Newbie with diesel mileage question

[Dave75002]

I am new to the forum and about to buy an 06 4x4 King ranch Dually with about 106,000 miles on it. I am planning on pulling a 13,000 lb 5th wheel with it. I have a friend that has the same year with a little less mileage. Before I sign on the dotted line next week I wanted to check with people that know a lot about these trucks how long can they last if really taken care of. I am hoping to not have to buy another truck for some time and will probably put about 15,000 annualy on it. I want it to last 8-10yrs. I have seen older 90's ford duallys with 250,000-300,000 miles on them and still running good. What are your thoughs on the newer 350's lasting just as long. Forget about the body digs and dents it will probably get but the suspension, drivetrain and engine, thats what I'm concerened about. These may be dumb questions but have heard the saying the diesels just start getting broke in at 100,000. I just dont know anyone that has ever had a diesel other than my friend thats only had it 2 years. Couldn't find any threads on just general mileage expetantcy. Thanks so much for any feedback.

[Dietoremain]

you need to do ALOT of research before thinking about getting a 6.0..they can be made reliable but its not beginner stuff...i 7.3aint as quick but it gets the job done n goes ngoes.

[Dave75002]

Thanks Dietoreman,
Like I said I am really new to this but love this truck. Is that 7.3 an option I can find in a 2006 or which year would I have to look at? I will take tour advice and do some more research but can you tell me why it's not a good choice? Is it known for problems or just simply less powerful? Thanks!

[Matt_R6s]

from what I found 7.3's are 98-02 and they did it half of 03, but to find a 03 7.3 your looking at $$$$$ hope I helped out, and if I am incorrect in anyway please let me know. I understand I'm new here but I have done a lot of research my self.

[VetteGuy]

7.3's were made up to 2003. 6.0's were also first made in 2003, so for that year, there were two engine options.

7.3's make less power than 6.0's, but at the same time they have been proven time and time again to be much more reliable. Not to say that 6.0's are unreliable, but generally speaking, 7.3's have less upkeep and plain last longer.

Try to stay away from early 6.0's. I've never owned one, so I'm no expert on them, but from what I gather, they had some issues with some emissions stuff (EGR)

[97powerstroker]

7.3 powerstrokes were made from 94 to 03. I love the 6.0 engines,just do your research on them an be prepared to do some work to make it bullet proof.>>>>>brian

[HorseRadish]

Originally Posted by Dave75002

I am new to the forum and about to buy an 06 4x4 King ranch Dually with about 106,000 miles on it. I am planning on pulling a 13,000 lb 5th wheel with it. I have a friend that has the same year with a little less mileage. Before I sign on the dotted line next week I wanted to check with people that know a lot about these trucks how long can they last if really taken care of. I am hoping to not have to buy another truck for some time and will probably put about 15,000 annualy on it. I want it to last 8-10yrs. I have seen older 90's ford duallys with 250,000-300,000 miles on them and still running good. What are your thoughs on the newer 350's lasting just as long. Forget about the body digs and dents it will probably get but the suspension, drivetrain and engine, thats what I'm concerened about. These may be dumb questions but have heard the saying the diesels just start getting broke in at 100,000. I just dont know anyone that has ever had a diesel other than my friend thats only had it 2 years. Couldn't find any threads on just general mileage expetantcy. Thanks so much for any feedback.

I just bought a 2006 F-350 King Ranch 6.0 I love my new truck and am willing to change a few things I call preventative maintenance I am spend a extra $1500 on it but boy is it worth it!!! Go over to 6.0 Forum and ask some questions. That is what I have been doing!! I know I guy on craigslist in Louisville Ky A hour north of me selling his 6.0 with 816,000 miles on it. FYI

[JohnO]

Here's feedback from the very happy owner of Big Duke, my 06 F350, KR/CC/LB/dually, exactly what you're looking at.

This has been without a doubt the best, the most capable, and the most comfortable truck I've ever owned. I just love it. I've moved a neighbor's backhoe with it, crossed a mountain on a 1 1/2 lane country road with over two tons of cut red oak in the bed, it never broke a sweat. Started it at zero degrees a few weeks ago without being plugged in, that was impressive. And it rides nicer than most 3/4 ton trucks. It did blow a HPOP seal at 94k, fixed under warranty. Otherwise, it's been regular oil changes with Rotella T5 and T6, with Ford oil and air filters (aftermarket filters aren't as good), and no problems.

The 5R110 auto trans is as bulletproof as they can be made, very rare to hear of any problems with it. You'd have to do something really dumb to hurt the Dana 80 rear axle. One drivetrain issue: The auto 4x4 hubs can get cracks in the vacuum actuator line, or some times the vacuum valve goes bad. If that happens, spend some time and/or money to get it fixed, or just get out and lock the hubs manually when you need 4x4.

You can get the 'death shake', bad shaking of the front end when you hit a bump in a turn. Mine had this when I got it, the problem went away when I put on new tires about a year ago, and hasn't come back.

The engine: to make it reliable for the situation you're in, you should do two things:

Flush out the cooling system with a descaler, and put in a non silicate based coolant. Ask in the 6.0 forum for the details on this. Under heavy loads and extended high heat, the silicate based Ford coolant can scale up and clog the EGR and oil coolers. Doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen. You can get an external oil cooler from BPD that also solves the scaling issue, but it's not cheap, around $1500 just for the parts I believe.

Change to a synthetic oil. I'm particularly pleased with the new Rotella T6. Starts easier in the winter, and it seems to have eliminated the 'stiction' that was just beginning to show up (injectors sticking at idle from deposits).

What you should not do:

Replace the head bolts with studs, unless you like spending a lot of money for no good reason. In stock engine form (see next), the head bolts are fine.

Mod it for more power. When I see a posting here on a troubled 6.0 that's 05 or newer, there is almost always a bunch of power mods listed in the signature. The 6.0 is already a hot engine, it makes 30% more HP than a 7.3, with 25% less displacement. Push it further, you can start breaking expensive things. What I do know is two people who have gotten 180k+ reliable miles out of 05 and 06 6.0's. In both cases, the engine was left in stock form.

6.0's can be reliably modded to 400+hp, but it costs a lot of money to do it right, and even more if it's done wrong and you blow a head gasket. You already have enough power to pull a 13k trailer.

You can strip off the EGR cooler, but that's not a simple task and the computer will throw a code. I left mine alone, and get 14-18mpg if I don't leadfoot it.