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Yet another should I thread

3K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  stroknpower 
#1 · (Edited)
There seems to be a lot of these since it's a 6.0L but maybe someone will chime in.

Is this a no brainer? I test drove it, had good power shifted great
Interior 8/10
Exterior 8/10

2006 F-350 FX4 XLT

200k miles, 4x4, CC LB 1 owner

Bulletproof EGR
Bulletproof oil cooler
ARP head studs (checked it too)
New heads
coolant filter
upgraded oil filter
powermax turbo
programmed FICM

paperwork for it all

The heads were replaced only 4k miles ago by a diesel shop. This is kind of concerning.

Negotiated price to $10.5K

Is this bulletproof 6.0L worth the price of admission?

Also smokes when I get on it...is that normal when it's at temp?
 
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#2 ·
Why is the owner selling it?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Probably sick of putting money into it LOL.

Said he wants to get a new truck, most likely a dodge.
I am going to most likely ask to check it out again. I checked up what the SCT monitor should read during operation, he has one.

Flipped the oil cap over and it just stuck there.

I've never had a diesel before. It'll be my toy and drive in the winter and up to the mtns with probably a camper nothing huge. I just don't want to be stranded somewhere. It's encroaching on the bottom price for a decent diesel just never thought I would get a 6.0L but it sure does ride nicer and deliver power better than the 7.3L
 
#4 ·
The price sounds good, a lot of work is already done. But it's at 200k and I didn't see anything about tie rods, ball joints, u joints, shocks, etc. If that stuff hasn't been done yet, with 200k it will be getting done soon. How mechanically inclined are you? Do you like to do your own work or do you take things to a shop? Do you have a few thousand dollars you can set aside for an emergency? When you service a gasser, it's usually 5 qts of oil & a $5 filter, maybe another $10 for a fuel filter. When you service a diesel, it's 4 gallons of oil ($60-$100), a $20 filter and a $45 set of fuel filters, cooling system maintenance is 4 gallons of concentrate and 4 gallons of distilled water. Think about those things.
A 6.0 can be great truck but a 7.3 is quite a bit more forgiving. Not trying to scare you off, just know what you're getting into for a toy & a once in awhile hauler. That's my :twocents:
 
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#5 ·
10,000 bucks is a lot of money, and it's still a truck with lots of miles. I wouldn't do it but that's just me, If your fine with that then go for it. Btw there is a reason he is trying to sell it instead of trading it in, with that many miles the trade in is probably pretty low....
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thanks for the input.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined so ball joints and other stuff doesn't scare me too much. I couldn't replace the heads or anything like that.

He said none of the joints and stuff has been replaced but the diesel shop that did the work check it out and said they didn't need replaced. Shocks have been replaced at some point they're Ranchos.

I've been looking for almost a year so I know the CO market pretty well I think. The lowest any modern SD goes for around her is about 7-8k and that's usually in the high 200k+ miles and beat. Some ask 20k for trucks with 200k+ miles! Prices are all over the map. I've come to learn to kinda forget about the mileage.

I'm not too concerned with the cost of maintenance as I'll probably only put a few thousand miles a year on it hence not wanting to buy an expensive truck. I would like to be able to get most my money back if owning a diesel doesn't work out for me or I'm sick of seeing this gigantic truck in front of my house. I feel as this is pretty close to the "floor" for diesel truck but with the benefits of all the work being done. Hence why I'm considering a 6.0L for its value.

He said it passes emissions but when I punched it smoke came out. A couple of 7.3l I test drove and a stock 6.0 didn't do that. It does have a 4in exhaust. Is that concerning?
 
#8 ·
That seems like a good price. If it's super clean like you said, and all the work has been done. Good upgrades, too. Make sure it had factory heads put on it. If it's a puff of black smoke, it's likely the tuner and fine.

I spent 14k on a stock 2005 XLT, all stock. That's a good price for the PNW at least. Make sure it's not all rusted out.
 
#9 ·
Did the heads get o-ringed ???
That is a big difference there, also is there anyway to monitor the cooling system pressure?

I'm just trying to figure out why he would sell it 4,000 after dumping a ton of money into it. We had a forum member recently put a bunch of money into his truck 'head gaskets' and his cooling system pressure was 16 psi. He sold it off......

I myself think you have a good truck there as long as it's not building pressure in cooling system. Also if it did have the heads o-ringed, these engines last when they are o-ringed.
Check out the cooling system pressure on that truck. If it's hanging around 8-11 psi I'd grab it.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks for this info!

They used an OEM head gasket not o-rings. Will the SCT monitor coolant pressures? Are you talking pressure at idle?

I looked up the shop that he claims did the work (will look at the paperwork) and it got nothing but excellent reviews, he also said I could call them and talk to them about the truck.

The 4k miles after the head replacement is my biggest concern as well like he's trying to unload it on me but he does seem pretty trustworthy (I'm pretty skeptical of everyone)

I will get more of timeline with the paperwork but the EGR and Oil Cooler was replaced 40k miles ago, heads were not replaced at that time. Then he noticed leakage and had it replaced 4k miles ago. Probably got sick of dumping money into it.


What kind of smoke and how much? If it's just a puff of black when you get on it I wouldn't be concerned; probably just has the cat removed.
It's a puff. It does have a cat but no muffler.

That seems like a good price. If it's super clean like you said, and all the work has been done. Good upgrades, too. Make sure it had factory heads put on it. If it's a puff of black smoke, it's likely the tuner and fine.

I spent 14k on a stock 2005 XLT, all stock. That's a good price for the PNW at least. Make sure it's not all rusted out.
The bed is scratched up since there's no liner but I could get one sprayed in to cover it up. There's dings and scratches but nothing like I've seen on previous trucks. Clean car fax.
 
#14 ·
You can hook a pressure gauge up to the coolant filter to verify cooling system pressure. Then take the truck for a 30 minute drive and see where the pressure is. You should be around 12 psi. If it stays in that range I'd buy that truck especially if that's a bulletproof oil cooler set up.

These trucks will go a long ways when properly cared for 200,000 miles is nothing to worry about for the truck itself. If the cooling system is tight your good to go. I am on my second 6.0 truck and I would buy another again, they are good engines when they aren't thrashed with over tuning or lousy maintenance.
 
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#17 ·
Sounds like you want the rig...... Go get her and a monitor.
 
#18 ·
I don't know where you guys live that think $10,500 would be a lot for this truck. I see this all the time, so apparently trucks are cheap everywhere but in PA. That's a killer deal.
 
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#19 ·
My reason for asking why the owner is selling it is the with the work that has been done to it has to have costed upwards of $5k and he is selling it for around $10k only 4k miles after the work was done. If I was putting that kind of into a truck, I wouldn't be selling it, but that's just me I guess. Maybe he is just tired of it and wants something newer, or maybe he knows the transmission is on it way out and that could be another $5k.
 
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#21 ·
That's a good point, but then again things change for people, stuff happens. So who knows. But if it is in decent shape, that's really cheap. And even if he had to drop five grand into it after buying, still cheap.
 
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#20 ·
Aren't the Promaxx heads Chinese castings? Not saying they are bad or there's anything wrong with them, but I have heard that a lot of the Chinese castings have high failure rates. Just throwing it out there for discussion. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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#23 ·
The seller started regretting the 10.5k price and wanted more based on other offers by people who haven't seen the truck yet. I didn't give in, slightly my fault for not getting the deal done immediately (I did need to get more cash) but I also wanted to vet the truck since it was a money pit for him. I'm not sure if he would have honored my price or not but it was a tough spot for him but still a crummy thing to do.

We'll see if his other offer pulls through.

Thanks for all the help! Great forum.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Seller had cold feet and sold it to another guy for 1300 more. Crummy thing to do and I let him off easy which now I am a bit pissed at him and myself for not getting the deal done immediately and letting him go back to his house. I guess I'm too cautious when spending my money as the buyer must have basically bought it within an hour.

Thanks for your all your help...I might suspend my search for a while as the frustration is mounting.
 
#26 ·
If you are looking for a 6.0 my advice is 2005-2007 for plenty of reasons mainly because of the coil suspension and Dana 60 up front.
Either get one cheap with blown head gaskets and get it fixed with studs and o-ringed heads. I have yet to see anyone post up they have blown head gaskets after o-ringing the cylinder heads. It seems to be the silver bullet for this engine.
If you can buy one that's been done that's the way to go, ARP studs will still blow head gaskets without o-ringing the heads. There's thousands of posts here from guys.
I have a 2006 with 55K and I'm not going to sell it I plan to have for next 20 years. Hell I had a Chevy 4x4 for 24 years and it was no where near as nice of a truck. They are great trucks and once the engine has been updated and properly studded they go forever.
There's plenty more out there and lots with fewer miles on them then that thing. I myself am leary of any truck with lots of performance parts on them. Odds are that truck was ran hard, look for something a bit more stock and build it how you like it.

Keep your chin up there's a truck somewhere right now with your name on it. :)
 
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#28 ·
O ringing the heads goes along with the head gaskets. It provides additional sealing around the cylinders. Extra security
 
#29 · (Edited)
That is correct, the O-rings are SS and are cut into the cylinder heads at the fire ring location. It put extreme pressure on the one area around the bore. Expansion and contraction has little affect on them so they hold down tight as a tick on a dogs a$$.

It is the answer for this engine it really is. It's a practice used on race/drag car engines to hold extreme cylinder pressures. I have not seen a single person post up head gasket failure that has had it done to their engine.
But I still won't put much of a tune into my truck because I just don't want anything to worry about.
Had mine done over two years ago when it was still pretty new practice for the 6.0
I put my trust in a BPD approved shop figuring they knew what was best.
 
#31 ·
O-ringing is also a practice they use on large inline diesels that pull huge loads ... The amount of turbo boost , torque, and compressional loading is far too much pressure for a regular head gasket to hold :)
 
#32 ·
I agree with mhatlen, o ringing is next for me as my cooling system is building pressure again, only 20k after doing arp studs and Oem gaskets... And I don't drive her hard...
 
#35 ·
Are considering having them done again? Way to many repeat cases of gaskets and studs failing.
 
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