t this stage not expecting any great revelations, but might trigger a thought from someone.2004 F250 Super Duty 4x4 9.0 power stroke crew cab lariat. All usual maintenance done on time at shop. Last year did expensive EGR work and oil inter cooler. Now doing again, truck is lightly used. Mainly to haul horse to shows so need it to be reliable. Shop has not looked at it yet but says if it is work that was done last year can likely get parts on warranty but not likely labour. But suspect that heads may be warped or gaskets blown. It has been leaking coolant, but pressure test last fall showed nothing. Does this sound familiar to anyone. Truck has 170,000 Km on it.
Don't want to spent $$$$ if problem can not be solved guaranteed! Should I justdump this and move on???
Thanks

 

You can check and see if it is the egr cooler causing this, just pull the egr valve out and see if it is wet or if any coolant is puddled under the valve in the intake.

 

How much it is it worth to you to keep it? The 6.0 PSD definately has the potential to be a reliable and powerful engine, BUT youre gonna have to drop some serious change to get it there. Years ago I had the same year PSD you have. The repeated breakdowns and and stupid-expensive repairs is the reason I now have a 3rd gen CTD. I love Ford, but I swallowed my pride and did what I had to do. I made the choice to dump it, and never looked back. If I were you, I'd dump it. The 6.0 can be quite problematic. But ultimately, the choice is yours since you are the one that has to deal with it. Know whatamean??

 

Thanks, spent 6 grand on engine last year. My daughter hauls her prized mare with this thing and as Dad I want her safe! I am inclined to sell and move on cause my mechanic said this would be expensive, Question is now what do I move to. Don't need huge capacity as goose neck trailer with couple of horses only weighs 7500-8000 pounds. Obviously no simple answer.
Thanks again

 

Mechanics rip people off constantly when it comes to these trucks because they don't know how to diagnose properly and just throw parts at it. I just did headstuds and new gaskets and a couple other mods, head gaskets were still holding up but I wanted to pull the engine to do the mods I wanted to make so it was the perfect time to upgrade the top end. I spent a grand total of $900 on parts and had it done in 3 days.
Delete the egr, rebuild oil cooler, add coolant filter so you don't have oil cooler isues in the future.
If the mechanic you are talking about is the same one that worked on it before then maybe the problem isn't the 6.0 but the person working on it, if head gaskets were torqued to ARP specs then it is possible a head gasket let loose, the ARP studs should be torqued to 240-250ftlbs to prevent failures, ARP says 215ftlbs but that is not quite enough.

 

6 grand is a heck of alot of money anyway you look at it. I wouldnt wanna do that again myself. Lemon Law took care of my 04 PSD. I went with Dodge CTD because my dad has one and he works the holy hell out of his truck (Tows a gooseneck trailer with 8 tons of hey 3 times a week), with no issues. His truck has over 300k on it now with two replacement clutches. The most I ever tow is my 28' travel trailer that weighs in about 8800 pounds, about 3 times a year. My CTD pulls it with ease, plus gets roughly 16-17 mpg doing it. All trucks have their pros and cons. I gave up some comfort, but gained a hell of alot of reliability. Im good with that. I love dodge for its reliability, but still love ford for its looks and comfort. A Fummins is a project of the future for me. Best of both worlds. Research carefully if your contemplating a new or good pre-owned diesel truck.

 

Thanks, really appreciate the comments cause am really frustrated with this. The goose neck we pull is only 5500 pounds empty so add about 2500-3000 pounds of horses and we'd top out at 8500-9000 pounds. Depending on what the mechanic says when he gets a good look at it this week am definitely thinking of a switch. Probably won't go new (too much money) so will be searching around for good used replacement probably something off lease. Anyone have recommendation on minimum engine and axle ratios I should look at for this weight
Thanks

 

Im partial to Dodge because its a dependable workhorse, and gets really good fuel mileage, even when towing. When not towing, it even better. Look for 5.9 CTD, likely for your needs, a manual trans in 6-speed, with 4.10 gears. Mine has 3.73's and tows my trailer really well. That keeps my RPMs at a little above 1700 at 65 mph. Cummins makes all its torque at much lower RPMs than D-Max and PSD. The RPMS in a 4.10 geared CTD will be a little higher, but it will still be a really happy engine. These things are built to pull and work. If you go for cummins, shy away from the 6.7 engine. Fuel mileage on those trucks aint so good, but they still pull like hell......and theyre pretty darned expensive. Research research research, and compare.

 

Morning everyone, Well after 6 days at the shop they finally looked at my 6.0 PSD and after a pressure test determined that it is not a repeat of last year's egr and cooler problem
Thanks do appreciate your commentsbut the TURBO. Apparently leaking coolant. Mechanic not sure if his turbo guy can do something along the lines of new seals or must do a complete rebuild. Nonetheless says will likely cost about $1,500 to fix. Does this sound reasonable?

 

That sounds about right. Hope it comes with a warranty tho.