hey guys. I am new here and am looking for some advice. I have an '03 6.0. I have put all 120000 miles on it, and with no problems. I am looking into doing some performance upgrades. I would like to add more power, but not so much that I am going to chew through my transmission. I use the truck for towing on long trips about 6-10 times a year. The rest of the time it is my daily driver. Any recommendations? -

get a good tuner that the best way to get power for your buck exhaust and intake, -

coyropin's Sig:

01 3500 dodge 24 v cummins, GD Stage 5 150 hp injectors, GD turbo stage 3, 16cfm exhaust 14cfm intake, AFE intake, Edge 5 stage chip, DD 12 button south bend clutch,#2 vp44 pump fass fuel ddp, dual 5 in exhaust stacks flat bed

SCT with some custom tunes would probably be a good place to start. -

crewed powerstroke's Sig:

2006 F-250 crewcab long bed 4X4 6.0 liter S&B air filter SCT LIVEWIRE with tunes from IDP MBRP 4" Turbo Back exhaust; THANKS to DIESEL BOMBERS , and MBRP

Install head studs before you do anything else. One of these engines will toss head gaskets before you hang a tuner on it, so it's just easier to get that out of the way before you start modifying.

Just my opinion. -

Big Angry Hillbilly's Sig:

2008 F-350 4x4 Off Road 6.4 PSD 23+ MPG
Ford Powerstroke Dealer Technician
310-S Ontario Motor Vehicle Mechanic
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Modification Friendly Dealer Technician - Just don't try and hide it from me.

Sct custom tunes from innovative, exuast. -

I got an 03 6.0l w/55k miles on it earlier this year, and the computer had issues "learning" the turbo. Had it checked out at OCdieselshop, and the engine was due for a major tuning. This is what we found, AFTER we took the cab off & took the engine apart.

EGR Cooler was leaking
Headgaskets were begining to leak
Turbo ring was cracked

So I decided to go all out and fix it so I wouldn't be on the side of the road somewhere.

ARP Headstuds
New Stainless EGR Cooler
Banks intercooler/intake elbow
New turbo
All new filters, check HPOP, oil cooler, etc
SCT X3 custom tuned by eric @ innovative

Intercooler had been replaced once (before I owned it).
Already had 4" exhaust w/no cat & an AFE intake filter.
Removed the original Edge programmer

It ran really nice after all the work was done (by Bud), but really moved after the truck was programmed. Big Angry Hillbilly is right, I don't think it's his 'opinion'. It's a fact......... EGR Cooler leaks, Coolant (produces cylinder lock?) & stretches head bolts, then the head gaskets blow. And a tuner will only increase EGT's and thus increase the likelyhood of killing the EGR Cooler. Bad cyclical process Replace the headbolts first, with ARP headstuds, then eric can get more out of your truck with his tunes. The X3 programmer would have killed the truck, if I didn't do everything mentioned above, first.

Since then I have added 12 gauges, since I love to monitor (almost) everything; mostly analog gauges, for direct readings.

Oil Temp & Pressure
Boost / EGT's
H20 Temp
HPOP Pressure
Fuel pressure
Volts/Amps
Trans & Diff Temps
Clock (this is really important)

People laugh and say I drive in an airplane cockpit, but I love it. -

Figurhead's Sig:

2003 F350 6.0L CC LB 3.73s (Daily Commute)
- 10.5" Donahoe Racing Springs / 39.5" IROKs / Dual Fox Shocks
- 4" Turbo Back SS Exhaust / ARP Headstuds / SS EGR Cooler
- Banks Intercooler-Intake / aFe Intake Filter / DieselSite Coolant Filter
- Magnafine PS Filter / SCT X3 Custom Tunes from Eric @ Innovative

How many hours on average does it take to lift the cab up? -

Weeks327's Sig:

I have that same question and have tried searching for some kind of post or anything that kind of give you an idea as to what it will take, from what I hear some people are removing the air cond box and doing it in the truck but the hardest part seems to be getting the torque done with the cab in the way, maybe somebody will chime in and give some idea -

are work takes are trucks down to ford and it takes any where from 6-8 hours for the 6.0 but i heard the 6.4 is 2-4 hours -

Bud @ ocdieselshop has been doing it for many years. I think there are 6-10 main bolts, and the cab comes right off. I think it took them a few hours to unbolt it and lift it up. The overall job is much quicker (headstuds), even with the cab removal VS trying to do it with the cab on. -

i would do ARP head studs and a SCT tune is the only thing i would run. i would also get you a good set of gauges and block the erg cooler. -

1armbandit's Sig:

2002 Chevy tahoe- 2wd, flowmaster single in dual out, memphis 15" subs, memphis belle, memphis m-class speakers, pioneer radio, KMC Monsters 20", 315x10 Cooper atz.

Looking to buy F-250 4x4 PSD

Is it possible to do the studs without pulling the heads. I have no way to 'lift my cab' off the truck.

Thanks for all the expert advice. -

LocoMike's Sig:

Crew Cab Short Bed,2003 early build 6.0
EGR Delete Manifold from FCDP,CCV Reroute from LOWES
FICM custom program from IDP,SCT custom tunes from IDP
EDGE Insight with EGT,BB mod to the FPR
35" tires (no lift) yeah it's tricky,2" aluminum wheel spacers [/I][/B]

what is the avg cost of the head stud replacement? -

for the average person wouldn't it be easier to just pull the motor for the headstud install, remove the turbo then unbolt the powersteering pump and ac, so recharge isn't needed, then just pull it out, most people don't have a truck lift in there garage.....
Hey BADMUDR ,I am near by, Bethesda, I have an 04 f350 with Banks intercooler,5" exhaust,edge juice with attitude,cfm intake, and most importantly the egr is blocked off. I have 190k on the truck /no head studs,,,,YET/ and I have had no mechanical issues so far. I don't abuse it while towing, keep it on tow mode and edge set to 2, alot more power than stock, all modifications were made at 120k,, the automatic trans hasn't missed a beat, had it flushed at 100k and all was well, guess I am do for another flush here soon, one caution is that your tires aren't going to last the 120+k that you are used to, that power is tempting, bikes get pissed off when you smoke them from a traffic lite, hahahahaha -