Ford Powerstroke 03-07 6.0L Discussion of 6.0 Liter Ford Powerstroke Turbo Diesels

6.0 powerstroke advice

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  #1  
Old 10-10-2012, 11:59 PM
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Default 6.0 powerstroke advice

can somebody tell me what the best year is for the 6.0s and what is the major faults in them to make people hate them? thank you
 
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Old 10-11-2012, 12:50 AM
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Best year would be an '06 or '07. The biggest problem with them is uneducated mechanics, they just throw parts at the truck and hope for the best. You hear people say "Oh the 6.0 is crap, I had to replace the turbo 3 times before it solved the issue." NOOO!!! YOU PAID someone to replace turbos, and on the 3rd time, they just happened to figure out what the true root cause was. As far as mechanical problems, the biggest 6.0L killer is clogged EGR and oil coolers. The inside of those coolers has a similar design of the cooling grill on a radiator, any sediment or other junk floating around in the coolant plugs those passages and leads to cooler failure and blown head gaskets. That is why I feel (and many people on this forum will agree) that a coolant filter is absolute best "cheapest" ($120) mod you can do...yea you can do an EGR delete if your state allows, but just remember you still have an oil cooler in there to keep alive (unless you fork out the $2k for the remote BulletProof oil cooler that mounts in front of the radiator). Your next best addition is some monitoring equipment:

-Oil/Coolant temp gauges so that you can monitor the delta, more than 15° (I think) difference and you are looking at a clogged oil cooler
-Fuel pressure gauge so that you can make sure it's on the up and up, gets to low and you will SERIOUSLY harm your injectors
-Pyrometer to keep an eye on those EGTs so that you can ease up on her to keep your turbo alive

Those are the 4 that I feel are mandatory, anything more is your preference (now you can do a single unit such as the Edge Insight if you don't like the 747 cockpit feel. If you are going to start wanting to build some decent power, ARP head studs are a MUST! But that is further on down the road. You will be looking at around $1500 for everything I just listed (not including head studs and everything involved with installing them) if you do the work yourself.

One last bit, as an owner you will need to be meticulous about maintenance...no more than 7500/oil change, 15k/fuel filter, coolant filter annually, air filter will depend on your area and your driving style.
 
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Old 10-11-2012, 03:56 PM
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Do not buy a 6.0. Get a CUMMINS!!!! 6.0 had injector problems, high pressure oil problems, egr problems, and oil cooler problems. Cummins problem? With the 6.7? tranny issues at 200k miles. put a new one in you're good for another 200k. 2010 Cummins is bulletproof. Zero issues with anything.
 
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Old 10-11-2012, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by nickjames525
Do not buy a 6.0. Get a CUMMINS!!!! 6.0 had injector problems, high pressure oil problems, egr problems, and oil cooler problems. Cummins problem? With the 6.7? tranny issues at 200k miles. put a new one in you're good for another 200k. 2010 Cummins is bulletproof. Zero issues with anything.
The next time you have a thought...just let it go!!!

I know of 5 people that prefer their 6.0 Powerstroke over their Cummins. He asked this question in the 6.0L section NOT the "General Diesel" or "Potential Owners" sections, so **** off!!! He may not have $35k to fork out for a newer truck. Whatever the case may be, if you want to talk about Fords then keep it on another side of the forum because once everyone starts chiming in on here, you won't win. I'd rather have a solid truck wrapped around an engine that I can fix all of the issues without much research, than a junk truck wrapped around a good engine.

How about you sell him your '07 Stroker if it's so horrible and those of us that have the proper knowledge will help him make the appropriate changes and you can go get your "beloved Cummins"
 

Last edited by Diesel_Daddy6.0; 10-11-2012 at 07:02 PM. Reason: Figured I'd edit my profanity before I upset the Mods
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Old 10-11-2012, 07:30 PM
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Deal. All I can say, my 07 stroker and my mom's 07 Cummins have both 150,000 on them. Mine has had about 10,000 in replacements and fixes, hers.. well her fuse blew on the cigarette lighter once.
 
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Old 10-11-2012, 07:42 PM
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Originally Posted by nickjames525
Deal. All I can say, my 07 stroker and my mom's 07 Cummins have both 150,000 on them. Mine has had about 10,000 in replacements and fixes, hers.. well her fuse blew on the cigarette lighter once.
See below

Originally Posted by Diesel_Daddy6.0
The biggest problem with them is uneducated mechanics, they just throw parts at the truck and hope for the best. You hear people say "Oh the 6.0 is crap, I had to replace the turbo 3 times before it solved the issue." NOOO!!! YOU PAID someone to replace turbos, and on the 3rd time, they just happened to figure out what the true root cause was.
And I hate to break it to you, but from what I gather from your other thread, you have a very uneducated mechanic if he did pipes but not plugs
 
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Old 10-12-2012, 08:42 AM
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Yup.
 
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Old 10-13-2012, 01:39 AM
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I have a 2006 F350 6.0, A week after I bought it the EGR went out I went with a full bullet proof EGR and oil cooler Kit through Bulletproof Diesel. about $ 3,500 after install at the ford dealer. No problems since. I have quite a few friends with 07 and newer Cummins who cant belive the power with the minor upgrades ( 4" Turbo Back Magnaflow, S&B intake and SCT Tuner ) 0-60 6 seconds according to the SCT not bad for a 1 TON. The Bulletproof kit also comes with a cold weather package that bypasses the cooler until the oil warms up and filters through a better filteration system than the stock low end filters.
 
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Old 10-13-2012, 08:12 AM
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Love my 6.0 never had a major problem. Other than the trans but that was my fault. One to many boosted launches
 
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Old 10-13-2012, 01:25 PM
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There are 4 things you need to make sure of when owning a 6.0:

1. Keep up on your maintenance! Poor upkeep will kill these trucks faster than anything
2. Educate yourself. Read through the forums an learn what makes these trucks tick.
3. Monitor your vitals. With a few gauges you can see an issue before it becomes a problem and take appropriate actions.
4. Know your truck! This goes hand in hand all 3 of the above, by understanding your rig and knowing what to look/listen for you will be able to notice symptoms of an issue manifesting.

When I first bought my truck I couldn't wait until I had the money to drop in a Cummins, but now that I know what I do, I love this engine.
 


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