What year ?
 

Was wondering what would be the best year if one were to be buying a 6.0l powerstroke. what year had the lest problems and stuff.

I have an 06 F350 Super Duty 4x4 Auto with 156,000 plus on it - until just recently I had no problems as far as engine.

Now it won't start on cool/cold mornings unless plugged in and runs rough until warm.

I'd find a 03 7.3

Luke

i have an 03 6.0 with 170,967.

it has had VERY MINIMAL problems, I LOVE MY 6.0:jump:

06/07 would be my vote, but really once you know the in's and out's of these trucks they're pretty similar. Aside from reliability the 05+ trucks got a lot of updates, better looks, better handling due to the coil sprung front end over the leaf's of the 03/04 trucks, bigger brakes, stronger front axle, etc....

I guarantee this guy could be a truck a few years newer with a 6.0 and still have money left over to do all of the "bulletproofing" to the 6.0, and STILL be ahead of buying an 03 7.3. 03 7.3 is one of the most sought after years, and also one of the most expensive used superduties to buy still... good luck finding one with lower miles than a newer 6.0 and for less price, cause it ain't happening. The 7.3 market right now is just silly. People are asking $15k for trucks with 200k miles on them and rust. That's just my opinion though, and that's not even weighing in the better trans in the 6.0, and the newer body style, as well as the performance capabilities. To each their own. An 03 7.3 would be a really nice truck, but at what cost?

The 7.3's around here don't seem to outrageous. Lbz duramaxs on the other you can't touch

Where are you fox2boost? I don't see many LBZ's around here anyways. One of my buddies has been trying to sell his 07 LBZ, 700ish horse to the wheels, full built trans etc, with something like 50k miles on it for $31k Not a bad deal at all.

1. I've read that 99-00 7.3s were the ones to get for the better connecting rods and to avoid the rest if big power is your goal.

2. I really think the problems have more to do with how well they are maintained just like any other vehicle. I mean, c'mon, everyone cringes when they hear that I have an early 03 6.0, then they think I am lying when I tell them that the only problems have been an injector stuck open and the FICM.

x2, exactly:c:

the only issues with mine was a FICM, IPR, and 1 bad injector

The problem with the 6.0's are you either get a good one or a bad one. I got lucky on the 2 6.0's I have owned. But I will never own another.

Ya its hard finding a 7.3 with less than 150k miles but you can find them unless your looking for a 6spd.

its 50/50 because half the people dont take care of them properly:argh:

That could be said about anything, and define a "bad" 6.0... like I said, if you're getting one, just plan to bulletproof it. EGR delete, ARP's, and a coolant filter will make it a pretty solid truck. The rest of the truck is worlds better than anything that came attached to a 7.3.

whats it run about to bulletproof a 6.0l. thanks for the quick input to

To my understanding its a toss up as to "what the good year is" as for any car eventually you will run into some sort of problem. How big? Hard to say. When I decided I wanted to get a diesel Ford it took me 6 mo of research before I finally pulled the trigger and I ended up with a 03 6.0 two days after i got it the hpop went out but I'm pretty sure the seller knew it was going out when he sold it to me.

What I did was I looked for one around 100k miles that was used lightly few-no mods def no chip and the owner had to be over the age of 30 reason being is in my head if the 6.0 was around 100k and still running it will prob run 100k or more. I didnt want one with a chip or any other mods because it told me the owner wanted to go fast so in my mind if the owner wanted a fast truck it prob was abused. And the owner being over 30, well, i figured a 30+ year old man would take care of the truck and be more responsible than a 19 year old kid. These are just my opinions and things that helped me now I'm a happy owner of an 03 f350 king ranch. Hope this helps

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When you do check one out though FLOOR IT if its really slow or shifts really hard or does anything out of the norm it might have a problem

My point is that buying a used vehicle you should rely more on test equipment than assumptions.

Sorry for not being politically correct I ment tuner when i said chip... You are most certainly right though there are people at all ends of the spectrum a 19 year old kid could of taken better care of a truck then some one over the age of 30 and vice versa. Call me stereotypical if you would like what I said were my opinions but I call em as I see em. All im stating is be a cautious buyer and you will be happy in the end. If the truck looks abused then it might of been...

What is the going cost to.bulletproof a 6.0l parts and labor. i know labor varies just wondering what's the cost about

Friend of mine just bought a 2005 6.0 and this is what happened within 3 weeks.

Bad HPOP
4 Bad Injectors
Bad FICM
Bad ICP
Bad Intercooler

I would consider this a bad truck or bad luck.

Luke

^^^im not saying that what your saying isnt true, but i hear all the time the whole "my friend" or "brother-in-law" had a 6.0 and it had issues...... it seems like 95% of the 6.0 owners on this forum are pretty happy with our trucks

There are lots of good 6.0s heck I owned two of them but I bought them both new. If you can find one thats been well maintained then you will probably be fine. Problem is around here if you find one in good shape your going to pay $20k+.

Luke

Mass/ct area. Only thing about the 7.3's around here is the bed and the quarters are usually dieing of cancer. Ya that's not bad at all my buddys trying to sell his 05 reg cab 2wd 6.0 to buy a Duramax.

He went to a dealer to trade it in for an lbz, the guy saw the egr cooler delete and said he wouldn't go near it with a ten foot pole.

The truck is bulletproofed and ready to go if you know anyone 13k around 101000 on it. Burgundy.

My rough guess around 5 grand.

That all depends, how savy are you with tools? If you take it to a shop, head studs and new gaskets alone are gonna run almost $3k, and they won't check the heads unless you tell them to (and ultimately pay them to). If you're cool with that, everything else can be done in your driveway on a Saturday (EGR upgrade/delete, if you want to upgrade your oil cooler, coolant filter installs in about 5 minutes etc.) Now if you have a decent socket set, screwdrivers, wrenches and a torque wrench, you can do the studs yourself, I recommend bagging and labeling group bolts (intake, turbo, yadda yadda yadda). There are a couple full on DIY write ups on the org that go into parts lists as well (stand pipes have a bad habit of coming apart so buy the one piece), I'll see if I can find one of the threads for you

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Found a couple for you.

DIY, In Cab HGs & ARPs - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

Head gasket and stud install - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

MKM Customs - Engine Components

Pick your kit, can even get one with an SCT. For a shop to do this is going to be mucho expensivo! When mine pops a gasket, I'll be doing it this way.

Do you one better:

Head Gasket Install Complete Kit, Ford 6.0L
2007-UP 6.0L Professional Package - OEM Oil Filter
Semi Bullet Proof Package (you choose either a delete cooler or an upgrade for emissions checked trucks)

Those 3 packages will give you EVERYTHING (minus oil and coolant) that you need to stud your heads and take care of the EGR problem, also recommend getting a coolant filter so that new oil cooler you drop in doesn't get plugged again

6.0L Powerstroke Diesel Coolant Filter Kit Sinister Diesel
OR
Ford 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel Coolant Filter Kit

All in all, you will have a solid truck that is ready to make some serious power for less than a shop will charge you for just the stud job

Judging by the lack of an oil cooler, those Bullet Proof pkgs look more for preventative studding than corrective (ie after you've blown an HG). If you've got the time/money and want to run a hot tune, it looks like a good idea.

I love 6.0 trucks...they keep us and tons of other shops rolling in the book hours lol. With the basic fixes their ok... just like any other mechanical item ...they fail.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

i love mine too:choochoo:

The biggest issue with a 6.0, regardless of year, is the lack of quality shops who are able to actually diagnose without throwing tons of parts at it.

I agree. It took me quite some time to learn them. And I threw my fair share of parts in the process. They can be a challenge for those used to conventional diesel engine diagnoses. One issue is techs are nervous to explain that diagnoses charges are hard to quote and it may take a few hours to perform a test such as internal oil leaks.

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actually the 6.0 is simple in many ways. Especially when compared to a 7.3 that throws vague codes and easier than the 6.4 but the 6.4 has one thing i wish the 6.0s had and thats long term and short term fuel trims. per cylinder.

Some how i always have the luck of getting trucks that other dealerships or small shops cant fix...

electrical/sensor issues, easy DVOM is useless. i load test or unplug sensors 1 at a time until the issue corrects itself or find a short/open. Bad known sensors to cause bizarre issues, EBP sensor, FICM, and Fan clutch harness's. Unfortunately the fan clutch is like 480 sometimes a pig tail replacement is a fix, most times it requires the clutch to be replaced.

Mechanical issues, few in comparrison to a 6.4 the only things i ever see is stuck vanes, bad dummy plugs/stand pipes, few hpops, few stc brackets, alot of egr/oil coolers, and head gaskets.

Injectors, after researching the injector issue i believe synthetic oil is the way to go at the very least. Rev X and Hot Shots, this is something i would expiriment with personally in order to endorse it but many people swear by it.

The 03s early 04s that had the thread in type stand pipes, i almost never see any high pressure oil system issues, I see the HPOPs fail.

6.0s are by far the easiest to wrench and diagnose all you need to know are specifics, and if it comes to an electrical issue on a drivability issue with multiple circuit codes, look in a diagram for what they all have in common be it a ground, signal return, or reference voltage and you can back probe and load test them until you find the issue.

I always suggest to DIYers to buy a lift and at least 3k in tools to keep these things on the road without spending big $, all the aftermarket support that is available can cure just about every issue with them.

Karl

If you would have looked, the Semi-BulletProof kit comes with a brand new factory oil cooler (hence why I said "those 3 packages") for $800...or if you like you can go all out with the Full-BulletProof kit that comes with a remote-condensor mount oil cooler for $2200. But if you use a coolant filter then the semi kit will work fine since there won't be sediment in the coolant to plug the cooler again.

I guess my question is if Bullet Proof even states on their web that the new OEM oil cooler is prone to failure why do they included it in the kit?

I'm using an OEM oil cooler on my rebuild... I'm not worried about it one bit.

Coolant filter is key, without it, even that brand new cooler with clog up eventually withsediment and casting sand. I have cose to 15k miles on my new OEM cooler, no doubt in my mind it'll last as long as Ford/International intended in the first place

Good point, a coolant filter is definitely a good idea regardless of what coolant you're using. Let's face it, there are not many things we can buy for these trucks for $120. Those things are worth their weight in gold.