6.0L, good or bad?

[sdski]

Hi all,

I found a great deal on a 2004 E350 with the 6.0 diesel. It drives great, seems well maintained and is coming from someone who works at a ford dealer. He Picked it up from a fleet a year ago and replaced the turbo, among other less expensive things. It has 177K miles.

I thought I finally found my project vehicle, but just realized this was the early 6.0, not a 7.3. Does anyone here have much experience with these? I have heard stories of cracked heads. Any help would be appreciated, I am supposed to make the purchase tomorrow evening.

Thanks in advance, I am still trying to work my way through all the amazing info on this forum.

 

[ujoint]

I'm not scared of the 6.0. There are a few things that can be done to eliminate any of the problems. EGR cooler delete (or replacement), keep the turbo clean, oil & fuel filter changes, and head studs if you want to really go all out.

I've got over 90K on mine, no problems.

 

[truck mechanic]

I HAD an 05, F550. I leased it for my shop, I ordered it set up the way I wanted it. Thought I was gonna have a 10 year truck. Had it set up with 4x4, 11 ft service body, 9 ft fisher mm snow plow, spent lots of time seting it up to work out of easyly. Long story short, after 4 years of constent problems I set it back to ford befor the lease was up.
I wouldnt thouch it.
Paul

 

[dsw4x4]

My brother has one, he calls it the 1500 dollar repair everything that has broke on it has been at least 1500 dollars. I have had customers that have had 6.0s that have treated them pretty good but they have told me of repair bills of 7000 dollars when the egr starts to act up and the turbos clog. I have also heard egr delete works good but gives you a forever check engine light. My best grasp if you have a good diesel mechanic and are willing to have all of the known issues fixed when something small breaks "and they are knee deep in the engine anyway" you will have a reliable but expensive van. If you only fix what breaks as it breaks then it will be a constant headache. It may be a different story if you do not use your rig for heavy usage. All of my experience is from people that use their van for a lot of off road or heavy towing or both and driven a lot of miles.
Derek

 

[1sweetvan]

I really wanted a Diesel van, then I read about all the trouble with the EGR and VG Turbos. I'm an independent trucker and had to put up with all that crap to earn my living. I even paid $25 K to get rid of one truck because it was so freaking unreliable. I don't have a lot of patience for vehicles that don't perform as intended, so I bought one with a 5.4 and could not be happier. Its hard to argue with $30 for oil and filter, $20 for a fuel filter and plugs every 100K. Turn the key a go.

 

[ujoint]

This topic has been beat to death, so lets whup it some more

I should have mentioned that along with an EGR cooler delete, you need a custom programmer that shuts down the EGR electronically. No CK engine light.

Here's what kills a 6.0:
Dirty coolant (or casting material from manufacturing) clogs up the EGR cooler. Then it overheats, and possibly breaks or starts to leak. This creates steam, which the EGR valve then lets into the intake, then a cylinder, then pop goes the head gasket! It also allows coolant into the exhaust & intake. No bueno....

The EGR system also causes problems by allowing too much carbon into the intake, which clogs up the turbo. The VVT turbo has a bunch of little flappers in it, and it doesn't take much carbon to make them sticky. The EGR shut down slows this problem down, but the turbo needs to be removed & cleaned every so often.

 

[Toolman]

The little flappers getting clogged also has to do with the quality of Diesel Fuel. Apparently the problems existed back in 04 and 05 because of the high content of sulfur found in the Diesel Fuel, which doesn't exist anymore or "so they say"

whack, boom, bat... beat it up some more !!!!!!!!!!

 

[zuren]

I considered the 6.0L PSD for a little bit. Then I started reading about all of the problems. Do a Google search across the internet for 6.0L issues and you'll find more than you could ever read. From what I remember, the 6.0L in the Ford vans is detuned a little from the truck 6.0L. This is what it basically boiled down too:

If the engine was WELL maintained, there is documentation to PROVE the work that was done, it WAS NOT idled much (think tow vehicle vs. ambulance), was not programmed/tuned then it could be an okay choice.

No documents, dirty engine, reasons to believe someone sat in this thing for extended periods of time idling or had performance tuning software on it - I would PASS!!!

The later 6.0L's are better than the early model years when it was offered. Ford started figuring out the issues and dealing with them. 2004 is on the early end of the production run so I would be leary. Fixing any issues will be expensive! I read somewhere that head work requires the body to be lifted off of the frame to gain clearance/access (not sure how accurate this is). Also know that Ford and Navistar were suing each other over issues arising from this engine and have effectively ended their partnership for light duty diesel engines because of it. What does that tell you?

Some guys love these things and have had very good luck (like Chris @ Ujoint). A great number of others have had issues and it steered me away. Overall, the 7.3L is the diesel engine to get but I found them hard to find and pricey when I did (since no one wants a 6.0L and they don't make a diesel van at the moment).

 

[sdski]

Just got off the phone with the guy and grilled him a little more on work that has been done to it. He claims that at the dealership he works at he has only ever seen 3 vans come in for HG repairs and that the 6.0 is much more reliable in the vans since it is de-tuned.

He also told me that it has recently had the updated EGR and oil cooler put in (along with the updated turbo). I'm still tempted, but like I said I would trust a 7.3 with 173k miles more than the 6.0 with 173k miles. I can pick this thing up for under $5k and its pretty clean and looks good underneath.

How many people on here have experience with the 6.0 in the van as opposed to truck?

 

[MadChad]

Here is a video done a few years ago. I watched them and ended up with a '03 7.3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH2NmxXEUJQ

 

[RocKrawler]

7.3 is the hot ticket, or a 2006+ 6.0 because at that point the major problems were supposed to be hammed out by Ford. I have had two trucks with the 7.3 motor ( one van and an F250 that Martyn an Adventure Trailers now owns ) and both engines are as flawles and trouble free as any engine could possible be with over 100k miles. A buddy at a local dealership has over 900k on his original motor, which speaks volumes about the reliability of this power plant.

 

[truck mechanic]

I also have a customer with an 04, f350. The truck is in my shop bi monthly. The owner expects it to cost him at least $1000 each time it comes in. After my telling him all winter to sell it, its now up for sale. I told him I dont want him hateing me over one pos. Cash cow for me, but I would rather keep the customer.

 

[ujoint]

I also have a customer with an 04, f350. The truck is in my shop bi monthly. The owner expects it to cost him at least $1000 each time it comes in. After my telling him all winter to sell it, its now up for sale. I told him I dont want him hateing me over one pos. Cash cow for me, but I would rather keep the customer.

I'm curious to know what was failing that often & costing so much??

 

[sdski]

ujoint - do you know about van vs. truck reliability with the 6.0? I have heard that being de-tuned in the van leads to better reliability, and 95% of what I hear about the 6.0 is from truck owners. I am just nervous that this is an '04 with 177k miles.

On the plus side, it drives awesome, started right up with no problems and I would love to have the 5 speed auto.

 

[ujoint]

ujoint - do you know about van vs. truck reliability with the 6.0? I have heard that being de-tuned in the van leads to better reliability, and 95% of what I hear about the 6.0 is from truck owners. I am just nervous that this is an '04 with 177k miles.

On the plus side, it drives awesome, started right up with no problems and I would love to have the 5 speed auto.

Everything I know is what you just said. Van 6.0's are less problematic than the trucks. You'll find van owners that have had problems, don't get me wrong. One problem I've seen with van owners is that they sit more, which leads to rust in the turbo.