make my 6.0 bullet proof

[ms2004F-250]

ok guys and girls im pretty new to the diesel world and in def new to the ORG but ive been doing alot of reading and come up with all this stuff to do to my 2004 F-250 to make it bullet proof. i really want a 6.4 but dont really want to spend the cash on it right now but ill have to drop some cash to do all this. but here is the list...........

upgraded turbo oil tube, upgrade fuel pressure regulator, black onyx gaskets, arp head stus, egr delete, oil cooler rebuild, and flush out coolant with vc9 and replace with CAT extended life coolant.

free or cheap mods:
zoodad, high idle, ccv reroute, harpoon mod, coolant filter, 6.4 banjo bolts... oil bypass filter

edge insight to watch ect eot and fuel pressure gauge and get SCT tunes

will all this make my truck bullet proof or what? thanks!

[ms2004F-250]

i think it should right?

[colo_dually]

That will just about Bullet-Proof the 6.0L. When you price out those parts and labor, you need to make a choice if you're gonna get another truck anytime soon. You won't get your money back on those upgrades, just something to be thinking about.You have all the major issues covered though, and will have a reliable power plant will all that work done.

[ms2004F-250]

yea true but i did pretty good when i bought this truck i only paid 12k for it. its a ccsb 2004 F-250 with the Fx4 package with only 74k miles on it but still i wont get my money back out of it. what out of all that would you guess do first?

[colo_dually]

Since mines in the shop for these issues right now, first don't let it get to that point.

If ya have the funding, EGR delete (I'm using the Bullet-Proof Diesel Cooler vise delete myself), check the condition of you oil cooler (replace if clogged), flush the Ford Gold out of that baby. That would be the minimum.
Then I would install a good coolant filter and get the insight or some key gauges.

That's my plan, once I get her back from the shop anyway.

[ms2004F-250]

forgot to mention i have the edge juice attitude or something like that in it and straight piped 4 inch duals already on it.

[ms2004F-250]

anyone else got a opinion?

[Gramps10]

You have one hell of a setup noted there! But you don't need to do everything at once, for instance head gaskets & ARP studs can wait until they are needed, unless you plan to tune & flogg the truck. That alone will save several thousand dollars.

Most recommended upgrades to the 6.0 in no particular order:


- ARP Studs, Black Oynx Gaskets, with machined flat & true heads.
- EGR Delete with new Oil Cooler. Flush cooling system with Restore & Restore+/VC-9.
- After flushing out the Ford Gold Coolant pour in any Cat ELC EC-1 rated coolant (Shell, Cat, Dello, Etc)
- By-pass Coolant Filter (Dieselsite, MKM, Etc.)
- By-pass Oil Filter (Amsoil, NUC Moto, Etc.)
- Switch Oil to a 5/10-w30/40. Consensus is Synthetic is better but any thinner oil will definitely help with cold starts & the life of your injectors.
- Turbo Oil Tubes
- FPR Upgrade Spring
- CCV Rereoute
- Updated Turbo/IC Boots
- GAUGES! (Insight CS/CTS, Individual Gauges, DashDaq, Etc.) Gotta monitor those EOT, ECT, & EGT's!
- SCT Tuner with your choice of custom tunes.

I'd get rid of the Edge, the word is they are very hard on transmissions. Custom Tuned SCT's are the ticket for a 6.0.

I hope this helps??

[ms2004F-250]

that helps! thanks alot! got another Question. i got an injector going out. its the 7th injector. what are the best injectors to get. im going to replace all 8. maybe like an upgraded injector but nothing to crazy. what are good injectors to get? o and still going to be pulling trailers for work thats why i dont want to go crazy

[armyguy209]

Well I think you got a helluva deal on your truck and congrats. I can tell you this though...I don't think there is a way to make this 6.0 completely reliable. I feel this way now since my truck is in the shop as we speak with blown head gaskets. I have ARP's and black onyx gaskets and they still blew. You are on the right track with the mods you listed. Make 100% sure that when you do the studs that you PERSONALLY take them to a machine shop to get them magnifluxed and checked for flatness. Many Ford dealerships will not do this as per Ford you are not supposed to flatten the heads, they say they should be replaced.

I just bought the Bullet Proof Diesel complete oil cooler and egr cooler kit ($2,200 bucks). I will get this put on along with the new OEM gaskets this time. If I have any more problems after this I am going to part out my engine and put a cummins in this thing. I love this truck and don't want any newer of a truck due to the DPF/regen and all the emissions crap, but I am hating this 6.0 right now. I will give her one more chance once I get all this stuff put on which really should fix all of my problems but we will see. I have a feeling that a cummins swap is right around the corner though. The thing with these 6.0's is that some will run stock 300k+ miles with not one hiccup while others can't get to 50k without breaking down.

As far as the injectors, I would just replace it with a new stock one since your intentions are to keep it a towing rig. You would be very surprised what a custom tuned SCT will do to this truck. If you are set on new injectors then I would go with something mild that you won't have to get a new turbo with like some Casserly 165cc injectors but plan on paying somewhere around 3k.

Good luck