to verify so reciepts and a call to the shop at a minimum to verify they are reputable and actually did the work is warranted but won't guarantee someone hasn't faked it or done a poor repairs job. At a minimum, it should have:

1. Headstuds (easily verified by looking whether headbolts or studs and nuts). If they say it has been studded and has bolts, every other claim is likely BS as well. Studs wont make gaskets 100% reliable unless heads were surfaced and valvetrain was done correctly. O-ringed heads are a worthy upgrade to improve reliability.

2. EGR delete or BPD cooler ( very difficult to verify if it has a BPD cooler without tearing it apart although there are some telltale welds that might be able to be seen. A delete is easy to verify but some states like calif won't pass emissions without a functioning cooler)

3. STC fitting and standpipe/ dummy plug update (impossible to tell without disassembly. STC is an 05-07 issue only)

4. Block flush, ELC coolant, and coolant filter ( filter is easy to verify but coolant flushing and EOT/Coolant temp deltas <15 degrees will help you assess if the oil cooler is blocked and needing replacement). Remote oil cooler is a alternative (and better) solution but pretty pricey.

There are other items that you could add to the list (waterpump, 6.4 pushrods, etc) but if all of the above at a minimum havent been done, I would say it's not bulletproofed as these are the most common failure points. The stud job is the most expensive ($5k) so most likely to be missing when sellers are misusing the term to make their truck seem to be worth more money.

Everything needs to be looked over with a fine tooth comb as plenty of shady sellers out there. Best to take it to a reputable powerstroke dedicated diesel shop to get a pre-purchase inspection. Well worth the money! A few recent pics and post from a buyer showed headstuds on the engine but when the valvecover was removed, they found out they never pulled the heads and just replaced the bolts that could be seen with studs to scam the buyer.

 

I am not really sure how you can tell if a motor has been studded by just lifting the hood when shopping for a truck. You can tell if it has the bypass for an external oil cooler. You could see if the FICM was replaced with a BPD one looking under the degas bottle. If it was replaced with the OEM cover, then it's hard to tell.

You can see if the EGR cooler is still present. The BPD upgraded EGR coolers looks the same (to me) externally like the OEM one. The only way to tell is to pull it out and look inside through the end opening.

 

Not having the heads surfaced is not a death sentence to failed head gaskets if they are checked with a machinist rule and in spec.
Several posts I can think of that the HG's failed on a stud job with machined heads.

It really is that simple to tell if it's studded or not.
Lift the hood, look for either a head bolt or a stud with 12 point nut.

Studded



Not studded

 

It would seem I'm not the only one tired of hearing this term . Bulletproof is a buzzword with no real technical meaning. However to answer the origonal question, and we'll stick to the 06-07 models. No particular order.

Head studs: The biggest and most expensive common upgrade. As said above somewhere in the area of $5k, it involves replacing the softer, factory head bolts with harder, stronger studs that have a nut and washer on the top. The engine should get new head gaskets when this is done. Gaskets from Ford and Fel-Pro seem to be the best choices, if the seller says "Black Onyx" it will need work in the future. "Black Diamond" and you're a Guinea pig, the jury is still out on those. Verifiable "O-ringed" heads are expensive and a nice upgrade when done properly.

EGR cooler: A BulletProof cooler is a good choice. I believe they originated the idea of removing the delicate heater core style coolers guts and welding in stainless steel tube. Many companies offer them now and it's just a matter of the quality of the welds as all of them are modified factory cores. An EGR delete is another, different option if you have no emission inspection concerns in your state (they are illegal for on-road use everywhere) Quality varies widely and price is a reasonable indication of quality. Either way, the factory unit was not up to the task for most of us and should be addressed.

STC fitting: Directly attached to the high pressure oil pump, the Snap To Connect fitting is another consistent failing part. The origonal part has a short section that swivels, making installation easier, however the swivel (snap) can't live under the wide high pressure swing of the oil coming out of the pump. 500psi to 3,000+psi up and down with engine rpm kills it. Redesigned by Ford to eliminate the snap part, the redesigned update was a good fix with none failing that I have heard of. Again, the aftermarket makes them now but I would prefer the Ford part.

Stand pipes: located under the valve covers, these thick iorn/steel, two piece tubes transfer the oil from the plumbing in the block to the plumbing in the cylinder heads. They are simple in design but the origonal ones had a single, rubber o-ring at the joints to seal them up. It was found the O-ring squirmed around in the greatly varying pressure and eventually wore town enough to leak. Once oil begins to get by it, it fails very quickly. The redesign involved adding a Teflon "backer ring" in a wider groove to keep the o-ring from "worrying". As far as I know the updated parts are only available from Ford. You do get a pair of standpipes with a Ford headgasket Kit.

Dummy plugs: Same deal as the standpipes above. Also under the valve covers.

Oil cooler: The origonal oil cooler is faulted on a lot of trucks when it really was a casualty of of debris in the cooling system. The origonal design had small coolant passages that did clog. Proper cooling system maintenance was key to keeping them going. The redesign (again, by Ford, this not a "mod" but a factory update) included an extra coolant plate. The aftermarket responded by designing a cooler with fewer plates and larger coolant passages. There were also rumors of casting sand being left inside the engine block during manufacturing, contributing to the oil cooler issues. At any rate a clean cooling system will directly relate to a long life for the cooler. The aftermarket units can give you some high oil temps if you tow or drive in a mountain area so again, I would prefer to see the Ford updated cooler and not an aftermarket unit.

Blue spring: The spring that determines the working fuel pressure, it is located in the side of the upper fuel filter housing. The origonal was either calibrated wrong, was prone to getting weak, or they decided to up the pressure, I never really got a good story on that but the blue spring will raise the pressure 15psi or so on most trucks. Its "common knowledge" that low fuel pressure can reduce injector life. Another Ford updated part, the aftermarket is swimming in chinesium spring kits, so it's another part I would want to know came from ford. People are even printing fake packaging to make these this look like factory parts. Inexpensive to make and selling for more than $50 for the full kit, I'd like to see a receipt to verify its the real deal or I would replace it after buying the truck.

Most of this stuff would be hard to verify visually. In the end you're going to have to trust the seller and, of course, receipts always help. Documentation proving the truck has been taken care of would be most valuable to me. Oil and other fluid changes, and repair history documentation or written on the garage wall or whatever would be worth more to me than head studs.

some other nice upgrades:
High output alternator - at least a factory style 140amp from the parts store.
Upgraded FICM - Not just a "fix" but upgraded components on the power board and high quality solder.
Cooling system flush/silicate free ELC- Silica has been blamed for clogging the oil coolers beginning in the early years of the 6.0. It can drop out of suspension in the very high temps in the EGR cooler, forming a sand or goo like deposit. Long a source of debate, a "silicate free" coolant last a long time and you will not have any problem with drop out. Many people also like to install a bypass filter on the cooling system at the same time to catch any remaining trash in the system.
Metal cold side charge air cooler tube- factory plastic ones fail often.
Power steering fluid filter - none from the factory.
Late model ('08 and up) trans pan and filter - the factory set up with the bypass filter near the radiator is ok but this is better and an inexpensive upgrade.

I've probably missed something but this is all I can think of right now. Good luck in your search.

 

+1 ^

Absolutely critical to know that the work was done correctly!

Hard to pay extra for a truck with all the "necessary mods" when you don't know who did the work, how well it was done, or sometimes even not knowing for sure what parts were used!

 

I'm way tired of the term, if no one noticed.