My 03' had all the usual problems that I'm hearing happen even from a few of the newer 05',6,7's. Including head gaskets.- But yes, I believe the 03' was more problematic; this was the first year out for the 6.0. Fortunately all the problems happened under warranty, and dealer was O.K. w/ installing my supplied ARP head studs. Now that I'm finally out of warranty, egr delete kit is going on and I will take great pleasure in tossing the cooler in the bin. Earlier owners were the guinea pigs. We learned firsthand about block casting sand circulating in the cooling system and the need for aftermarket filtration so we wouldn't plug up our oil & egr coolers and blow H.G.'s. Anyway, getting to the point; now that all the bugs seem to be out, and regardless of the huge inconvenience and pain in the *****, truck runs great and I still love it. Like others have mentioned here; and what ever year you end up w/, remember to budget for religious maintenance. Don't be afraid to buy one if it's had new coolers,egr,or headgaskets, and preferably one that has had studs installed, and oh yeah,coolant filter!