considering purchasing 6.0L Excursion

[ragnarbronco]

so i've been looking for a diesel 4x4 the seats 6 for a few months. today i found an 04 Excursion, 6.0L Powerstroke, 4x4, Eddie Baur with a 135K miles. I've heard mixed reviews on the 6.0L's. I know the statistic from Ford is 25% of the first 2 years of 6L's were the "bad engines". Other than that it needs cat's as the previous owner cut them off. the dealer said it is a wholesale piece because of this (won't pass emissions) but will hold onto it for another week while i make up my mind. Obviously the 7.3L is the gold standard of Ford diesels but in all reality, what's the real deal on the 6.0L's? Is just a few pissed off owners with really bad problems or are the engines really that bad? i know one person who owns a 6L and loves it. I'm not too familiar with these engines but i'm pretty mechanically inclined, can do most of my own work (my bronco is proof of this) and learn quickly. Any info would be appreciated but please no "it sucks" without some sort of fact based experience as an explanation. thanks.

[jesilvas]

They weren't "bad" engines, they were people who didn't really understand how much maintenance was needed versus a 7.3, and therefore neglected them.
They weren't designed the best, and can be ridiculously awesome when taken care of correctly.
There are some sticky threads about what to know before buying one and all the common issues.

[ragnarbronco]

Ok thanks. Ill take a look at the stickies. Ive wanted a diesel for a long time but dont want somethibg that isnt reliable. Part of me thinks though, with 135k miles, any issues will have surfaced already. Am i off?

[Wed Turner]

You want to get a copy of the Oasis report and take a look at it. You might find that some of the "standard" problems have already been addressed. If they cut out the cat there is a chance that isn't the only thing they have done to the vehicle. I'd take a look and see if the EGR has been removed as well. What state do you live in?

[Fishermedic]

X2 on the reading! You can't have enough info before you commit to a 6.0. If you look though the Ex forum here you'll even find thread where other guys have asked what to look for when buying.

Good luck and welcome to the .ORG!

[ragnarbronco]

Originally Posted by Wed Turner

You want to get a copy of the Oasis report and take a look at it. You might find that some of the "standard" problems have already been addressed. If they cut out the cat there is a chance that isn't the only thing they have done to the vehicle. I'd take a look and see if the EGR has been removed as well. What state do you live in?

it's got what looks like a programmable chip in it as well. you know, the little LCD screen that shows boost, rpm, etc. where is the EGR located on the diesels? does it look the same as the one on the gas engines?

Originally Posted by Fishermedic

X2 on the reading! You can't have enough info before you commit to a 6.0. If you look though the Ex forum here you'll even find thread where other guys have asked what to look for when buying.

Good luck and welcome to the .ORG!

which is why i'm here talking to you guys.... you guys are the experts (or at a minimum, know a hell of a lot more about these engines right now than i do, give me some time though....). and thank you.

[ragnarbronco]

alright guys, after reading the stickies here i'm on the fence about this truck. the dealership provided me with an OASIS report. it's 20 pages long. the PO kept up on the maintenance pretty well. the biggest thing that stood out is that when it had 108,000 miles on it, it had the >15* temp difference between the EOT and ECT. the owner was advised to replace the oil cooler and EGR cooler. he elected not to. there is no other reference of this in the following 7 visits to the dealer for service. fuel filters have been changed every 15K. the CAC hose (not sure what that is) was replaced at the 108,000 mile mark when he was advised to get the EGR cooler replaced. tires have been rotated, oil has been changed every 5k miles, all shocks have been replaced recently, ball joints replaced 2 months ago, water pump and heater core replaced in the last 2 months as well, tcase and diff's serviced regularly, alignment done and glow plug harness replaced in the last 9 months, clean title, no accidents as per carfax, odometer reading good. vehicle looks very clean. what do you guys think? purchase or no? i will be flushing the cooling system upon purchase and working towards swapping the EGR cooler for a bullet proof one and getting a new oil cooler. later on i'll start looking at ARP head studs (hoping the preceding work will buy me enough time to do that).

[jesilvas]

I wouldn't be too scared. He probably didn't do it at the dealer but did it somewhere else.
I'd test drive it and monitor ECT/EOT spread.
As long as you take care of the EGR/oil cooler, than the heads should be ok. It's the coolant getting into the intake system that causes issues usually.

[ragnarbronco]

Originally Posted by jesilvas

I wouldn't be too scared. He probably didn't do it at the dealer but did it somewhere else.
I'd test drive it and monitor ECT/EOT spread.
As long as you take care of the EGR/oil cooler, than the heads should be ok. It's the coolant getting into the intake system that causes issues usually.

ok cool. the first thing i'm planning on doing, probably this weekend or next, is a coolant flush and using non-silicate coolant. i test drove it once but didn't really know what to look for on the edge cts monitor but i know now so next time i'll really pay attention to it. thanks. just curious...any one else agree as well? not to discount your opinion jesilvas but you know how it is...the more reassurance you get before dropping $15k the better you feel....













degass cap


degass bottle with cap removed


there's a few pics of it...as traded in by customer....not detailed yet.

[ragnarbronco]

what do you guys think?