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Looking at a 6.0 tomorrow. Need advice

2K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  djmaguire 
#1 ·
Hi folks. For the past few months I have been the market for a Powerstroke. Have been going back and forth on whether to find a 99-03 7.3 or a newer 6.0. Have read much about the 6.0 issues, and frankly my mind is swimming.

Found a truck near me that appears to be in amazing cosmetic shape, but I realize that is only the tip of the iceberg. Now to the point.

The truck has 234k, new injectors and glow plugs. Don't know if it has been studded and egr cooler/oil cooler replaced. Are the oil/egr cooling and head gasket issues likely to have cropped up by now? The miles seem a bit high (23k per year) and if it was used hard during that time I would expect that some issues related to the known failures would have taken place.

Here is a link to the rig:

https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5321742439.html

input is welcome.
Thanks,

Joe
 
#2 · (Edited)
Welcome. I know someone who said this:

A monitor when buying a truck is a must. A buddy of mine went to buy a 6.0 from an individual, I rode with him and when we got there I asked if I could hook up my monitor. He said of course, brand new oil cooler water pump, bullet proofed and the kid was 20. As soon as I hooked it up, I checked the deltas. The sale went no further, his deltas were 30 degrees out. He swore up and down the cooler was brand new, not 1k miles on it. I nicely mentioned either his mechanic screwed him, or was incompetent.
...and it's good advice.

It would be good for you to look at this thread...
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/1049170-why-would-you-look-cold-start.html

...and this thread...
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/ge.../1042473-new-diesels-need-help-good-deal.html
 
#6 ·
Welcome. I know someone who said this:



...and it's good advice.

It would be good for you to look at this thread...
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-0l-discussion/1049170-why-would-you-look-cold-start.html

...and this thread...
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/ge.../1042473-new-diesels-need-help-good-deal.html
Owner is supposed to leave the truck all night and all day tomorrow for me to cold start. I have the Torque app. Just need to bone up on what numbers I need to see. Any other thoughts on hot starts to check anything else?
 
#3 ·
He is asking way too much money. That much time on the road from a truck up north, my mind goes straight to RUST<-----
 
#4 ·
Haven't seen the vehicle in person so I can't say anything about rust. Owner says it is always garaged and he is fanatic about cleaning. He had it for 8 years, as a daily driver. Has not replaced any items on the "fail" list. Just injectors and glow plugs. Brakes, tires. I was thinking price is a bit high for the miles too.
 
#5 ·
All northern vehicles rust, unless they are never driven on salt.
 
#7 ·
Having spent most of my life in Ohio, I have a vast wealth of experience with rust. Unfortunately. How much impact rust has on different vehicles seems all over the board, Had a Toyota truck that would have rusted it it had been stored in a vat of oil.
 
#8 ·
I would wonder whats underneath those flares. I paid that much for my truck that was studded, deleted and at 178k.
 
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#9 ·
Appreciate the replies guys. As I stated, I have only been looking for a few months so my experience with these vehicles is very minuscule. Trying to learn what I can in order not to be the guy that makes a $10,000 mistake.
 
#11 ·
well first off i would look at front lower head bolt on the drivers side, if it is a nut then it is studded, if it is a bolt head it is not. then look inside the cross member rails under the bed, can't hide that rust if it is there, if they look bad i would crawl all around under the truck sticking my fingers in holes looking for rust. if still not satisfied that a magnet and a paper towel and check around wheel arch's for bondo (filler) just my ;2cents: good luck.
 
#12 ·
Being from a northern state. I don't think that is too high of an asking price. I'm not saying I would pay it though either. It is whatever your comfortable spending at that point. I can't speak for service or longevity but from recently purchasing a 6.0 myself.

I would certainly look underneath for cancer that may be too much or beyond repair. I personally didn't concern over some surface rust (doesn't come off in chunks) or light rust in the bottom edges of the door. If it isn't too bad, I would give a good cleaning and seal it with some underbody coating.

While looking underneath, it is a perfect time to look for leaks. I try to check the major spots like rearend, axles (may see it running down a wheel if sitting or if it's been splattered everywhere), trans, oil, coolant... etc. If it looks like someone just pressure washed and armoralled it, i would have some reservation (they may just have an OCD..).

Take above info and use it if you can. I wish we had a scanner when we looked to be able to do those checks. Our comparable truck was a 2004 3500 Dmax CC with 240K miles on it. Rust wise was a little cleaner than the ford underneath but it had looked more beaten (7pin wire mangled for gooseneck connectors in the bed (also had 5th wheel mount at one point), airbags in the rear), it also had what looked like oily residue running down the inside rear wheel, rear of trans seepage which didn't look to fun if we weren't able to have a warranty.

We ended up picking the Ford based on how we felt about the overall purchase. I am fairly handy along with some of my friends and dad and figured most of the work we can do ourselves if/when needed. It also had 150K miles. Sometimes you have to go with your gut.

We ended up with a 2006 F350 CC 6.0 and 150k miles for ~$16K from a small dealer. So far it has been good except for some noticeable things after purchasing (i posted here about it) that we weren't able to do during our test drive. If you can, take it for a ride on the freeway. 65-70 and try to accelerate. That is where I noticed some "hesitations".

Overall, Good Luck and hope it works out.
Outlaw
 
#13 ·
Well mine also started out at $17,000. A day of silence works wonders. I didn't take offense to it, but I was just saying what mine cost. I don't think it's too high, it seems like a good clean truck, as long as nothing is hiding.
 
#14 ·
I agree with most of these comments as well. Its a good looking truck just a bit high on mileage.
One thing I would do for sure is put a pressure gauge on the small hose going into the coolant tank.
A 30 psi gauge with a 1/8 hose barb will tell you 100% the head gasket and egr cooler health on that engine.
A 6.0 will run good even with blown head gaskets depending on the severity of it.

I myself would try to get a truck with lower miles on it if all possible. But I do like the truck myself.
The 6.0 is a much better running diesel engine over the 7.3 but the maintenance its had over its life will determine how good of a truck that is........

Oh yea you should see 8-12 psi on the cooling system after a 20 minute drive on the highway...
Good Luck with it
 
#16 ·
Wow, they use salt in the North? It makes trucks rust? Who'd a' thunk it?

You must have missed the part where I said "nothing personal to the folks I quoted".

If the truck is a rust bucket, then it's likely over-priced by our (or anyones) standards. If it's not, then it may be under-priced for it's area. You infer that most Northern vehicles are all rusted from the salt so wouldn't that make one that wasn't rusted worth more?
 
#17 ·
Not really....ever take a boat from saltwater to fresh.....it corrodes.
 
#18 ·
LOL, whatever...
I'll won't derail the thread any further.
 
#19 ·
Other than the typical 6.0 engine issues, I would also be concerned about rust. Make sure you bring a "friend" to help you look at it, and have him tell some 6.0 "horror stories" to help drive down the price. The owner may be willing to give it away by the time the friend is through talking. If the owner is not 6.0 savvy, it might actually work.
 
#20 ·
Well I looked at, crawled under, and drove the truck tonight. No unusual leaks. Interior is almost perfect. Slight bit of rust under the rear fender flares but the frame and rest of the undercarriage is remarkably nice. Cold started lickety split at 35 degrees and had a nice smooth idle.

Ficm voltage was 46-48. Less than 15 degree Difference between eot/ect at 55 mph. Tromped on it several times and didnt notice any coolant puking afterward.

Drove straight, no pulling. Front end felt good for 243k. No clunks shifting from d to r and back again. 4wd transfer case moved easily into and out of 4wd. Has leveling kit.

Saw the receipts for the new injectors and glow plugs.

The possibly not good.... K&n air box. Has had a plow mounted at some point. Still has TTY bolts in the head. Still has EGR system

I really liked the truck but want to be careful not to fall in love with the first pretty girl I dance with. If I dont chip/tune the motor can I get by without head studs? Seems the oil cooler is doing its job...am I right? EGR is a big question mark in my mind.

Thoughts?
 
#21 ·
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