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Help me pick my new(to me) 6.0 PSD

4K views 42 replies 13 participants last post by  mhatlen 
#1 ·
So I finally sold my truck yesterday.....so with cash in hand, I'm going to spend a few days after Christmas driving around looking a prospective 05-07 F250/350 crew cab PSD's. I'm just trying to see which one you guys things would be the best deal....if there are any that I shouldn't even waste my time looking at.....or if there is one that is such a great deal I should jump on it ASAP.

Of coarse I'm going to give all of them a thorough look over and underneath. Check for blowby, test drive them, monitor things with my Torque PRO app, get an Oasis report.....and probably if I can narrow it down to one, take it to a Diesel shop to have it checked out.


So here are the ones I'm looking at......what do you think?

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=forSaleTab_true_0&newSearchFromOverviewPage=true&inventorySearchWidgetType=BODYSTYLE&bodyTypeGroup=bg5&zip=65757&distance=200&startYear=2005&endYear=2007&minPrice=0&maxPrice=16000&maxMileage=230000&searchChanged=true&modelChanged=undefined&filtersModified=true&sortType=undefined&sortDirection=undefined#listing=192330477

https://springfield.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2006-ford-350-f350-super-duty/6408585920.html

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d/2005-f250-crew-cab/6401472072.html

https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/cto/d/2006-f250-bulletproofed/6418000375.html
 
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#2 ·
For me I would go after the gray one first for 16K
Its a nice looking truck thats had studs installed and well cared for.

Then the KR would be my second choice. But I am not a KR fan so others would pick it first for obvious reasons.


Now that said it would be wise for you to have it looked at by a competent garage so you are not getting something that needs a big infusion of cash.
Both of the trucks are low miles and well cared for.
 
#3 ·
Just a little more info on the dark grey one and the blue KR.

Both owners said they will take $15,000. The blue KR has a sunroof that's stuck closed...possibly off the tracks...not sure if it matters. It's pretty much bone stock.

The dark grey one has a few hail dents on one side.....but other than that it looks really nice.

Is it worth looking at the red one for $13,xxx ? It's bone stock also...but it's got a few more miles on it. The inside looks prefect...so does the outside.

I havne't looked at any of them in person yet.....planning on doing that soon.
 
#4 ·
I am kinda in the same boat but am a little leary of ones that have already been bullet proofed. If you could talk with the shop that did the work, you would probably be ok. There was a thing for a while where guys were replacing head studs one at a time without doing the head gaskets and orings, and adding an egr delete. To me "bullet proofed" is; head studs and orings with a set of decked heads, new intake and exhaust gaskets with a cleaned plenum, egr delete with up pipe and new oil cooler, stand pipes, and stc fittings and assorted other orings and gaskets. YMMV
 
#6 ·
Yeah, I agree. It would be nice to know more details on the bullet proofing ......but like so many of the used ones I've been looking at, they are being sold be dealers.....and the dealers never seem to have any records or data from the previous owner as far as who didn't he work, and what was actually done. The only thing you can actually visually verify is if the motors have studs....and if the egr setup has been deleted.
 
#5 ·
That blue one looks sharp. If that was in my area and I was looking I’d check it out. It reminds me of my 6.4
 
#8 ·
That place with the blue KR also has an 04' F250 that I'm probably going to drive......just to compare the two. I'm interested in how much better that 06' KR rides with the coil springs in front. It would interesting to see if I can tell any differences in power output between the two motors also.
 
#9 ·
You should go talk to someone at your local Ford dealer about them helping you by printing up Oasis reports for a truck you are serious an buying. The Oasis is all the service records for the truck while under warranty. Can see if the updated parts were done and how often it was in for any issues.

The car dealers will have the most for sale because people trade them on newer trucks because they don't want the hassle of selling it. The other way they acquiring them is by auction and those are often the trucks with the problems. Often a dealer takes in trades and if they see problems with the trucks they will bring them to auction and get what they can to cut their losses. Not a guarantee it has head gasket problems but much more likely.

Best thing to do again is for you to have the truck looked over by a competent shop before dropping down cash on it.


As for the early F250 compare ride, turn radius, interior layouts and which one has the prettiest bumpers. lol

Good Luck..............take your time on it. Took me almost 2 years to buy my first one.......not recommended
 
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#10 ·
Agreed. Take your time! I know you're "truck-less" right now having sold your Dodge, and I know how exciting it is to truck shop, but please remember they made many of these trucks. You'll find the right one for you. Just be patient if you can afford to be.
 
#11 ·
Yep...I agree. I like being in the position I'm in. I sold my truck and got a lot more money than I ever thought I would for it, it's winter time so I don't really need a truck for towing my boat right now......and I've got plenty of time to research, find, and test drive trucks. I find it a challenge to find the best deal out there.....hopefully I pick well.

The one think I don't really like is that there seems to be a lot more dealers out there selling the 05-07 6.0's than private sellers. I guess most people don't want the hassle of selling their trucks themselves....so they trade them in. The problem with the dealers is that none of them have any records of service history on the trucks (at least they say they don't)....so it's up to me to do all my homework on them.
 
#15 · (Edited)
***UPDATE***

Well, I went and looked at that Blue Kind Ranch F350 today. After driving 1.5 hours to look at it, I was pretty disappointed.

Pro's

Paint looked great
KR interior was pretty well taken care of
The FICM voltage held right at 48.5v the entire time
The HPOP put our 590psi at idle, around 4,000 at WOT
Engine oil temps and coolant temps seemed good...hard to get a cool Delta reading without a heavy load.
Just about NO blowby....you couldn't even hardly see any steam coming out of the oil fill tube
No leaks in the front or rear diff
Aftermarket 5" turbo back exhaust
Aftermarket Airraid Intake
Transmission seemed to work fine

Con's

Check Engine Light on dash...I scanned it and all kinds of things popped up (see picture)
The tires were in horrible shape....thread was really funky looking, it needs an alignment bad...SUPER LOUD on the road.
Brakes didn't seem to work all that great
Sunroof was broken...you could hear the motor running, but nothing moved.
The degas tank with almost bone dry...only a few drops of coolant in it.
It didn't seem to have as much power as I was expecting.
The boost gauge was showing 25+ PSI at around 3/4 throttle....but would drop down to 20psi at full throttle.
2" rusted out holes underneath both rear cab corners.
Extremely dirty/nasty air filter...doesn't look like it's been services for years.
It needs some front end work....very loose when on the road, all over the place.



The guy said he would take $14,750 for the truck.....but with the issues I found, especially almost dry on coolant, either a motor or transmission leak, sloppy front end components, on and on.......it's not worth the risk to me. It does still have the oem TTY head bolts...no studs. And of coarse the deal has absolutely no information from the previous owner.....

Well....on to the next truck.








 
#16 ·
Looks to me like the coolant tank had been wiped clean around the cap to me. Dusty everywhere else.

Yea I would keep looking too.

Sunroofs can be a nightmare too.


One thing you can do to check for headgasket issues is:

Drive it 20 minutes to full temp.
Then vent off pressure at cap and tighten back on
Drive another 10-15 minutes check cap again

If its full up on pressure again you have trouble.
Thermal expansion is what makes the pressure. Once hot should be no more pressure
 
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#17 ·
Pretty nasty looking. Plus no coolant is a very bad sign.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Make sure and try to park in a grocery store lot when you test drive the ‘03 vs’06. That alone may sway you from the leaf spring truck. I also like the grey truck. I shy away from ‘05’s because they had some oddball parts, and hadn’t transitioned fully with all the updates. But that is probably unfounded, and you can ignore that I said anything. “Bulletproofed” generally means a remote oil cooler has been installed, as well as studs and egr cooler/delete. But that is more of a trademark thing, like people call all skid steers bobcats. Happy hunting.
I couldn’t agree more with Mark on the Oasis report. It tells a lot. Any dealer I have been to will just print it up when I have asked.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#22 ·
Well, I just got done driving that red 05' with 213,000 mils on it. Wow....I'm impressed. Not a dent or scratch on the truck, the interior looks brand new....seriously, like brand new. The motor runs great....no blowby, no engine codes, no leaks, all stock except for a "5 turbo back exhaust (no cat or muffler). Hpop pressures are good, ficm voltages good....nothing wrong I could fine with it.

I got the sales guy talked down to $12,500 for it......needless to say, it's at the local diesel shop right now getting the run down. I did notice some white junk around the Degas tank......hope it doesn't have a head gasket or egr issue.

If it checks out....any reason why I shouldn't jump on it?
 
#23 ·
Not sure if you're stuck on short bed, but long beds have larger fuel tanks. Just throwing another wrench in there for you. 29 gallon vs 38 gallon. The one with the rust is an automatic no in my book. Not sure if it's worth it to you, but look outside of the state in non-snow areas.

Also Delta's are checked with no load cruising at 65ish down the fwy
 
#25 ·
According to my torque pro app, running 65 down the highway the coolant temp was right at 190, and the oil temp was around 202...so a Delta t of 12. I'm assuming that just means that the oil cooler probably needs flushed or replaced?
 
#27 ·
Well, either I made a huge mistake....or I just bought a good truck. The local diesel shop gave it a clean bill of health.....so that makes me feel a little better. I figure that for what I paid for it....even if I need to replace the head gaskets in the future, it doesn't really bother me as much.

Out the door for $12,250. And I have a receipt showing that a different local diesel shop just serviced it (new glow plugs, glow plug harness, oil/fuel filers, and fresh oil)...$600 worth of service. So that's good to know.

How did I do? Now it's time to replace those ugly wheels and tires :grin:







 
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#30 ·
Thanks!! This is my first diesel...looking forward to hooking my camper behind it and seeing how much better it tows vs. my Hemi Dodge Ram I had.

With the High Delta-T's......should I just go head and try flushing out the oil cooler, or replace it, or just drive it and see what happens? If it's running around 12 degrees now, I can imagine it hitting 15 degrees pretty easy as soon as I start towing the trailer with it.

Can't wait to put this thing through it's paces!! :grin:
 
#32 ·
We think the same :) Until I put a few thousand miles on the truck and get a chance to really get to know it....wheels are the last thing I need to do.

I'm thinking that an EGR delete, oil cooler flush, and a SCT Livewire TC to monitor things are my first orders of business.
 
#34 ·
Do you know how long ago the Fuel Filters and Oil / Oil Filters were changed? If that's unknown that'd be my FIRST order of business. I also like to send occasional Used Oil Analyses to Blackstone for giggles.

Maybe that's because I'm so used to my 6.4 and "dilution", but...

Remember: only Motorcraft / Racor filters! Racor makes the filters for Ford Motorcraft and are typically a *little* cheaper, but are the same exact item.

If you've already mentioned this elsewhere, forgive me. I've had a few drinks. lol
 
#36 ·
When the dealer got the truck about a month ago, he had it serviced (glow plugs, fuel/oil filter, oil change) by a local diesel shop. They showed me the receipt. They used Motorcraft filters, and motorcraft oil. For some reason, they also replaced the glow plug harness.

I think a coolant flush is something that needs to be done also. I've heard that bumping the fuel pressure up a little with the "Blue spring mod" is a good idea also.
 
#35 ·
If not a Livewire then maybe an Android double din stereo and Bluetooth adapter. Load torque pro onto the Android radio. Boom there's your monitor! Haha
 
#37 ·
I actually already have the Torque PRO app on my phone....used it when I test drove the truck to check everything out. That's a pretty awesome tool!!

To be perfectly honestly....I kind of wanted the Livewire so that I could load in the towing tune it comes with. Is that a bad idea on a stock motor?
 
#38 ·
My only gripe with a monitor/tuner combo is if it gets stolen you're stuck with the tune that's on it. You would have to go to the dealer to get reflashed back to stock and then possibly order new tunes again (if they were custom) based on the new strategy.
 
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