I am new to the forum , so let me give you a little history to go on. I have a late 2003/early 2004 6.0L with 6 speed, 137k and have a question.

I bought this truck used in February 2011 and started having issues about two weeks into ownership. This is not my first 6.0, but the first time I have had this many problems. I have to admit that when it came to diesels, I knew some but not everything. I have learned a lot by reading on forums, from people like yourselves.

The first issue we had was the EBP sensor, which after two mechanics and a turbo was finally figured out. That's a long story and I will spare you the details. I had programming updated about a week before the EBP sensor was replaced, which helped some but did not completely resolve the issue. Only the new EBP sensor did the trick. The other issue I have had has been vacuum leaks with the 4WD. Figured that out.

A month or so ago, took my truck to a shop over an hour away to finally get some answers. I had been trying desperately to get some answers about my injectors and whatnot that I could not get locally, even from a different Ford dealer. The local Ford dealer tried to tell me I needed an entire bank of injectors when the one over an hour away said everything was fine. Tech that worked on it was a senior master tech and he gladly showed the readings on the computer, which showed 100%. The tech also said my oil cooler was stopped up. Keep reading though...

About 2-3 weeks before going up, we replaced the thermostat and put in new Ford coolant and also fixed a wiring issue with the block heater. Since that time, we have noticed that there was a larger delta in oil and water temps, which we have read are indicative of a plugged up oil cooler. The tech basically told us not to drive it when the weather turned warm (The cold was our only saving grace basically). My question is this...Why would we just start having problems after replacing the thermostat? Did we miss something? The tech also said we have a leaky head gasket...so major bummer. Local dealer wants 5k to do oil cooler and head gaskets, but by the time we do that along with the payments we have, its almost like buying the truck new. Not worth it really. Second dealer cut us a bit of a break (around 4k to fix), but thats still a chunk of money. Not many little shops around us locally work on 6.0. The ones that do..well lets just say we should just go to Ford since we would get a better warranty. If we do go to a Ford dealer, it will be over an hour away. They were willing to do the studs whereas the local dealer was not...told us we had to buy them separate and bring them in.

Besides the issues above, the truck has given no indications of other problems. Its a strong truck (tech called it "tight") and we are considering getting rid of it, but wanted to get some input from you guys before letting it go. I am just so disappointed to have finally found my dream truck and to have gone through so much with it to have to get rid of it. Sorry for being so lengthy. I hope you guys can help us out.

 

I hate to say it but ya bought a money pit. Those early 6.0 engines had numerous issues. Once all those issues are addressed, the 6.0 can be a reliable and powerful engine, but getting there will be rather costly. I used to have an 04 PSD, and it had lots of issues. That 6.0 PSD is the reason I now have an 06 Dodge Cummins with the 5.9 CTD. After making the switch, I never looked back. Maybe you can look into a Fummins. THat is, a Ford Super Duty with a Cummins engine. Thats the best of both worlds. Im currently in the market for one of those for a secondary truck/ toy.

 

Don't listen to Bigg Redd quitters never win.

Replace the tsat again. Sounds like you got a bad one.

Your truck is running fine yet you are told you need new injectors?? WTF you already know that answer to that one. Some tech has a boat payment due and saw a good chance to clear this months bills when you showed up.

What was observed to say you have a "leaky head gasket"?? You are smart to ask here first before handing over your keys.

You need to give more details about what you experience when driving or what you see when YOU inspect the engine. Don't tell me what the tech says, I want to know what you think. We can help you figure all this out without a tech stealing your money.

 

Thanks for the responses. We realized we were taking a chance buying a used truck, but it showed no indications of any problem when we bought it.

Here is what I experience: Really honestly, the truck does good. There is no white smoke. I did fail to mention that our truck has EGR valve and cooler delete (Sinister kit). Externally on the engine, there is a visible leak on the right side at the head (under EBP sensor) and I also have some bubbling in the degas. At one point, I did have some "spitting"...meaning I had traces of coolant on the outside of the degas but no real puking of coolant. That has since stopped. Degas cap and bottle looked new when we bought it.

I vowed after being taken for a ride by two "friend" mechanics that I would learn EVERYTHING I could about my truck so I could solve the issues myself, but realize there are times a shop of some sort has to become involved. I drove a 1973 Mustang as my first car and got to the point I could diagnose the problem faster than my dad. I want to get to that point again. Something tells me that the problem is not that serious and we can chip away at the small stuff.

We have performed oil changes with Rotella 15-40 and it has always come out as clean as it went in. It uses NO oil. We have gotten to where we perform oil changes at 4500, but worked our way up to that since we didnt really know the service history of the truck. Have made sure to change fuel filters and use a fuel supplement since its so hard to find good fuel. Luckily, I found a couple reliable sources. We did get a Scangauge to watch the vitals and there is an approximate delta of 30 (highest I have seen) between oil and water. When it gets like this, we find somewhere to stop for awhile to let it cool off. Right now, we are paranoid about busting the oil cooler since we know its some major hooch to get that cleaned up and fixed. As far as we know, its not studded.

That being said, the truck otherwise has no major issues besides a couple small things (radiator has a small leak and need new 4wd hubs). Its a strong truck. It has pulled a 7k trailer with a 3500 lb car like it was nothing. My cousin has a 7.3 with a tuner, one of the stronger trucks here. He drove it and said he wanted no part of it...something you would not normally hear from him.

I hope I have given the info you need. If not, let me know! Thanks a bunch guys!

 

Not a quitter sunshine! Just lessons learned from an expensive mistake, so keep the name-calling bullshit to yourself.

 

Bashin someone here isn't productive guys, every company has issues and they all make some pretty good stuff or everybody would drive the same truck! I would think if cooler is clogged on coolant side you could use the flush recommended on this site and help issue until you can get more info. Just for reference I have 200,000 miles on an 03 six liter and I still love it . . And I still have stock egr . . Go figure. . .i kinda wish Mack made a pickup :-)

 

Bigg Redd and HeavyAssault, please keep things civil. Name calling and fighting is not productive and I DONT appreciate it going on within my post. We are adults (though kids at heart..we still have our toys!) and left the grade-school BS behind us a long time ago.

Adrenaline....As far as this flush, what is it and how is it done? I have not heard or read of it yet. It would be a last-ditch effort anyways. Is it something we can do ourselves?

As far as temps go, Scanguage gives water temp around 181-191, hardly ever higher than that. Highest I have seen is 195. Oil temp gets to 202-215, as high as 220 depending on outside temp, pulling, etc. I have read that water temp should go higher, but even after replacing the tstat it has stayed the same. Not sure if that helps or not. Drove the truck on Memorial Day and delta between water and oil reached 30.

 

The water temp should be right at 190-191 like you are seeing, you will loose mileage if the temp stays around 180 after it warms up, diesel need heat to work properly. Don't be afraid to do most of the work yourself and stay away from the theives at the dealership, they are the ones that gave the 6.0 a bad name because they just threw parts at them instead of finding the real problem. If a test ever shows that a whole bank of injectors needs replacing then the injectors are probably fine and that ou need to have the FICM repaire/alot better then even a new on/.
To rebuild the oil cooler the biggest socket you are going to use is a 10mm/except the clamps for the turbo ond tubes is 11mm/ so it is more tedius then hard, the hardest part is lifting the turbo out and once that is done it is just a V8 engine underneath it. most people can do this in a weekend and after you have gone through this proccess once it can be done in one day. Something I always recomend for people with the 04/early 04s is to buy a intake off a late 04 up to 07 truck and it gets ride of the crossover tube on the back of the intake and it make it alot easier to work on in the future, it also helps on the newer intakes to cut off the tab that used to hold the EGR cooler toward the back of the intake then you will be able to remove the intake while leaving the turbo in place. it will save you hours in the future. You can find these intakes for $50-$100 on ebay, just make sure it is U shaped and not look like a toilet seat oval.
The oil cooler rebuild kit is anywhere from $220 to $365 depending on where you get it from. intake gasket set $60 and turbo install kit/$11/ is all you really need along with a oil change.

 

Bob, thanks for the response.

As far as the FICM is concerned, its putting out 48-49 volts, lowest reading is 47.5.

The oil cooler is not a problem, but there is an obvious head leak externally on the motor. Left side, directly under the EBP sensor. Funny thing is, there is not a problem with coolant. I MIGHT have to add a little a couple times a year, but figure thats the norm anyways. The oil cooler we can do, its the head that's the wrench in the situation. Besides, if we get that far in to do the oil cooler, might as well go the rest of the way to do the heads. Its tore down anyways. We really dont have a good place to tear down the truck for awhile to fix it. Only garage basically available is my dad's..and we would have to pull it out when we were not working on it. We would love to be able to do it ourselves and would gladly do it. Finding a place and finances (but only for dealer/shop repair) are our major problems right now.

 

My apologies, my friend. I mean no disrespect to you or any of our diesel family members. I dont appreciate name-calling or bashing any more than anyone else on this forum, as there is no need for it. Some people just dont get it!