Hey guys. New member to this site, but, I'm really hoping for some advice. I'm looking to travel with my family across the country and need a truck to pull a 15,000 to 20,000 lbs for a toy hauler/travel trailer. The kicker is I'm not looking to spend a fortune. I don't need it to be fancy but I do need it to be reliable. I don't have an issue doing some work to it before I go.

I am currently looking at a 2004 F550 Dually with a 6.0l with 68,000 miles. The gentleman wants 24,900. It is in very good shape. It had a EGR delete about 8 years ago with under 40,000 miles and fuel flow transfer system. Would this be a reliable truck or should I steer clear of it? Should it be fully bulletproofed? What would a shop charge to fully bulletproof it? I can't seem to find anything under 35k in any later model trucks without 100,000 to 300,000 miles.

I would really appreciate any advice.

 

Just be aware that there is no definition for "bulletproofing". It means different things to different people. As far as installing upgrades, it isn't always just about the scope of work that was done (ie not just what was done, but how it was done and what SPECIFIC parts were used). Quality parts should be used (sometimes OEM is best, and sometimes aftermarket is best). ALSO the shop doing the work has to be competent and honest.

Every person looking to buy a used 6.0L should FIRST get knowledgeable about the 6.0L, and then SECOND should buy a monitoring system to use when assessing a used 6.0L. IMO downloading ForScan Lite to a smartphone is the best one to get. It is VERY thorough at reading engine codes. Torque Pro is good, but just not quite as good as ForScan at reading codes (it is a little more user friendly at displaying the critical engine parameters). To use these apps, you will need the appropriate OBDII adapter to plug into the vehicles DLC (Data Link Connector), also called the OBDII port. The BAFX brand of adapter is fairly cheap and works well. I use the WiFi adapter for iOS and the Bluetooth one for Android.

2004 had some substantial changes around "mid-year" of the production run.

The early 2004 had the ICP sensor behind the turbo. The later one had the ICP sensor on the passenger side valve cover. Where is the ICP sensor on the truck you are looking at??

The location of the ICP sensor will tell you what type of high-pressure oil rails you have. The later ones have some weaknesses that can be fixed fairly easily (the original dummy plugs and standpipes should be replaced with the upgraded ones). The location of the ICP sensor will also tell you what model of EGR cooler it came with. The later model EGR coolers were a big reliability issue. I see that the truck you are interested in already has an EGR delete. There are many types of delete. You need to know SPECIFICALLY how it was deleted and what parts were installed. If the EGR cooler is still in place, then (IMO) you need to remove it and install an EGR cooler from BulletProofDiesel (whether your engine uses the EGR cooler or not, I do not like to see the weak OEM cooler left in place). They (BulletProofDiesel) are the only place I would go to buy an EGR cooler.

I have no confidence in the OEM 03 and 04 high pressure oil pumps (or the parts store ones either). The only HPOP I would call reliable is the upgraded pump from Dieselsite (slightly larger than stock or the higher capacity Adrenaline). IMO an 03 or 04 would not be "bulletproofed" without one of these pumps installed.

What type of coolant is in it? What color is the coolant (you can't always tell by color, but it is a clue)? The OEM Ford Gold coolant is responsible for clogging oil coolers (coolant side clogging), and this is VERY common to see on MANY 6.0's for sale. A lot of times cheap aftermarket oil coolers are installed after the OEM oil cooler clogs. The cheap aftermarket oil coolers do not cool as well and are prone to several types of failures. To see if the oil cooler is performing acceptable, you need to get the engine FULLY warmed up (ie the oil and coolant temperatures are no longer rising), and then check to see how much hotter the oil is than the coolant. You MUST use the scan tool and get actual temperature readings, The oil should NEVER be more than 15 degrees hotter than the coolant. If it is, the oil cooler is plugged (assuming the temperature sensors are accurate). The typical difference between oil and coolant temperatures is around 6-8 degrees. The OEM Gold coolant needs to be flushed out and an EC-1 rated ELC coolant installed. Before flushing the coolant system, the oil cooler health needs to be evaluated. If the oi cooler is clogged (coolant side), then chemicals will probably need to be used in the flush. It may also be possible that a new oil cooler will need to be installed (some are plugged so badly that they can not be cleaned up).

When you look at the coolant in the degas bottle, make sure you do not see any oil (OR diesel) in the cooling system. Oil residue in the degas bottle indicates a failed oil cooler. Diesel in the degas bottle indicates one or more cracked heads.

BulletProofDiesel (BPD) sells an air-to-oil oil cooler. It is a very nice upgrade. It is just too expensive for me. The OEM oil cooler is good as long as you have a clean cooling system and are using the proper coolant. BPD also sells a kit to relocate the OEM oil cooler if you decide to stay with it. Relocating it makes it very easy to change out if it should ever get clogged up. It is a nice unit also. It adds quite a bit of stuff under the hood though.

Low fuel pressure is a common cause of injector failures. Injectors are expensive and if they fail, they can sometimes cause significant engine damage. Every owner of a 6.0L vehicle needs to have a fuel pressure gauge. It is that important. It is a little harder to check fuel pressure when test driving someone else's vehicle, so I suggest you take it to a dealership and have that checked. The original fuel pressure regulator spring was weak, and an upgrade was then provided. Fuel pressure needs to be above 50 psig at ALL times or you risk expensive damage to the injectors and possibly the engine.

You say the truck you are looking at has an upgraded fuel system. You need to find out all you can about it and then put it in this thread. FASS and Air Dog are two of the major suppliers of upgraded fuel systems, but both of them had MANY issues with the reliability of their systems.

One of the things that sometimes plagues the 6.0L is injector "stiction". This is an issue that affects the oil side of the injectors. The spool valves will get stuck (or be slow to move) when you have this condition. Using the proper oil (and proper oil system maintenance practices) can help you avoid this issue. Stiction will normally show up on cold starts and cold operation. This is why you ALWAYS want to see the vehicle when the engine is totally cold. IMO using a synthtic oil is VERY MUCH advised. Some people feel otherwise. That said, using a 15W40 in cold winter climates will almost certainly cause stiction issues. Using a synthetic 5W40 (or a quality 10W30) is better advised. If you are towing heavy, I would use the 5W40. Look for engine maintenance practices that follow the owners manual (5000-7500 mile oil changes and 10000-15000 mile fuel filter changes).

The 6.0L 110 amp alternator is not sufficient. You need at least 140 amps and preferably around 180 amps. If the alternator and batteries are not CONSTANTLY kept healthy, then the FICM (Fuel Injection Control Module) would usually fail. FICMrepair.com upgrades FICMs with more reliable components. IMO a 6.0L is not fully bulletproofed unless the FICM is upgraded (and a reliable 180 amp alternator is installed).

I would never consider buying a used 6.0L without getting it cold (engine) to test. I want to hear it start when TOTALLY cold. I want to hear it idle when cold. You also want to get it TOTALLY warmed up, and then turn it off and see how easily it re-starts. I would try several hot re-starts.

Since the injectors are actuated by high pressure oil, the choice of oil and oil filters is VERY important. Using OEM oil filters is the ABSOLUTE BEST way to go. If you use OEM oil filters, then you ABSOLUTELY MUST have an OEM oil filter cap. Many people use aftermarket filters that come with the cap. Those are junk and can be a HUGE issue if an OEM oil filter is installed into the aftermarket cap. The aftermarket caps are about twice as tall as the OEM caps (and they are stamped "Do not reuse"), The OEM cap stands about an inch above the oil filter housing.

IMO you need to use OEM fuel filters also (there are two of them). Of course that potentially depends on what aftermarket fuel system you might have.

The stock air filter on these 6.0's is the best you can get IMO. I absolutely would not want an aftermarket air filtration system (and I am fairly heavily tuned). The air filter can go 100k miles without needing to be changed. Just watch the "filter minder" - it is a reliable way t tell if the filter is getting restricted. The only bad thing about the OEM air filtration system is that sometimes it can be re-installed with some leakage at the "mating surfaces". You do not want air leakage that allows unfiltered air into the system.

Small oil leaks are somewhat common on the 6.0L. Most are nothing at all to worry about, but some might be. Look it over thoroughly for signs of oil leaks. The 03's and early 04's were prone to failure of the ICP sensor (behind the turbo). This sensor leakage would then ruin the connector. Upgraded sensors (and replacement connectors) pretty much resolved this issue, but that location is a high heat location and it makes it a MAJOR PAIN to do the repair work there. Still, that would not be a knockout for me. Other common oil leak places are: CCV (closed crankcase ventilation) system, glow plug o-rings, cam sensor o-ring, crank sensor o-ring, oil pressure sensor, and a few more.

I would not consider buying a used 6.0L unless I checked for pressure build in the degas bottle. I have a system that I can add on to the degas bottle in just seconds. You install it on a cold engine and then drive it until it gets FULLY up to temperature. Then you check the pressure in the degas bottle. It should be around 8-10 psi (due to the expansion of the coolant as it heats up). Then drive it fairly hard (multiple spirited accelerations) to see if you get more pressure build. If you do see a pressure build, then you may have leaking head gaskets. The definitive test is to vent the degas bottle (ie carefully remove the cap to vent it, and re-install), and then see if you get any more than 2-3 psi pressure build on a FULLY hot engine. If you do, you may have slightly leaking head gaskets. Also, look for splotchy dried spots around the degas bottle (the minerals that are deposited if the degas bottle cap leaks). Below is a video showing a cheap pressure gauge setup.


The degas bottle cap is a pressure relief device that is set to vent off the pressure at 15-16 psi. If the system gets any higher than that, the OEM radiator might fail (it has crimped-on tanks that like to leak when the pressure gets high).

If you want to have a 6.0L "bulletproofed", I assume you mean you want the head gaskets changed out and head studs installed in place of the head bolts. The success of spending the big bucks for this work depends on the quality of the repair shop and the machine shop. The heads need to be flat, but there is a minimum thickness spec. There is also a "finish" spec. The block surface must be smooth, free of pits, and there is also a finish spec for it. ARP head studs are generally recommended, and there is a specific installation procedure for them (including a specific torquing procedure). In addition to that, most people are now saying that the heads need to be o-ringed to be reliable. I agree. I like the Fel-Pro head gaskets, but the OEM head gaskets are good also.

Maybe the best thing to do (if you have the money) is to buy two new heads instead of messing around with a machine shop. That can add $2500 to the cost. If new heads are desired, I highly recommend heads from KillDevilDiesel.

The 6.0L transmission is a good one. That said, you are supposed to do maintenance on it at a minimum of 30,000 mile intervals. The transmission has an internal filter and an external filter. The internal filter does not need to be changed out. The external one is required to be changed out every 30,000 miles (minimum). Use ONLY Mercon LV for transmission fluid. The transmission is supposed to be flushed out every 30,000 miles. The problem is that an internal "thermostat" prevents complete fluid changeout unless a VERY specific flush procedure is used. Most shops will not use the proper flush procedure (even if they say they will). I can post a link to the proper procedure, or you can just do a sequence of 3-4 drains and refills (with 20-30 miles of driving in between each drain/re-fill for proper fluid circulation). The fluid needs to be up to 160 degrees or so to get it fully circulating. Here again, you need a monitoring device so that you can see the actual temperature.

If you are still interested in a specific 6.0L, then take a few pictures of the engine, and post them here.

Here is a thread that includes the above discussion (and more):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...used-6-0l.html

Best of luck.

 

I realize that I hit you with a lot, especially as a "newb" to the 6.0L. That said, if the above post is more than you wanted, then I probably would advise against buying a used 6.0L. IMO, an owner of the 6.0L needs to get to know it in detail and probably should be a fairly decent DIY mechanic already - especially if you are travelling with it (ie not always easy to find trustworthy shops). A lot of shops take advantage (overcharge AND pad the bill) of the 6.0L owners because of the poor reputation of the 6.0L.

 

Anyone towing with a 2003 7.3L? I found a DRW 4x4 in pretty descent shape with around a 100k. It's far more affordable and I'm willing to do some updates to suspension and the motor / trans if needed. If it's an reliable option it would still fall short of the price I'm finding on any other truck out there.

 

IMO, you just need too buy a Dodge .....

 

Really? I appreciate honest opinions. I did see a nice 2013 3500 DRW megacab but I worried it wouldn't strong enough to pull me in the mountains. I don't know much about Dodge but I have recently started to research them. Do you have any thoughts on a reliable year for under 40K?

 

The 7.3L can be a good towing engine, but IMO you need to do some upgrades to it for it to perform well. Diesels just take some time to learn them, and if you do not want to invest the time (or just don't have the time), then you probably need to go with a gas engine and suffer the poor fuel economy (or buy an older Cummins diesel in a Dodge). Personally I like the 7.3L (I have one), and I really like the 6.0L (I have one of these also), but there are things you have to learn about them (especially the 6.0L). There are known upgrades for both.

 

I'll look into the the 7.3. I don't mind upgrades I just need something affordable and reliable and I 100% need diesel.

I'd tried to post my pictures a few times now but the admins are not approving it for some reason.

 

My 7.3L has had two transmissions in it. Other than that, it has done well. It does have a chip in it for extra power.