The horror stories

[CasterTroy]

So many rumors and horror stories of the 6.0 had me avoiding them like the plague! I started looking instead for a V10. Then on THOSE forums I read about their issues.....I didn't know WHAT to do. That is till I started lurking here 2 months ago and reading.....and reading...and reading. I started feeling better about the rumors and stories. I learned the later 6.0's seemed to have fewer of the EGR grenade issues. I learned about proper coolant filtering being one of the keys to longer life. I also learned NOT to put a programmer on a 6.0

So in my NEW search...which DID now include the 6.0 as an option, I ran across the perfect truck...a 2005 6.0 with 75k miles. Which I'm flying up to Louisville Saturday to pick up and drive back to NC.

But just for good measure I hit up a buddy of mine on FB who had a 6.0 EGR bust last month. I was pretty sure his was a pre-2005 but just for last minute assurances I asked him about it today..to which he corrected me and told me his was a 2005 w/ 99k that he drove 4 times a month to pull his enclosed trailer with his modified racecar to the Madhouse

Crap That's kinda my deal.....I'm getting this to pull an enclosed +/-21ft trailer (I hope to buy) with maybe 5 at the most, sportbikes to the track.....no heavy payload...just a large trailer. But he's kinda got me freaked

Need to be talked off the ledge before I pull the plug on this trip and lose my $228 plane ticket!

I'm not going racing (with the TRUCK anyway)
I'm not towing Backhoes
I'm not sitting at idle for hours
I MAY throw the dirbikes in the back and head up the mountains to ride with my boy
I MAY go get some mulch
I MAY tow an enclosed trailer sensibly to the racetrack 300 miles away.

What I’m thinking I may need to do to avoid a disaster here are:
Coolant filter
EGR bypass
Flush coolant, fill with DELO ELC coolant
Larger exhaust

Am I wrong on any of these? Any of them BAD ideas?
Are there other good measures I can take to keep this 6.0 healthy and alive? Any advice would be appreciated. And yes…I’ve done a great deal of searching and lurking….but this is more of an “ok help me feel better about this decision” thread so thanks in advance.

[melmount]

biggest issue to me would be monitor engine oil temps versus the engine coolant temp.
that indicates a problem before a horror story

[jn_h]

Idk if you have yet but read this, Things to consider about owning a 6.0L. Definitely monitor your engine vitals and dont baby it. Sorry if youve already read it.

[Galaxie]

I run mine hard. Load it up, tow a lot and even drive it into the city each day for work. It has had a tuner since I baught it. No issues! Mods in the sig.

[Geoff941]

What I’m thinking I may need to do to avoid a disaster here are:
Coolant filter
EGR bypass
Flush coolant, fill with DELO ELC coolant
Larger exhaust

All those will help, but my first purchase was an Edge Insight.

[howell_jd]

Get gauges and perform preventative maintenance first; your truck will last.

The "EGR problems" are two-fold but stem from (lack of) coolant preventative maintenance (to be completely honest this isn't a fault of most owners who were told that their coolant would be maintenance free for 100,000-miles) and an inadequate design of the EGR cooler in LATER models (it was the early 2003 and 2004 models that had a superior design for the EGR cooler). The early EGR cooler had a round body and used plain round tubing rather in contrast to later models that used a square body and oval tubing with brazed on heat fins to provide greater heat transfer capacity with an unfortunate tendency to fail at the braze points and allow coolant to mix with exhaust.

Of course EGR coolers are sequential to oil cooler blockage in most cases so the EGR is just a messenger of an earlier problem in the system...AND THAT IS WHY GAUGES ARE SO IMPORTANT.

The gauges let you see the temperature difference between oil and coolant temps (not to exceed 15 degrees F) to indirectly assess the condition of the oil cooler for early treatment.

It's also important to monitor coolant condition...that's another thread though.

In the horror movie, the fright usually comes from not knowing what's on the other side of the door - gauges on the 6.0L let you see that threat early and act in advance.

Be prepared.

Jonathan

[96stroker19]

Dont be scared of the 6.0 at all. The horror stories make the trucks very affordable, meaning you can pick up a late model year pickup very reasonable. Get an Oasis report, spend the money you save buying the 6.0 on things such as a monitor and the preventative things like egr delete and coolant flush. I bought mine, took a few precautionary steps and love the truck.

[nick49001]

i think alot of what u hear about the 6.0 being junk is just people that are scared and chevy guys my 03 6.0 has 220k and the only reason now im having any issues is because it sat for a year other than that only thing ever done to the truck was regular oil changes fuel filter changes and a flash by ford and the truck still pulls like a freight train right now i have a egr issue but for what this truck has done for me i cant complain one bit

[nick49001]

only other thing i could add is you should study and learn about the 6.0. i was not at all a diesel mechanic when i got my truck. but now thanks to the org if it were to break down i could fix it on my own and kinda know were to start and not hunt ghosts for weeks

[mustangman02232]

read about the 6.0, and get a scan guage for 150 bucks to monitor eot, ect, volts, trans, boost etc, autometers are prefered but there more expensive, and run synthetic oil, with ford/racor filters only, coolant flush etc. you year horror stories mainly from 7.3 guys IMO because there different and you CANNOT treat a 6.0 like a 7.3. while the 6.0 guys i talked to before buying my truck were the other way around saying they will never go back to a 7.3