Found a Good Deal

[RIDETHE]

Hello. I've been lurking in the background for a couple weeks because I've been looking into getting a 7.3l since my parents had one with 270k on the clock and no issues at all when they traded it for their 6.4l. I stumbled across an 04 ext cab long bed Lariat 4x4 6.0l with 108k on it. The guy has gradually lowered his price to $10k, and it seems too good to pass up even though I wasn't planning on a purchase for a little while longer.

Now, I've known a few people that had lots of problems with the early 6.0's, so I'm wondering if this would be one to be wary of. If so, what should I look for? I know about the Oasis report, and I know he has a Super Chips on it. I can judge the rest of the truck myself, but I'm just a bit ignorant of the engine itself and what problems might arise. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

[BIGBILL105 45]

Head gaskets, oil cooler, EGR valve. I'd buy it though.

[Erwin8r]

Originally Posted by BIGBILL105 45

Head gaskets, oil cooler, EGR valve. I'd buy it though.

LOL!!!

[RIDETHE]

I got an Oasis on it, and it's been in for a bunch of recalls. Other than that, it's had a bad EBP sensor and a couple of oil leaks (one "at glow plug harness" and the other was a torn CAC connector). The last entry at 80k miles worries me, though:

Cust Comments: vehicle overheating and leaking under front pass area

Tech Comments: verified overheat retrieved codes p0401 p0404 p1335. Followed tsb 11 3 psi test cooling system/bottle and cap but loses psi. Could not pull vacuum on cooling system, engine hydrolocked. removed egr cooler bench tested, fails. air bubbles present. restriction test of oil cooler 22 contact prior approval #paakr cqis#8hnae134 replace both coolers, torn screen out of range.

I'm trying to get ahold of the dealer to see if I can get some specifics on the service done, but not pulling vacuum on the cooling system implies to me it's a blown head gasket, and when it says engine hydrolocked, does that mean they may have replaced the whole engine? I'm really concerned about this because I need this thing to be reliable.

[bismic]

I would stay far away from it - if the engine was hydrolocked, there could have been some serious damage done. If it didn't say anything about replacing the engine, then they didn't. Simply put, the EGR cooler leak allowed a lot of coolant into one or several cylinders and it would not crank (water does not compress). Catch it early and maybe things were not bent, if not, lots of problems.

[RIDETHE]

Yeah, I'm hearing from other people that it's very unlikely they would have replaced the engine. Doesn't make any sense to me because hydrolock=new rods at the very least.

Thanks a bunch guys. Hopefully I'll be getting into some sort of powerstroke in the next few months, but I'll definitely pass on this one.

[Gforce33]

Originally Posted by RIDETHE

Yeah, I'm hearing from other people that it's very unlikely they would have replaced the engine. Doesn't make any sense to me because hydrolock=new rods at the very least.

Thanks a bunch guys. Hopefully I'll be getting into some sort of powerstroke in the next few months, but I'll definitely pass on this one.

You know the old saying, "if it sounds too good to be true....... anyway don't make the mistake that I did. I got a good deal on my truck, everything looked good but \i ended up doing the head gaskets(bought it with blown ones)

[fordmasterdieseltech]

sometimes after pressure testing a cooling system to check for egr oil cooler failure, if you have a bad egr cooler it will dump coolant into the cylinder and hyrdolock it. at that point they would have pulled the glowplugs out and bumped it over to rid the engine of the coolant. it wouldnt of harmed the engine and its worth looking at and driving if the price is right.

[jayman69]

Originally Posted by fordmasterdieseltech

sometimes after pressure testing a cooling system to check for egr oil cooler failure, if you have a bad egr cooler it will dump coolant into the cylinder and hyrdolock it. at that point they would have pulled the glowplugs out and bumped it over to rid the engine of the coolant. it wouldnt of harmed the engine and its worth looking at and driving if the price is right.

I just got my truck back from the shop yesterday after having the egr and oil cooler changed. No problems that I knew of going in, just an overall check....anyhow the report shows the tests in order and after test #2 (pressure test) the report shows the engine hydrolocked. The next step was to pull the plugs to relieve pressure. I think this as you said it happens on a regular basis during the phases of the steps ford takes to verify problems.