6.0 longevity tips

[mjn]

Thought I'd start a thread where all the pro's can tell us what we need to do to get the most reliability/longevity out of our 6.0 motors.

I'm mainly talking about preventative maint. stuff here.. I've been doing a fair amout of reading here in the last week or so, and there is a ton of great info.. it'd just be cool to have it all in one thread.

Coolant flushes, coolant type, oil change intervals, best weight oil, fuel filter intervals etc..

[tonto]

Ill start with a coolant question lol...

I want to get my EGR deleted so Im assuming I should replace the oil cooler whilst I do this. (Side note, do I need to keep the EGR cooler in and operational?) I figure it would be in my best interest to flush out the coolant and switch to the Cat ELC. The truck has been running the Ford Gold its entire life and its at 112000 miles now so Im wondering if switching over would do any harm? My EOT/ECT spread is usually around 5-6 degrees with up to an 11 degree variance while its warming up. Any thoughts?

Another question: After an hour cruise around town, truck well into operating temp, how long do you run it before you turn it off to cool down the turbo? I would like to invest in a turbo timer but Im a bit away from getting one...

Last, what temp would you plug your truck in? Right at freezing point? couple degrees below?

[Twinjracing]

Thinking about updating to a 05 6.0 X so any and all info is good

[CowboyCody]

I'm not a 6 oh guy, but i will post to give it a bump. im sure i will get corrected by a 6 oh pro, if i bought one i would do an egr and cat delete, i would buy a bulletproof oil cooler, i would change the head studs, get rid of the gold coolent and install a filter, and i would run a full synthetic 5w 40 changed every 5,000 and i would change the fuel filter every other oil change. just my humble opinion. now let the corrections begin...

[PGreenSVT]

That's a good start Cody.

First get a monitoring solution like an Edge Insight so you know what is going on with your engine. A monitoring solution is not an option it is a requirement and the first thing you should do.
EGR delete or Bulletproof EGR cooler.
Flush with Restore and Restore Plus to prepare for coolant change.
CAT EC-1 Rated ELC coolant.
5w40 synthetic oil changed every 5k miles.
If your monitor tells you to, replace the oil cooler. If you are installing an egr cooler or egr delete replace the oil cooler too while you're at it.
If you are doing all that get the updated replacement for the HPOP STC fitting.
Motorcraft or Racor Filters. Racor make the Motorcrafts and are cheaper. Get them from dieselfiltersonline.com
Fuel filters every 10k or every other oil change however you want to look at it.
Replace the Fuel Pressure Regulator spring with the Ford FPR update.
A coolant filter is a great idea.
A bypass oil filter is a great idea.

Be anal about your maintenance or it will cost you. Don't drive it like a sissy. It is a work truck and the turbo needs to get worked regularly or it will cost you.

Once you have it sorted get an SCT Flash Device and some custom tunes and enjoy it.


If you haven't already read the first link in my signature.

[colo_dually]

Longevity, in and of itself, starts with maintenance and heading problems off early.

First step, is a monitoring set up like the Edge Insight, single most important thing you'll need have is the ability to know what is going on under the hood. I prefer the look of gauges myself, but you can't monitor everything with gauges.

Second, solving the weakness in the Oil and EGR coolers.
1) By monitoring EOT/ECT and rebuild/replace as necessary.
2) By choosing a EGR cooler deletion or upgrade kit and rebuilding the Oil Cooler as required.
3) By going fully Bullet-Proof and doing the EGR and Remote Oil Cooler.

Third, take care of the Ford Gold Coolant, this includes a through flush, once with Restore (which flushes out the silicates are such left by the factory coolant) then with VC-9 (flushes everything else) (NOTE: after the flushes, this is the time to install the rebuilt Oil Cooler if doing both at once). Fill the system with a silicate-free ELC.

Keep up on the maintenance of these trucks, regular oil changes, fuel filters, etc. And use your resources to prevent little issues from tearing your engine and power train apart.

[05lariat]

Don't forget... the FICM on these trucks is a major weak link and will give you problems. If you can afford it go ahead and get the heavy duty 48v or 58v replacement from Swamps Diesel and forget about it.

[Twinjracing]

what do you think is ok miles on a 6.0 to buy. I've been looking at some around 60k and some around 100k but ther is a round about 10k deferance in price what you think. thanks JJ

[Lilpooh]

Originally Posted by Twinjracing

what do you think is ok miles on a 6.0 to buy. I've been looking at some around 60k and some around 100k but ther is a round about 10k deferance in price what you think. thanks JJ

Really no set milage to look for, it all depends on how good the maintenance was done from the prior owner.

[shiprek]

TwinJ, I recently purchased a 2004 6.0. I was reluctant at first since it had 144XXX miles. The previous owners must have taken care of it because it has had several updates and runs great. On the flip side, I looked at the a similar truck with less than 100XXX miles and it was a piece of crap. I saved around $3K going with the higher mileage truck and I am glad I did.