I am looking to move up from my Escape to a f350 to tow a Travel Trailer.
Saw online a F350 6.0 with 89,000. Dont know much about diesels. But is really low miles and from the Carfax it is true mileage. Have not looked at it but it is from NY so kinda worried about rust. Thoughts on Diesel with 89,000. It had the following work done on it in 2013 or when it had 55,000 miles on it
Thermostat replaced
Oil and filter changed
Intake manifold gasket(s) replaced
Engine timing/front cover gasket replaced
Water pump replaced
Cooling system checked
Transmission fluid changed
Power steering hose(s)/line(s) replaced
EGR system checked
Thanks any thoughts appreciated

 

If you know nothing about diesels, I would avoid a 6.0 or a 6.4L PSD.

 

The 03 and 04 years had a problem with exploding oil coolers for the 6.0 engine. That was remedied for 05, which is the year I own.

 

RUN AWAY!
Money pit.

 

my opinion.

if you do NOT know the proper care and feeding of a diesel...
and NOT JUST FORD.. any brand of diesel...

Learn before or look else where.
Yes, many 6.0 and 6.4 had problems...

go to this forum .. and look at the 6.0 and 6.4 sub-section... posts over the past many years..

 

As a former 6.0 owner the 6.0 diesels trucks can be good if they were maintained and if whoever had it didnt beat the hell out of it. The problem your going to face is finding a decent 6.0 for a good price that your not going to have sink a ton of cash into and that will be the trick.

The mileage is low but there are guys out there that will roll back an odometer and sell the truck with lower miles than it has, a dealer should be able to tell you if the mileage is correct or not, if it is correct one of things I would be concerned about is how little it was used. Low mileage trucks , especially diesels can be problematic because sitting for long periods of time just gunks these trucks up. Now could be the owner took care of it, but I would get the engine checked out.

My first question is do you have a budget in mind for what you want to spend on a truck? And with that said do you have a reserve set aside for anything that may pop up after purchase? I would seriously consider having a budget in mind of what you want to spend and a reserve in case anything comes up suddenly that needs attention. I dont know if your really mechanically handy , there are guys here who know the 6.0 and can out one together and others that know this and that but the truck goes to a shop that knows the 6.0 for repairs if it is anything out of their ability, that is something you will have to factor in as well.

The problem with some diesel truck is that some guys are selling because they have moved up to a different diesel or down cause they dont need one any further and others that know their truck has issues but want to get as much as they can and dump it on the next guy and other who will straight up tell you it has issues. Trying to find one out of the group will be a test of patience and due diligence.

Some high and low mile trucks might be ok, but others just might be to the point where they are tired or in need of repair that the owner isnt prepared to go and do. The chore for you will be to find out which is which. If your going to be buying a truck privately ask the current owner how long they have had it and if they are a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 10th owner, ask if they have maintenance records, those will be very very important to seeing how well the truck was maintained. Did the owner do a lot of his own maintenance or did he have a shop do it? whats all been done to the truck, how often did he do oil changes, filter changes? Is it deleted? is it stock? was it tuned? What kind of tuning and by who? Why are they getting rid of it? etc

Dont just take the persons word for it that they were the only owner, run a carfax or car proof and verify the trucks history, lots of shady guys will buy truck at auction and song you a song and dance to get you to buy it so they can flip it for a profit, now thats not indictive of everyone but you need to check the trucks history out.

When your going to go loook at a truck make sure you take some coveralls and a good strong flashlight crawl all over the engine of that truck and look for leaks etc, then crawl under the truck and do the same, get right under that engine and use that light to look for any leaks from the front of the engine to the back and side to side. the 6.0's love to leak from the bedplates so you need to look really well follow it all the way to the transmission and look for leaks. while your there check the steering components, tie rods, ball joins control arms etc... and work your way to the back of the truck. Start that truck up and let it run and look for leaks, check the coolant bottle and see what the coolant is like and make sure it isnt puking diesel, let that engine get hot, take it for a good drive on a fwy or highway and keep an eye on those temps etc, check that exhaust and see if it is belching oil or yellowish white smoke. check if there are any CEL's on etc.

Dont punk your cash down just yet If you like the truck just cause it looks good on the inside and outside, tell the seller you would like to arrange for a Ford dealer to inspect the truck ( see below )

Maybe a truck your looking at is at a Ford Dealer, or another dealer or the guy on the corner selling trucks? Ask the dealer where this truck came from? It is important to know the trucks history. Used car dealers only get their trucks via trades or at the auction. You need to know the history.
I would ask the place selling it to allow you to take the truck to a Ford dealer if it is at any other dealer from a big dealership to Al's auto lot on the corner selling trucks

if the truck has been tuned or deleted? That is another thing important to know. Some guys that have invested time and money into a tuned truck that has been deleted arent usually selling them with some mileage, because once tuned and deleted these trucks can go along way if they were taken care of and if they were maintained right. If some guy beat the hell out of it and dumped it because it was a problem child then thats something to be wary of. But that is why I suggest taking it to a Ford dealer and having them look it over with IDS.

It may cost you a couple hundred dollars to have a Ford dealer look at it, but You can get the Ford dealer to use their IDS to check the compression in the cylinders, the FICM, ICP AND IPR readings and the injectors not to mention the Ford dealer can look at the breaks and suspension and front end components and most of all check for any leaks etc. A couple hundred bucks spent now could save you from having to spend thousands later in repairs.

Even if a dealer says they had it inspected, still take this to a Ford dealer and get them to check the truck before you enter into an agreement to purchase it The Ford dealer should know what the problem areas of the 6.0's are and they can tell you straight up what the scoop is . I would not enter into any purchase agreement until you see what the Ford dealer or a shop that knows 6.0 diesels tells you what they found after they tested things with IDS and they looked over the rest of the truck.

You have to remember that 6.0 parts are not cheap, remember that Navistar still has there hand in the pocket of 6.0 and 6.4 owners when it comes to parts. I would advise you not to go to a 6.4 just because the curve on those truck is steep and repairs can be pricey and there are a lot of guys dumping 6.4 problem child onto someone else because they just dont want to fix the issues they are having, are there good 6.4's out there sure, but the upkeep and repairs can be really steep if you dont have the wallet for it.

Do your homework on all the trucks you look at, take your time finding a truck and then do the due diligence on it, if it looks good then take some of the steps I gave you and go thru them, last thing you want to do is spend thousand of dollars on a truck only to find out it need thousands more to get it on the road or keep it there.