6.0 is it dependable

[horsetrader]

I've herd a lot of tell about the 6.0. Haveing a lot of problems. I bought an 04 f250 with a 6.0 and I was woundering if this is true about the 6.0 and if so are their any any upgrades and or modifications I can make to make it more dependable and perform beter. I bought for myself to pull trailers and work around my farm but my wife is haveing to use it as her primary vehicle right now . Her van finaly bit the dust and I can't by another vehicle right now so I want to be sure that the truck is going to be ok for her and the kids out and about while their running back and forth to school and running errands. Any ideas or recamendations would be greatly appriciated.

[2 stroker]

Originally Posted by horsetrader

I've herd a lot of tell about the 6.0. Haveing a lot of problems. I bought an 04 f250 with a 6.0 and I was woundering if this is true about the 6.0 and if so are their any any upgrades and or modifications I can make to make it more dependable and perform beter. I bought for myself to pull trailers and work around my farm but my wife is haveing to use it as her primary vehicle right now . Her van finaly bit the dust and I can't by another vehicle right now so I want to be sure that the truck is going to be ok for her and the kids out and about while their running back and forth to school and running errands. Any ideas or recamendations would be greatly appriciated.

To start with get a coolent filter ASAP http://www.dieselsite.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=324 Get a good set of gauges i like the Edge Insight so you can keep an eye on the ECT&EOT the max difference in temps is 15 degrees. A fuel pressure gauge because anything under 45 lbs will kill injectors. Then if you want to keep the oil clean install a oil by-pass and use synthetic oil
2 stroker

[diablos30]

you left out the most important part, address the egr system. you either need to delete the cooler or upgrade it, and when you do rebuild your oil cooler.

[Granny]

Welcome to the Org. Where are you located? The main thing you want to do is keep up the maintenance on these beasts. Another good idea is to delete the EGR, if that is possible in your area. That is why I ask where you are located. That is a weak spot for these trucks. I am sure there will be others come along with all kinds of things you can do to your truck. Again, welcome to the org.

[korterman1]

the short answer is YES it is dependable

[2006PSDSD]

Yes, they are dependable! BUT, they depend on YOU to keep up on their maintenence, and drive/use them hard to keep things clean. Location has a lot to do with turbo vanes rusting IMO, and the EGR delete. DO NOT try and run the Ford gold coolant for more than 100k, because that's when the coolant starts to break down, and leave silica deposits in your oil cooler, eventually plugging it, and in turn popping the EGR cooler, then HG's, in that order

[psd_va]

yes it is dependable i have an 03 6.0 w/127k miles and only 3 engine problems. set of injectors, water pump leak, and most recent FICM. but like stated before you need to keep up on the truck and drive it pretty hard every now and then or stuff will start going bad.

[PGreenSVT]

Originally Posted by 2006PSDSD

Yes, they are dependable! BUT, they depend on YOU to keep up on their maintenence, and drive/use them hard to keep things clean. Location has a lot to do with turbo vanes rusting IMO, and the EGR delete. DO NOT try and run the Ford gold coolant for more than 100k, because that's when the coolant starts to break down, and leave silica deposits in your oil cooler, eventually plugging it, and in turn popping the EGR cooler, then HG's, in that order

You absolutely don't want to run that coolant at all. Flush the system really well and replace the coolant with ELC from Cat, Rotella, Fleetrite, Zerex. These are silicate free. While what Nick said above may be true the real problem with the silicates is that they can't handle the temps encountered when passing through the egr cooler trying to cool high egt's. The silicates turn into a gell like substance and fall out of suspension. Then they clog the oil cooler. That causes the egr cooler to fail and then the head gaskets.

The good news is YOU can prevent this from happening. Get a set of gauges Like the Edge Insight and monitor your coolant temp and your oil temp. If these get more than 15* apart under normal cruising conditions your oil cooler is becoming clogged. (If you switched to ELC this probably wouldn't be happening to you) Get it fixed immediately. Do not drive it around with the oil cooler clogged. This is what causes the problems. Most of the bad rep of the 6.0 can be attributed to owners not monitoring ECT and EOT and continuing to drive with the oil cooler clogged until something blows. If you watch these temps you can probably get away without blowing your egr cooler or head gaskets.

Be anal about keeping your oil and filters changed and in my opinion use a quality synthetic. This will keep your injectors healthy and happy.

Finally don't drive it like your grandma would. That's the kiss of death to the turbo on these. It has to be exercised to stay healthy. That means seeing full boost on a regular basis.

Now it is still a good idea to delete the egr system if you can and if you can't replace the egr cooler with the upgraded one from Bulletproof Diesel. It is a much sturdier unit.

Do these and yes your truck will be as dependable as any and more than some.

[horsetrader]

Thanks for the info ill take all the info you can give I've already had to put a high pressure oil pump on it and it wasn't cheap