Super reliable 6.0

[NorCal_Grown]

Hello everybody, I've spent more hours then I can count reading all the great information on your forum. The cab and chassis on this truck rock, but I'm a little worried about the reliability of the engine. I've always been a Cummin's owner, and this truck will be getting a 12-valve in the future, but I would like at least another 100k.

I have a 2005 F-250 6.0 with 116k miles. It was owned by an older couple down in Texas, very clean and babied. I bought it from them at 101k. The EGR cooler was starting to leak & they wanted to have a truck with a warranty.

I hauled the truck up here to Cali for repairs, here are the things I have done so far:
*Pulled the EGR cooler and spun up a few plugs to block the ports.
*Cut the "scoop" out of the up pipe.
*I routed the coolant coming out of the oil cooler back into the cooling system with a silicone hose and a thick fiberglass wrap to protect it from heat.
*Removed & plugged the EGR valve.
*Cleaned intake manifold and intake runners on heads. (everything was about 50% clogged with soot & grime from EGR valve)
*Removed catalytic converter.
*Inspected and protected the wiring harness in areas it needed it.
*Cleaned rust & soot from VGT. Coated with anti-seize.

There are few things I have been thinking about to make this motor more reliable. That's where my questions come in:
*Can I pull the head bolts one by one and replace with studs?
*Since this is preventive, is it necessary to replace the gaskets too?
*Installing a regulated return fuel system seems like a good idea to me. Is it worth it?
*Anyone with an external oil cooler? The stock setup looks poorly engineered.

Thank you all in advance for your reply's!!

[Evil Eye]

Every one of your ideas are what I am doing on my truck as well. I am looking for a reliable tow rig, so those are my list as well. The only thing I haven't done is the regulated return, but I'll be purchasing ITP's kit when the time comes. The only thing I might also suggest is you might look into a bypass coolant filter to clean up the casting sand inside your cooling system. It can clog the oil cooler.

[AvroAero]

You can't just pull one at a time and swap. The whole head needs to come off, checked for warpage (if you want it done right), and re torqued in proper order with new gaskets. If you've done the EGR cooler delete then you'd probably be able to do the heads yourself. Just takes time.

[NorCal_Grown]

This truck has never had a tunner on it or towed heavy. Why would the heads be warped? It's common on Cummin's to just pull bolts and install studs, are the Ford gaskets special? The problem is the factory bolts stretch, right? Then just replacing them with studs would seem to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.....

[AvroAero]

I can only see warpage happening if they're blown. Although a Ford dealer did mine before the warranty went up and slapped it together without checking the heads. They were out 4 thou. Not sure if it'd actually work to just pull one at a time, but I'd rather have it done right.

[NorCal_Grown]

So your heads were warped .004"? Did you pop your head gaskets first, or was this a preventive repair? Thanks.

[AvroAero]

Preventative. Machine shop guy was amazed I wasn't getting blow by.

[NorCal_Grown]

That's bulls*#t if the heads are that warped from the factory. Did they build these motors in a barn or a shop?

[bismic]

You should also change out the HPOP STC fitting (International replacement part), install the larger turbo oil drain tube, and check the IPR screen.

[NorCal_Grown]

This is the input I'm looking for, thank you. What/where is the IPR screen located?