To Upgrade or not?!?

[nlia28]

Hi All,
Im new on here; I have an '06, 100k warranty just ended and i'm debating my options for my truck. Its still all stock, and I've read a lot of the posts on the various upgrades/changes you can do (EGR delete, changing studs etc), I don't know very much about these things and was curious about cost do to all of this? Which modifications should be done first? Love this truck, and if these changes will keep it going strong, i'm all for it!

Thanks so much!

[smokersteve]

I would start out with the egr system. I am sure you have some build up on the intake from the egr. The level of work is not high. Taking it off, cleaning, putting it back on is part of a day.

Look at the links under the AIR MANEGMENT SYSTEM
6.0L Bible Table of Contents

This has all the updates that happened in 2005.
2005 6.0L Bible Update Table of Contents

Both have lots of info ^^^^

Do you have any coolant coming out of the cap on the coolant bottle? Smoke at a cold start up? loss of coolant?

How do you take care of it? maintenance intervals?

[2003kingranch]

there is a lot of good info on here. and dont be afraid to ask dumb questions.

i would keep it, i love my 6.0 but thats me

some basic upgrades...
-4" MBRP turbo back exhaust no cat. truck will run cooler, and sound awesome. plus you most likely will pick up some mileage. i got mine for about $340 delivered to my door
-intake. either (search diy intake) or get an aftermarket one. NO K&N!!!!!!!!!!
- get yourself some gauges. Edge Products| Product or some thing simmelar so you can keep any eye on things. especially your oil temp and coolant temps.
- drain the crap ford gold coolant!! & put in a coolant filter
-SCT X3 tuner with custom tunes..

i wouldn't worry about studs, unless you want to run high hp tunes.
egr delete is probably a good idea. but im waiting till mine goes before i delete it. same way with the studs.

if im forgetting anything some one else chime in..........

[smokersteve]

Before you really upgrade. I would get the truck to a higher level of reliability even though you and the truck have had a wonderful relation ship

[smokersteve]

Originally Posted by 2003kingranch

there is a lot of good info on here. and dont be afraid to ask dumb questions.

i would keep it, i love my 6.0 but thats me

some basic upgrades...
-4" MBRP turbo back exhaust no cat. truck will run cooler, and sound awesome. plus you most likely will pick up some mileage. i got mine for about $340 delivered to my door
-intake. either (search diy intake) or get an aftermarket one. NO K&N!!!!!!!!!!
- get yourself some gauges. Edge Products| Product or some thing simmelar so you can keep any eye on things. especially your oil temp and coolant temps.
- drain the crap ford gold coolant!! & put in a coolant filter
-SCT X3 tuner with custom tunes..

i wouldn't worry about studs, unless you want to run high hp tunes.
egr delete is probably a good idea. but im waiting till mine goes before i delete it. same way with the studs.

if im forgetting anything some one else chime in..........

I agree 99%

Waiting for a sign is not a good idea. The sign may come too late compared to when the problem actually occurs...

[nlia28]

Originally Posted by smokersteve

\

How do you take care of it? maintenance intervals?

I've been pretty good about its maintenance, and luckily the mechanic lives right down the road, so I usually just call him if there are problems and he comes and takes it away! Most of my miles are highway, pulling heavy loads of horses, but I have been known to drive in the mountains during hunting season

Right now we've had some -15* weather and it has been starting a little harder than usual, with some black smoke, but once its warm it drives off fine.

[smokersteve]

If you do not know about this already, this is a great place to get filters.
Home - Diesel Filters,Additives,brake rotors, and brake pads for Chevy, Dodge and Ford Diesel Trucks

[nlia28]

Change oil every 4-5k, fuel filter 15k, had my air filter done at 90k (it has just over 97k now), i'm not sure about the others. I try to go by what Ford recommends, which seems to have worked so far!

My biggest thing is that i'm not very mechanical; so I can probably order the right stuff, but paying someone to change stuff out can probably get pretty expensive?

[csamus]

Any ideas what could be causing coolant coming out from the cap. The cap is tight but the coolant is still getting out

[pizza pig]

Originally Posted by 2003kingranch

there is a lot of good info on here. and dont be afraid to ask dumb questions.

i would keep it, i love my 6.0 but thats me

some basic upgrades...
-4" MBRP turbo back exhaust no cat. truck will run cooler, and sound awesome. plus you most likely will pick up some mileage. i got mine for about $340 delivered to my door
-intake. either (search diy intake) or get an aftermarket one. NO K&N!!!!!!!!!!
- get yourself some gauges. Edge Products| Product or some thing simmelar so you can keep any eye on things. especially your oil temp and coolant temps.
- drain the crap ford gold coolant!! & put in a coolant filter
-SCT X3 tuner with custom tunes..

i wouldn't worry about studs, unless you want to run high hp tunes.
egr delete is probably a good idea. but im waiting till mine goes before i delete it. same way with the studs.

if im forgetting anything some one else chime in..........

so youre going to wait until your oil cooler clogs, making your egr cooler rupture and lifting the heads?