Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Thoughts on the Ford 6.0 Diesel

so far its been good ,hauled my 37' 5th wheel loaded to the max plus another 1500 lbs of gear 800 miles
got about 12-13 mpg,through in 3 mountain passes.. nice ride ,its got the old man tail gate ,back up camera which is hard to get used to and trust after using mirrors for 50 years, nav system ,snyk system for phone ,all those extra gagets for an old fart to worry about failing But i sure like it

norm

120k on my 05 350 6.0 with no problems. It's lifted, chipped, full exhaust and isn't babied but is maintained properly. Been a fine truck for me thus far

Guess my '06 F350 doesn't read the 6.0 press clippings, as it's been just fine since new. Runs fine, starts fine, no leaks, pulls fine.

Les, Les, Les............

http://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=646

Go with a 7.3L!!! Mines at 407K and still truckin, and its treated like a farm truck. Haulin 20,000lbs of cows or 30klbs of hay doesn't bother it. Its just now getting to the point of replacing injectors but tows strong no matter where I go. It aint purty, but its a hoss of a work truck!!

I have a 2004 with the 6.0. Only problem I have had was the turbo went out - under warranty. I only have 66K miles on it, but most of that was pulling a 9K trailer. Pulled that trailer all on several 3K trips each trip crossing the continetal divide several times. Point being lots of mountains and engine stress. Averages about 10.3 MPG pulling the trailer. About 19 on the freeway without the trailer, 16 MPG around town. I realize it has bad press, and maybe deserved, but a lot of what you hear is internet rants from people who have never even owned one. I don't know the engine failure rate on the 6.0, and most of the people regurgitating how bad they are compared to various other similar vehicles usually cannot come up with any objective statistical data either. Point being, if you read on the internet about anything, whether it is a TV, car, or dog breed, what usually pops up is problems they have had with whatever it is. But the majority of the people owning that same TV haven't really had a problem with it. Or like I mentioned, most people are just regurgitating the info they have read somewhere else without direct knowledge or experience. Anyways....

One of my Buds has a 6.0 and has spent 6 grand on it. It is back in the shop now for $5200 more work. He is on hard times now and can't afford to replace it. He sure misses his old Duramax.

I would agree and add the 2002-2004 Duramax equipped pickups in the pool of candidates. I say that as I have a 2002 Duramax with 214,000 miles on it and it has been a relaible vehicle with little expense other than normal maintenance and replacement of the usual wear-and-tear type parts.

I don't know what you plan to do with it, but I would do something other than the 6.0. A friend of mine runs a small construction company and had either 9 or 10 of the 6.0's in his fleet plus some 7.3's and 6.7 Cummins. We were talking one day in mid-October of last year and he had already spent over $100,000 on repairs for the 6.0's. I don't know where they finished the year. I know he was working his way out of the 6.0's little by little as he was able to find good replacement units for them.

Uh, isn't the duramaxx a Chevy motor, sorry, Chevy Diesel's have never impressed me, least the 6.0 was made by a diesel company. Worked on enough of the old 350 based chevy diesel's, it turned me off of ANY Chevy diesel engine. JMHO Les

My son has a friend who is a diesel mechanic. He used to love the Ford 6.0 diesel because he made so much money working on them. He said they had a lot of problems with electronics but the problem with the head gasket was caused by the fact that each cylinder only has 4 head bolts. I think Ford finally came up with a head gasket that holds better.

The duramaxx was designed by Isuzu which makes better diesels than navistar ever thought about making. It is manufactured in house by GM in a factory that was a joint partnership with Isuzu I think, but might be wholly GM now.

I generally hate all things GM but have to give credit where it's due and the duramaxx is a good motor. The 6.0 Ford/Navistar most certainly isn't.

Good advice, but just putting studs in isn't an easy option. I have seen several places that quote a labor bill of upwards of $3,000 plus the cost of the studs. I think it is easier to remove the cab in order to do it properly.

I have a 2004 F350 with the six point oh no! I bought it specifically to pull out and replace with a 12 valve Cummins...when the 6.0 craps out. The damn thing won't die! It just keeps going and going.

I wouldn't buy one to keep because I feel they are extremely weak right off the bottom. Mine has a much harder time moving heavy loads as compared to my other truck that had a Cummins. The Ford even has a lower 1st gear and more gear in the rear end 4.11 vs. 3.54 for the Dodge.

It's hard to beat an inline 6 for low end oomph.

i bought an 05' new after hurricane katrina wiped out my expedition. i have a 115,000 on it and so far i have had zero problems with it. I disconnected the EGR valve before i pulled off the lot and have run an additive in every tank of gas since it left the lot.
For me it's been a fantastic truck but obviously a lot of people have had issues so take it with a grain of salt. I think every truck made should have something added to every tank of gas to restore lubricity and that the EGR system is an engine killer.

If you are saying you got over 400K miles on original injectors, all I can say is...WOW!

Les-
Lots of good info on Wiki if you haven't been there yet.

1983�2010 Ford/Navistar Diesel V8

1983�1987�6.9 L IDI (indirect injection)
1988�1993�7.3 L IDI
1993�1994�7.3 L IDI with Turbo
1994�2003.5�7.3 L DI (direct injection) "Power Stroke"
2003.5�2009�6.0 L DI "Power Stroke" (E and F-series vehicles)
2008�2010�6.4 L DI "Power Stroke" (F-series only)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ford_engines

and here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Power_Stroke_engine

The GM diesels prior to the Duramax were every bit the piece of junk that Ford diesels were/are since they quit the 7.3 liter; except that when they did run, they got reasonable economy.

The new Ford is getting better reviews but - once again, it's a new motor - and only time will tell.

The Duramax for GM (Isuzu engineered) has proven itself to be a great motor, long life, great power, and great economy.

Dodge, with their Cummins is the best of the lot in terms of proven, reliable, and obtaining great economy.

Wish there were a way to start a Ford, Dodge, and a Chevy from three directions at wide open throttle, coverging on a singular point. The resulting crash could produce a truck with GM's ride, Dodge's power train, and Ford's looks.

My dad drives a '03 6.0L F350 with about 85,000 on it. Not a hint of engine trouble so far.

Les, if all you are pulling is that little camp trailer you mentioned, I certainly wouldn't pay the price penalty for a diesel pickup over a gasser, or the price of diesel over gas.

Anything from a mid eighties Chevy 5.7 Vortech on up will handle that kind of load very well with 3.72 or 4.11 gears. The mpg will be a little lower on the gas engine, but dollars per mile will be very comparable. Purchase price will be far lower on the gas truck........and so will repair bills.

My buddy has an 02 K2500HD 4X4 EX-cab GMC with the 6.0 Vortech. He pulls a 24 foot camp trailer up and down Hiway 95 in central Idaho with it. The truck is simply amazing in the power and torque dept.

And he has pissed off a couple of his buddies when their 7.3 power stokes would not out pull his gasser on a steep hill with identical loads. The gas engine just needs a few RPM to get the job done, but you already knew that.

Oh, and he recently sold a mid nineties Toyota V-6 (pre-Taco)4X4 PU because the GMC got better mileage as a commuter. 15 to 17 on the hiway.

The only thing ever done to his truck was at the dealership. They installed the Escalade engine tuning program for him during the first six months after he purchased the truck new.

Also the Chevy 4L80E tranny seems to be absolutely bullet proof with stock engines. But I still prefer the five speed manual in my 96 K2500 GMC.

I have limited experience with the 6.0 which isn' t good ( service trucks at work).

I would also agree that a diesel isn't necessary in this application. I think plenty of the gas engines would be preferable in your scenario.

I run both and if it weren't for pulling horse trailers I would nix my diesel although I do love it's power.

QUESTION:

What are you guys doing if anything to your diesels that sit for long periods of time besides routine maintenance?