Hey guys this is my first post of many to come
I'm gonna buy a 03 f350 king ranch 6.0 4x4 91k miles on Sat and just have a few questions
Basically after a ton of research ive heard that the 03 PSD was not the cream of the crop as far as diesels are concerned but this is just what I've heard. I've done all my own work on my trucks however I've never worked on a diesel which I'm kind of discovering is almost foreign to me

my questions are what should I look for on this truck it has only been used to haul fire wood in a bed for a company also I'm getting a personal loan for $3k more than the truck to increase performance and reliability would it be advised to replace the head bolts replace the injectors and delete the egr which has an after market cooler or will those things be unessasarry? What would you recommend?

I'm gonna be using the truck as my daily driver and for long trips so i need reliability

Future mods will just be basic turbo back exhaust sct tuner and maybe an intake unless there are other more recommended things

Thanks guys any info will help and I look forward to become more involved in the forum

 

dont worry about performance until you have reliability. coolant filtration system, head studs, oil cooler if its clogged at all, your 6.0 guys will tell you the ins and outs of the clogged cooler, egr delete or bullet proof egr cooler, personal preference thing, the rest i'll wait for the 6.0 guys because i dont quite remember.

 

First off

NUMBER ONE is stud those heads!!! And have the heads pulled and decked, don't do the 1 for 1 swap, not on an '03. The EGR case will depend on where you live, if you are somewhere that is doing inspections on diesels then you will need that EGR cooler, but if it's an aftermarket (BulletProof), then it won't cause any problems. A coolant filter from Sinister is a wise investment to keep your oil cooler from clogging up. Don't spend all your money outright either because those stock injectors only have 100-150k mile life expectancy and could be getting ready to go unless the previous owner replaced them. Kinda browse through the 6.0L section including the aftermarket. Just remember, don't be afraid to ask a question, if we can't answer it Mdub can. I learn something new just about every time I log in. Once the problem areas are taken care of these engines can run like a raped ape.

 

Get the VIN and go to local Ford dealer and get an Oasis run. It will tell you the warranty history on the truck, and let you know if it was a problematic truck or not. Even still, that's pretty low miles. Do you know how the truck was used?

$3k wont buy you head studs, injectors, and an egr delete, unless you're doing work yourself. Injectors are the most expensive portion of that. Tousley lists them for $220 each, but there is a $180 core on top of that. Headstuds run around $400, but there are obviously other things you need to buy to do that job, like headgaskets ($135 per side from Tousley), machine shop services etc...

How are YOU going to be using the truck? Towing anything?

I'd start with coolant filter and gauges. If stand alone, get fuel pressure, EOT and ECT (oil and coolant temps). You could also just do an SCT livewire, or some are doing the SCT handheld's for tuning and an Edge CTS for gauges, pretty slick setup. A good 4" turbo back would be nice to keep EGT's down. An egr delete if you live in a state where it's ok. Other than that, I'd keep it pretty much stock. Not really a need for an intake, the stocker is really nice actually.

I'm sure you'll have questions and we will have more answers.

Welcome to the site!

 

Welcome

 

The truck to my understanding was used as a company truck to haul wood and for running errands
I will be using the truck to get to work which is about 30 min drive here in California
The truck looks almost brand new no interior stains great paint and over all good condition which leads me to believe that it was well taken care of
I will be doing any work my self however I work Mon - Fri 5pm-5am so during the week I'm either sleeping or working and on the weekend I wake up at 3pm so my window for working on a truck is very small.

What I've gathered from the answers u have all provided is 1st get a coolant filter then do the studs and by the time that's done injectors will be going out so replace those is that about right?

Now as far as the studs can I get away with just replacing the studs and not machining the heads and replacing the head gasket? Cause a job like that I'd rather not tackle. Is it possible to replace each head bolt one by one while the engine is cold? And if so 400 seems an awful lot for some screws is there like a diy stud replacement using like grade 8 screws from a hardware store cause the one by my house has a like 5 aisles of nothing but screws if any one would have similar screws it would be them.

Also when I check the truck out what should I look for?

Thank you all very much for the hospitality and prompt replies ecstasy other forum I've been part of was a joke it would take about a week or two for a reply that was no info at all and basically made me feel like a retard for asking questions again thank u

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Also with doing the head studs it would be hard to convince my wife to fix something thats not broken do u think with normal driving i can make it a year with out needing to replace them if i get the coolant filter and don't mod the truck i wont be towing anything

 

Since you're in CA you can't do an EGR delete, so go BulletProof if the previous owner didn't. Everyday the truck is running without head studs on a 6.0 is just one more day on borrowed time but a BP EGR cooler will help with the boiling coolant and a coolant filter will help keep the coolant passages in the oil cooler from getting plugged which will buy you some time to save up for studs...provided the gaskets are still intact

Look at the degas bottle (coolant holding tank) and see if it has a white film around the cap from where it might have boiled out, see if there is any whitish/gray smoke coming from the exhaust and also ask the owner if they have to add coolant to it. Either of these conditions could be caused by blown head gaskets.

Doing a 1 for 1 bolt/stud swap and not pulling the heads off to put down a new gasket is up to you. A truck with that many miles could mean either A) it was a lucky engine with no problems or B) they are gonna go at any time now. Would I do a 1 for 1 swap? Only on a truck with less than 5-10k miles. You can install new gaskets and studs yourself over the weekend. There are some guys on here that can attest to the cost of the mods...$1000 or so (if you do the studs yourself)($2k-2500 for a shop to do it) up front...or $10-15k if you have to drop in a new engine (plus shop fees)

Where are you in CA?

 

Thank you that was pretty informative

I'm in orange county, fountain valley to be specific

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You would think with how problematic the 6.0 is Ford would have a recall...

 

I would never in any way do studs 1 at a time.

The correct way to do headstuds is to pull the heads, have them dropped off at the machine shop, put new gaskets in the truck and put the studs in.

You can not just get studs from the hardware store. $400 is cheap for studs. If you think that is a lot, you need to sell your diesel because you're in for a huge awakening. Our 6.0's only have 4 bolts per cylinder, thus why they're so cheap for studs. A 7.3 you're looking closer to $750 for studs because of the 6 bolts per cylinder.

If money is an issue, I wouldn't even worry about studs until you start pushing coolant. Do the coolant filter, get an EGR delete, stay on top of your maintenance, get a decent 4" turbo back exhaust to keep EGT's down, some gauges to monitor everything and drive the thing.

 

I agree with mdub studs one at a time are a bad idea, seems to be common practice in anything you read but wat you dont read is how soon your back in the shop for head gaskets. MLS gaskets really need to be replaced when installing studs. Deff. need to adress the egr system, check the oil fill cap, if its dried out and pitted on the top better be replacing the oil cooler. I would have oil cooler replaced while I was installing whatever egr upgrade you buy. When the oil cooler fails its game over and youll be looking for a replacement engine or spend a ton of money having someone clean the gray goop out of your entire cooling system