Seeking ford diesel guru before I make a big mistake buying high $ truck in Boise

Hello Idahoans.. I need some help here.

Iv been searching for the perfect truck for almost a year. Long enough to know I'm going to have to travel to buy this perfect ride. So I found it at Larry Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram on Auto Dr. Only thing,, it has an 6.0 turbo I always told myself to stay away from. But with a few modifications it can be a reliable puller for my 10k# camper, but I need to know the true condition of the truck and engine so I need to hire a local diesel guru to do a inspection.. I want details the dealer cant or wont tell me.
This diesel guru would probably have to work for a ford repair shop or equivalent to have access to the diesel diagnostic equipment.

Any recommendations?

I've had my 6.0 since '04. And I can say that it had no problem hauling equipment in and around east coast cities. It has been rock solid for my needs. I have a good friend who is a Ford Diesel mechanic. He gave me two tips about the 6.0:
1. Do not let it idle for long periods of time. It runs a bit cold at idle and will form carbon on the valves , waste gate and other places you would not want carbon.
2. Do not get a chip / mapper. This motor is tuned as it needs to be from Ford. And while Banks or Bully dog might have fined tuned their mappings since I heard the tip, It used to hold true they will not do much good for the motor.

Here's what I have done:
1 Banks exhaust
2 Brute Force intake
3 160k of trouble free miles.

I also added air bags in the rear to help level the truck when hauling the horse trailer.

There are service bulletins out for the truck, and a Ford dealer will correct any issues covered by those. But if you can not trust the dealer, do not buy the truck. Maybe you should take the truck to a Ford dealer for the inspection. They will find anything and everything wrong ( in hopes of getting you to pay for repairs) which you can turn around on the dodge dealer to lower price on the truck...

I know the market is down, so my 2 cents is only worth 1 penny, but I offer it to you anyway.

PS if you can find a 7.3 get it. Those motors last forever.

Thanks.. I asked here and wow.. a few guys who still running the ford 6.0 curse them up and down. One guy spent $11k fixing his..

You know they say, that people usually only speak up when things go wrong on the net.. And I know what they mean because when amazon asks me to rate something I just bought, the email goes in the trash.. No time for that. Last thing on my mind is me writing a review on a product I like. I rather just go "like" it.

Is that the case here? a handful of unfortunate guys who got the lemons? If it were as bad as you guys say, wouldn't there be a huge lawsuit going on by now?

BTW I have a choice between a 7.3 with 300k and the 6.0 with 41k.. Still favor the 7.3?

If you talk to the old timers they will tell you to go with the 7.3l, non emissions engine, lot less mess.

I have the 6.4, boosted 6.0l with 80k of trouble free miles. I agree, run the factory maping, change oil every 5k use Mobil 1 diesel formulation fuel filters every 10k, drain water separator every 1k and I have my idle set to the emergency vehicle high idle, I've by passed the standard idle circuit and so when the truck in in park now with the parking brake on it will auto adjust to idle at 1,300 RPM, helps reduce the carbon build up.

I pull a 10k 5th wheel, I do expect to put a tranny in it at some point in time but what the heck, it's a Ford, better than the engine work.

I've found the people that bad talk these trucks with the engine's have usually re-maped and runing higher boost pressures and caused their own problem. Good luck.

Something about a factory coolant issue as well..

I found a class lawsuit against ford and their diesels..

Ford 6.0 Class-Action Lawsuit

Take some time to read the comment section..pretty eye-opening.

The lawsuit alleges that Ford knew enough about the problems to sue Navistar the manufacturer of the motor for almost a half-billion dollars...I wonder if they got their money yet...

Do your research o the FICM or know as the fuel injection control module. They are hard to find a new one and if you do find one I would suggest you keep one as a spare.

Hard to find new? red flag red flag

I learned a lot from this guys videos. This 4 part series on how to buy a powerstroke is pretty good:

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I ended up buying a new 2013 F250 with the 6.7L, so far, so good.

Good luck. -Ed
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They settled with all ambulance package 6.0 owners years and years ago, Ford is still doing head gaskets for free on those. I hated working on those turds, especially in the E chassis, don't miss them one bit.

We were still seeing the same problems on the 6.4, you'd be better off with another brand...Ford sucks.

Issues always seemed to start with a hyperextended thermostat, replace the stat and the blown out radiator, then it'd be a shitstorm from there...egr coolers are next, then the head gaskets.

This wasn't just one or two lemons in the fleet, it was all of them.

Ford charges $600 for the power side of the computer and last I checked a 6 month wait. I did get one from Napa for $250 or abouts and had to wait a month. There is a place in Florida, I am sure there is a local place too, that fixes the problem for about $200 all said and done. Easy to replace once you get it. So that said if she starts rough when cold for sure you need the power side of the FICM.

Oh and have fun doing the serpentine belt the first time. Mine wasn't a leaker but I have heard of oil leak problems too.

I work in a Ford Parts Dept. , and I will sell ya as many FICM modules as you can afford to buy ! The ' power side ' as is referred to here, we call a half shell FICM and they sell for $556. I can get 35 of them overnite if need be!
The 6.0 is a problem child , no doubt, but one of the best things you can do to them is to add an inline coolant filter (@ $200 ) if the vehicle still has low mileage. The oil cooler and EGR cooler have small fins for the coolant to pass through , and left over sediment in the engine block will plug these and start a cascade of problems. An inline filter solves this. I can go on and on about 6.0 probs and fixes , but that's all for now. If you can get it cheap enough, you can invest $$ and make it into a good vehicle.

Buy the 6.0 if you have alot of money and like to go fast!
Buy the 7.3 if you don't have a lot of money and don't mind going slower.

I have a Late 99 7.3 and love it.

Ok. I am seriously fascinated by this....so please someone help me understand. Why would any one intentionally buy a truck that has an engine that is well documented to have numerous issues that can/will affect its reliability during your ownership. I mean, its not really if a problem will pop up...its when. I mean, its not like a ford with the 6.0 is the only choice out there for a diesel pick-up truck.

Its one thing to be stuck with one because you have an upside down loan or have too much invested and want to make it at least bearable to own..and another thing to actually be seeking one out to buy.

Simple answer,,
humans.
cuz,,uhh,,
brand loyalty
wife likes the color
Ernie said it was a cool truck,,and so on.
masses will keep buying a system known for failure for any number of stupid human reasons.
Kinda the same way the congress gets re-elected when everyone agrees they aren't working any better than a broke down Ford fuggin deezel!
hmm, cars and trucks,,gas companies, tires from the raped forest lands, tied in with bank loans so everyone can have a _________mobile,,
Car don't work,, get a different one,,
the best deezel engine to choose from is a whole nuther congress, one that works more than voting themselves a raise, then going on vacation.
They are heavy, they stink badly, no matter how "high tech" your fancy new higher priced fuel is,, another scam perpetratedit seems if yer old enough to remember these things,,less than half the cost of gasoline when I started driving.
The railroad used to spray diesel as a weed killer along their ROW, in those days as I remember it cost 9 cents to 11 cents per gallon to the public at the local truckstops,,"Service stations" didn't have it.
water sells for a buck a bottle at many events across the country,,my Brother StevenE always told me when I complained,,"C'mon peterman,, it's for a good cause,, it's for the children"
What is any of it worth? My best brother is gone, diesel costs more than frikken gasoline,(total SCAM) and you want a frikken bigass pickup truck.
Why? what help can I be to you in your quest when I am unclear on you motivations and needs .
Stuck downwind from one on the bike,, in traffic, a wreck ahead, or construction zone,,

This guy's videos are gold. I watched a lot of them; partly out of curiosity about diesels, and party because I may need to buy a serious tow vehicle for my sailboat. I get the impression he really knows his shit, and is giving fair, balanced, practical advice.

Also, in my research, you'll find someone bashing just about every gas and diesel motor (or the transmission that is attached to it) that goes into a 3/4 ton or better truck.

If you want to read some fun owner experiences, google for the ecoboost F150s... Scary.

If I understand what you are saying, Peterman, I disagree completely. I've a friend with an old diesel, that thing is awesome. Plenty of power, but more importantly gets awesome fuel mileage. My 1/2 ton gas gets 21 on the freeway unloaded, and close to 12 with 2 dirt bikes in the back so long as I stay under 65. His (not a Ford) gets 16-17 unloaded, and 14 with a full sized camper, giant trailer with a 4 street bikes, 4 quads and 4 dirt bikes in it towing to Moab at 70-80mph.

My tdi Jetta (not a truck, but still diesel!) gets awesome mileage that doesn't drop much when I put a big Thule on top, all while being peppy enough to be fun.

I love diesel. If I could buy my truck again I'd seriously consider saving up a few more grand and getting a diesel.



Actually... you do have a good point about the stink. The older ones reek, Powerstroke and prior. The new ones don't smell bad at all, though.

In my experience the 6.0L is garbage. The small metal fab company I used to work for bought 4 of these trucks. One had a dash fire, one had the head gaskets blow at 12k miles, one of them went through 6 turbo chargers and then the egr cooler cracked filled the cylinders up with coolant and broke the block, the other one wouldn't run and the dealer couldn't figure out why. All four of these trucks were under 30K miles when we got rid of them. My next door neighbor bought a low mileage 2005 and it to is terrible. Since last year it has had an egr cooler, injectors, and head gaskets. This last month he has put 5 fuel filters in it because the inside of the tank is delaminating. This truck has 90K on it. If you have to buy Ford, buy a 7.3.

Not something I would do ,but 4 of our 10 technicians drive 6.0 diesels. They can be had for $5k or more below value because of their reputation and when you put that $5k back into them they turn out pretty awesome from what I'm told. Head studs, coolant filter, egr upgrade and programmers ( which they can now handle with the head stud kits ) and they put out incredible power ( both H.P. and torque ).
When the initial propaganda hit our dealership in 2002, it stated how these engines were tested for millions of miles up in the Yukon, when the first one hit our lot, we had to push it into the shop:eek1. Wouldn't start - can't remember the issue. Bad Omen:huh