Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum banner

Please tell me I'm not crazy for wanting a 6.0 PSD!!

9K views 72 replies 29 participants last post by  RandawgVO 
#1 ·
I'm pretty new to diesels......so I've been doing my homework and researching them them for the last 6+ months. I want to get rid of my 04' Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi and step up to a 3/4 ton diesel. I've recently upgraded the size of my camper...and my boat, and my old Dodge struggles to pull it. It sits in the shop most of the time...but gets used 4-5 times a month to tow something...that's it. Based off of that...I cant' even start to justify a new $60k+ diesel truck.

After looking around at all of the options that are out there on the used market, and comparing that to my budget ($16,000 or less would be nice).....it puts me right in the neighborhood of the 03'-07' 6.0 F250's....which I've read ride better, have nicer interiors, are built better, and will make just as much power as the Cummins and Duramax's if tuned right..........but you have to deal with all of the infamous 6.0 durability issues. I'm ok with this....I have a big shop and I like working on motors. I've rebuild transmissions, motors, and everything in between.

I've found several nice 05'-07' 6.0 F250 quad cabs for around $14-$16,000 with around 150,000-200,000 miles on them.

I'm just haveing a hell of a hard time pulling the trigger on one in fear of getting it home and have all kinds of issues.....which if you read all the stuff on the internet, it exactly what happens to everyone who owns a 6.0 PSD :crazys:

Are the 6.0's really the "could break down at any second" motors that people say they are? I will be using this truck for strictly towing my camper and boat on really long road trips with my family....reliability is HUGE concern for me........am I crazy for wanting an F250 with a 6.0??

I figure this would be the place to get some encouragement to go out and buy one :wink:
 
See less See more
#34 ·
Yep, that is the one.

From what I can tell, it looks like a pretty nice and well taken care of truck. I'm guessing it's all stock and not bullet proofed or EGR deleted....so that worries me a little.

I'm thinking about going to take a look at it.
 
#35 ·
Would I be better off with a 200K mile truck that is completely bone stock, or one that's got all kinds of aftermarket stuff done to it (including a tune), but been fully bulletproofed? The stock one has probably led an easy life........but the bullet proofed one has probably been ran pretty hard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WD40
#36 ·
My 04 XLT F250 CCSB with 186,000 miles will be for sale as soon as the 18 I ordered gets here. I’m the original owner, never been tuned, never been torn into any further than the oil cooler. And that wasn’t due to a failure, just a preemptive replacement.

Spoiler Alert - If you’re not rednecky enough to drive a flatbed, you need not apply!

To answer your question though, I’d take a stock truck over a “Bulletproofed” truck any day. There’s just too many questions about who did the work and what parts they used. I’d rather start with the stock truck and just do the mods i deem necessary.
 
#37 ·
I'd rather a stock one too. I can't shake the feeling that anything "bullet-proofed" was flogged pretty hard because "they can".

I understand that can be said for a stock truck also...but I can never shake the thought when reading a parts list lol.
 
#38 ·
I'd say it depends on the truck. Mine has been bullet proofed, tuned and it has a goose neck hitch with air bags so I'm sure someone would think it tows a lot/gets beat on all the time. Truth is it rarely gets a heavy foot and I've never hooked to a goose neck trailer in the 6-7 years I've owned it. I'm guessing the 1st owner did but 99% of the time the heaviest thing I tow is groceries...lol A couple times a year I tow something with my trailer, like some sod or a car for a friend but that's it. It lives in a climate controlled garage and has the tow tune loaded just because it drives the best for me compared to the other tunes. For the casual observer they might pass on it but she's really babied...

I wish I would have snatched one that was already modded. I'd have saved a ton of money that way, let someone else take the hit on the parts costs. All that is sunk cost...
 
#39 ·
Yeah....now I'm kind of in a rut. I've found two truck that are both really nice.......around the same miles, and same price. Once has been modded a bunch.....one is dead stock. The modded one has a ton of stuff done to it....but I may have to pull the lift kit off of it for pulling my trailer. The stock one...well, it's stock...so eventually it's going to need an EGR delete and ARP studs. Any advice???
 
#41 ·
I wouldn't call a 6.0 Powestroke simple. I guess it could be depending on what you are comparing it to, in my opinion simple would be a 12v Cummins, Ford 300, or Jeep 4.0.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WD40
#42 ·
07 490k miles on the clock..stock head bolts still. turbo, injectors, valve cover gasket replaced, struts, shocks etc replaced over the year still running like a champ..will be changing the fuel sending unit here in the next week or so getting code for it and fuel not reading correctly plus will give me a chance to clean the tank out


I say go with low mileage 6.0
 
#43 ·
I've found several nice 05-07's for sale.......it seems like the 100% stock ones are going for the same price as th ones that have been studded and deleted. Would it be safer to buy a completely stock one...or once that's been studded? If I will eventually have to stud the motor anyways...why not buy one where it's already been done?
 
#47 ·
I know a lot of people says go with a stock one so you know what you have done to it. If they are all the same price I say get one with work done and just know in the back of your mind you may need to redo some of it. It may last, it may not, but you can reuse the head studs and some of the other parts and not buy new ones.
 
#44 ·
With a 10 year old vehicle it's a chance either way. Now all of a sudden I've dropped almost $500 in suspension parts all because I wanted to get an alignment after new tires. I'm glad to have found out I had a bad tie rod tho, will save me in the long run but I really didn't want to spend my off time in the garage wrenching...lol And I'm doing more stuff while I'm under there, figure no need to do suspension work again while I have parts off in that area. Should have done more 6 months ago when I did the track bar. All in all that $500 in parts is cheaper than shelling out for a newer ride. I've only wrenched on her one other time this year so I'm still way ahead!

I wish I would have went with a modded truck, almost picked up an 03 that had everything done but I wanted the coil front end. I found a ton of options I liked and went that route instead, I'm ultimately happier now but my wallet took a bigger hit on purchase price and mods. So I guess I chose options, tighter turning radius and looks (harley truck) over mods. Everything's a trade off!
 
#46 ·
With a 10 year old vehicle it's a chance either way. Now all of a sudden I've dropped almost $500 in suspension parts all because I wanted to get an alignment after new tires. I'm glad to have found out I had a bad tie rod tho, will save me in the long run but I really didn't want to spend my off time in the garage wrenching...lol And I'm doing more stuff while I'm under there, figure no need to do suspension work again while I have parts off in that area. Should have done more 6 months ago when I did the track bar. All in all that $500 in parts is cheaper than shelling out for a newer ride. I've only wrenched on her one other time this year so I'm still way ahead!

I wish I would have went with a modded truck, almost picked up an 03 that had everything done but I wanted the coil front end. I found a ton of options I liked and went that route instead, I'm ultimately happier now but my wallet took a bigger hit on purchase price and mods. So I guess I chose options, tighter turning radius and looks (harley truck) over mods. Everything's a trade off!
Yeah, I would tend to agree. I think it still all boils down to the shape of the truck, and how it was taken care of.
 
#49 ·
Every situation is different and you have to look at all the options and possibilities. For example, when I bought my 2004, I had the opportunity to buy a similarly equipped 2005 that had been "bulletproofed" and had a 6 inch lift, custom rims and oversize tires at about 50% life. I could have gotten that truck for a couple thousand less than I got mine for. Mine was 100% stock. Thing is, the '05 had 270k miles on it and my '04 had 85k. My '04 was also about as pristine as I could have expected from a 10 year old truck and you could tell it had never really been off road, much less beaten on. All that said, I did have to put an oil cooler in it and rebuild the turbo due to sticking vanes shortly after I got it. I ended up replacing the turbo about a year later as well, but I put 100k miles on it before I needed any other costly repairs (head gaskets and studs) other than maintenance items that are going to need fixing or replacing on any Powerstroke at some point (ball joints, unit bearings, etc.). Had I purchased the 2005, it would now be approaching 400k miles. I feel it is unlikely that I would have gotten as many miles out of it without some other costly failures (transmission?, HGs again?, etc.) I've thought about it a few times, but honestly, my '04 is still in better overall shape than that '05 was 4 years ago and I'd make the same decision today.

tl;dr
There's more to a Powerstroke than just the engine. I'll take low miles over questionable mods any day for the same price. Especially if I have reason to believe the suspension, wiring, or other key systems have been tampered with in ways I would not have done it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bismic
#53 ·
I was leery of getting a bulletproofed truck when I was shopping. The term alone seems used and abused and just because someone says bulletproofed can mean a lot or a little. Just because someone deleted the EGR cooler doesn't make it bulletproofed. So with that in mind, I went with a pure stock truck. I decided that if the bulletproofing ever/eventually takes place, I want to be the one in control of the process. Not a fan of the expense of course, but after working on my truck recently, I could see doing most repairs myself. So the only real expense would be if I'm looking at head and head gasket replacement. At that point, I would leave that job to the pros, but I wouldn't be afraid to do oil cooler replacement or installing a BPD EGR cooler. Seems very manageable on these trucks and once the turbo is removed, most of it is right there. I love the new Ford trucks and the tech, but I believe the 6.0 is in that perfect sweet spot. I never owned the newer 6.4 or 6.7, but with the added emissions crap, dare I say the 6.0 is the best Powerstroke when it comes to simplicity and power.
 
#54 ·
Thanks for all the info guys. I'm still bouncing back and forth between getting one that's dead stock, or one that's been bullet proofed. On one hand....I agree that it would be nice to do the work yourself to make sure it's done right. On the other hand......if someone else already coughed up the $3,000+ in part for everything....why not take advantage of that.

I'm one of those people that like to tinker with stuff.....so I know that one of the first things I'm going to end up doing is getting an SCT Livewire for it to monitor stuff....and then I'm sure I'll start playing around with the tunes a little bit. From everything I've seen on the forum....most guys are saying that as soon as you start messing around with tunes, stock head gaskets will take a dump. It sure would be nice to buy a truck that's already got the ARP studs, new gaskets, EGR delete.....and some of the other stuff most of the bulletproofed trucks I've seen come with....like cold air intake, exhaust, and stuff like that. That aftermarket stuff adds up fast......

Decisions, decisions, decisions......
 
#55 ·
Well...I went and checked out my first used 05' 6.0 truck today. All stock motor. The coolant want was just about bone dry......I'm guessing it's got a head gasket or some sort or EGR cooler issue. Also, it didn't feel like it make much power.

It made 25psi of boost at around 3/4 throttle....but when I mashed the gas all the way to the floor, it only made around 20psi of boost....is that normal?
Hopefully this first truck isn't the same thing I'm going to find when I look at a few more of them.

If I keep seeing these trucks with head gasket and EGR issues.....I'm going to do something I really don't want to do, look for an 04-07 Dodge quad cab with the 5.9 in it.
 
#56 ·
If I keep seeing these trucks with head gasket and EGR issues.....I'm going to do something I really don't want to do, look for an 04-07 Dodge quad cab with the 5.9 in it.
Sounds like a plan. Just keep your wallet ready for transmission and front end issues. And make sure you're up to speed on Cummins issues like a washed out #6 cylinder and the wavy block. And make sure it doesn't have the Dodge electrical gremlins. Also, confirm that the blend door on the HVAC system isn't jacked as it can be a PIA to fix. Check the cab mounts for cracking. Be sure to inspect the frame behind the cab. Other than that you should be good to go.
 
#60 ·
Yup, I'm looking at brakes and rotors next couple months before grass cutting season comes up. A new serpentine belt, and cab mounts probably next winter. It's part of buying a 10-15 year old vehicle diesel truck. But when you compare that to new vehicle prices, it will be a lot cheaper. So really the question is, do you want the headaches and maintenance of the Dodge or the Ford.

I'm not a mechanic by trade, but I've owned several used vehicles and always did most repairs/maintenance myself. Everything from suspension to engine to electrical. If you're the same and can perform or have performed these tasks yourself, you can get by with the 6.0. With that in mind, when it comes to transmissions, I'm not as comfortable with tearing into it. So Dodge has tranny issues I hear...

I would rather engine related than tranny related issues.
 
#66 ·
Well....I got one!! Picked up a nice 05' F250 with a little over 200,000 miles on it. It's in awesome shape....I can't believe how nice the interior is! It's drive great...the suspension and steering is nice and tight. The local diesel shop checked it out and gave it a clean bill of health. The only thing that bothers me a little be is that the EOT/ECT Delta-T's are around 12 degrees on the highway....so I think it's time for an oil cooler flush...or replace if that doesn't do the trick. Other than that it's perfect. The FICM voltage is good, the HPOP pressures are good, it runs great, and according to the dash display (for what that's worth), it get's around 18.5 mpg on the highway).








 
#68 ·
Last week I ended up selling my 04' Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4x4 for $10,000.........about double what the book value is for it, but it was in excellent shape. :grin:

The same day I sold my truck, I sold three little calves (cows)....for $2,400.

I ended up talking the sales guy down to $12,350 for the truck (they had it listed for $14,000)......I actually drove out of the car lot with $50 more in my pocket than I had the day before :wink:

I searched around for about a month for nice 05-07 F250's. This was by far nicer, drove better, and was better taken care of than any of the $16,000 trucks I looked at. The suspension and front end is tight, the interior is pretty much perfect, the paint is awesome, and the motor is completely stock.......except for a 4" turbo back exhaust with no cat or muffler (it's actually really quiet while cruising)

I think I did really good :wink:
 
#71 ·
Ok, that's good to know. As far as Delta-T when towing a load.....does that same "not over 15 degree difference" still apply, or is it ok to have a wider spread when you are towing a load? Also, what's the max coolant and engine temp you can have and still be "safe"?

Thanks for the info!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top