well i purchased an 04 6.0 in January at 165000 miles. It had the head studs done in 09. New fuel injectores just recently. It runs fine when its warm. Crappy when its cold. I am a first time diesel owner so i decided to start with a challenge. It is my daily driver. I like to take it camping also. Its also used for the occasional haul. No heavy hauling and if so rarely.I basically would like to know some preferred work to be done for longevity and performance but leaning towards longevity. I have an EGR delete on the list already but I would like to know opinions and which way to go there. Im not very interested in a tuner cause i feel like they will shorten the life by years but if you can persuade me feel free to. Away from those two things i have no idea where to even start... so let me know what you would do to get the most out of this truck.

 

Do the rest of the bulletproofing.
Stand pipes,dummy plugs, oil cooler, stc fitting and oil lines to the turbo. Do the blue spring upgrade too.

I added a bypass oil filter for added insurance. You may also want to add a coolant filter as well although if you change your oil cooler to aftermarket i dont really think its needed. I change the oem oil filter once between oil changes too. Oil is the single most important part of these engines and keeping it clean is key to the longevity of the motor. There are so many ways that bad/dirty oil can make your life hell with these trucks its not even funny.

The bulletproofing in addition to keeping up on oil changes and good batteries are the key things to focus on. Check your ficm voltages as well, if you notice low voltage at any point, have the ficm repaired or get a new one. It WILL leave you stranded.