Honest input on the early 6.0 motors

[mxrider39]

I am looking at going to a deisel and would like to know what the thoughts are on the earlier 6.0 motors.

For the price range I am looking at is giving me the option of 02, 03, 04 trucks some with the 7.3 and some with the 6.0. With my dad owning a body shop I will most likely end up with a salvage title and will not have warrenty. I know the 7.3 is a good motor would like to know about the 6.0

Thanks

 

[oi8228oi]

6.0s had some turbo issues if im not mistake and if im not mistake once they were replaced the owner of the truck was suppose to drive the truck hard(aka drive it like ya stole it). and this would "break" the turbo in. i believe that was the main issue people were having with the early 6.0s, but most people on here Love there 6.0s. imm sure someone with 6L will come on and explain better then i have.

 

[powerboatr]

drive like you stole it is not the "corerct it" issue, not babying it is better, drive it , dont grandma it all day, make it work

mid to late 03 introduction of the fine 6.0 were met with some serious issues
blown head gaskets, chaffed engine harnesses -mad , tubo vane sticking,
bed plate leaks and many rear main seal leakages, egr problems from to much "ON" time, tow haul was great but so many folks complained about its rough down shifts htey reflased to make it more soft and gentle -mad

04 6.0s had most of the wiring issues resolved, as most of the head gasket failures resolved
towhaul got tighted up some but still girlie man soft , tq shift also got some upgrades to fix broken sprag clutches and bearing issues

05 and 06 early builds got new designed head gaskets and lowered coolant levels to help combat degass bottle venting from egr flash boil
EGR cycling was also pulled back to NONE at idle , and changed the "ON" time to a narrower window of operation to help keep exhaust clean while still providing engine smoothness and power with out flash boil problems
mid 05 late 06 got some emissions relfashes which brought back 80% of the tow haul good characteristics like solid 2 to 1 down shifts and better downshifts while towing and grade braking, and internal enhancements plus mpg went up and increased HP to the wheels. plus a ton of programing changes to enhance driveablity , cold starts, and overall customer happiness

late 06 build and 07 engines recieve updated head designs to fit the commonality aproach with the new 6.4 so if you get new heads for a 6.0 they will be close to 6.4 heads saves part wharehousing, actually they are 6.4 heads with a few missing parts.

http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/60bulletin.htm has most if not al the recalls and good to know stuff
its not just 6.0

overall the 06 to 07 engines are probably going to go down as the best of the model run, they have 99% of the bugs worked out
and older 04 engines should be great now , if al the tsbs were caught up


and 06 engines are sandbagged on HP
we ran two 06 trucks in emory and they came out 325 HP and very close tq and they were babied on the runs, i was driving

 

[Ironmerganser]

I must say, that was the best reply I think I have ever read on here! Thanks Powerboatr!!

MXrider39, I too just bought a salvage title '03 with the 6.0. At first I was really leary after reading a lot of posts concerning problems with the 6.0. But after really digging around on this sight, I have found that there are more guys that have normal or minimal probelms as compaired to the ones that have had everything go wrong with the 6.0. Mine is a late run '03 with 61,000 miles. It was stolen and taken for a joyride. They smacked in the passenger side doors. It is getting fixed as we speak. Luckily my good friend runs a body shop so I figure I am going to be getting into a 2003 F250 crew cab FX4 with all the options for about $18,000 max. I did an Oasis report on mine and there have been no major defects in 61,000 miles, just the normal TSB's. SO.....I figure for the amount I am spendng on the truck, I will take my chances and hopefully just drive it until the tires fall off!!!

Good luck!

 

[mxrider39]

Powerboatr that was some very good info thanks.

Ironmerganser I have been reading some post also and I think you are right, I may just take the chance. I was looking at a 03 350 7.3 6spd crew cab but I am not sure on it, been hit hard down low, so I turned around and started to look hard at the 03 250 crew loaded with the 6.0 but I waited to long, so I might go back to the 350. There is 2 chevys comming in but they are usally way out of line on prices, I like the ford trucks better..

BTW what did you mean by oasis report?

 

[oi8228oi]

oasis reports are like carfax.... you dont want a soft girly botie.... stick with an oval

 

[Ironmerganser]

AMEN oi8228oi!!!!! Stay with the blue oval!

I was taught about the Oasis report on this site actually. It is a report you can get form any Ford dealer. Get the VIN of the truck you are looking at and call the service department of your local Ford Dealership. You can ask them to run an Oasis report and it will tell you any dealer performed maintainence done on the truck. That way you know if the truck has been a lemon since day one or has rarely been in.

Mine has only been in for the normal TSB's has been checked A-OK by the dealer up until the little "joy ride" incident of course!!!

 

[BamaSixGun]

over 128,000 miles in 2.5 years and still goin strong. seems like the older my truck gets, the better it is.

i have had the wiring harness recall done and 2 egr's fixed, but other than that, MAN I LOVE MY 6.0 PSD!!!

would do it all over again.

i do believe robert was right on it with his post, youre gonna have troubles with any kind of car, but DRIVE THAT TRUCK, don't baby it at all. take good care of it, and it will take care of you.

10-4 good buddy.