Hey yall. I know how things work in these types of forums. A 'new guy' comes and asks a question and everybody piles on him about searching and reading old threads and such. Well please humor me. I'm in Iraq right now and my internet time is very limited and better used emailing family.
I had to sell my 97 F350 PSD shortly before we deployed. When I get home I'd like to buy a new(er) F350 4x4 dually. Manualy tranny of course. When the 6.0 first came out I heard a lot of bad things about it. I'm sure the problems have been addressed since then and it's probably a great engine now. My questions revolve around that ussumption. How is that motor doing now days? My trucks dont see much more towing than a small JD Tractor and a 4 horse trailer. Other than that it's a lot of highway miles.
My 97 PSD did the job without any fuss and was loads of fun to drive. If I go spend nearly $40k on a new truck can I honsestly expect the same durability with many complaintes (granted I dont grab hold of a lemon)? Are yall truley happy with your trucks. What are some common problems with them?
Thanks for yalls time and (hopefully) your willingness to help me find my answers without spending too much of my internet time browsing.

 

Personally, I don't think your gonna top the durability of the 7.3 with the 6.0

 

I have had no problems with my 03 6.0. It has 20,000 on it. It is the most impressive truck I have ever drove. Two storys: My bud just sold his chipped 97 that he loved (300,000) and bought an 05 psd...He is very impressed and has no plans to run a chip. My other bud recently took order of an 05 duramax, he was in my rig the other day and is now feeling pretty bad that he swiched from Ford to chevy. I dont know how they will do in the long run but they are very impressive to drive. It seems the bugs have been worked of the new and first build models(mine never had any). Who nows, maybe in 10 years we will look back and say they where the best engine ever.

 

RE:
Who nows, maybe in 10 years we will look back and say they where the best engine ever.

Considering Ford plans to shelve it in the next couple of years - making it the shortest life of a production diesel motor in history I doubt that will be the case. But time will tell.

 

They are boring and stroking and possibly adding a turbo...

 

Here's a little that i know. A fellow worker is suing Ford because of his six liter and apparantly has numerous followers. His is converted into a welding truck and is his lively hood. He hates it. It has spent countless hours in the shop, and to date he is out almost the cost of the truck, in down time, and 2/3 the cost of the truck in parts and labour. Another friend is out 7000 dollars and he still has warranty. Ford keeps finding ways to make him pay for their errors. He has owned the truck just over a year and has done the tranny 3 times, the pwr steering pump, the transfer case and now at 70000 kms it blew both head gaskets to which ford says the problem was a k&n air filter. sorry for the sad stories but as far as i'm concerned, the 6 liter is not built ford tuff. don't get me wrong the truck has plenty of power, that is why both
my friends bought a ford but what good is all that power if the truck lives on a hoist and is married to a mechanic?

 

There are alot of guys around these forums ready to down the 6.0 who don't even own one.
While mine has not been perfect, I have had an oil leak and a cracked y pipe for engine problems but a grin on my face everytime I drive it. I wouldn't make a decision on hearsay and what some friend of a friend said.

Buy it and drive it, you'll love it
BE

 

13MWZ Overall the 6.0 is a good engine. I have 18,600 trouble free miles. It 's very fast and very powerfull and fun to drive. There are a lot of users that come to this site looking for answers and advise for their truck. Most people that buy a truck and do not have issues don't come here. You never hear from them, as they are happy and have nothing to write or gripe about. With that being said, Ford sells more trucks than anyone else. A huge portion of those trucks are Diesels. So if Ford had a problem rate of say, 5% with their Diesels, that is a lot of problems. And all of those in the 5% range with issues, don't always need complete engine replacements. Most only need injector/turbo/sensors/re-flash etc, fixed or replaced to make them good again. This is only a sample, hypothitical example, I do not know the exact figures. There are a lot of people that come here and state false issues/or complain and they don't even own a Ford. We call them "trollers", they love to stir up the pot. Being that Ford sells more trucks than any car maker, this site has a huge following and is very popular. So it makes for a large target. It would be safe to say, that there are fewer and fewer issues with the 6.0. Not that all, or even most of the earler ones had problems. Like anything else, there are bugs with new releases. Buy a new 6.0, you'll be happy, it's a great truck, it's fast and fun to drive. Mine pulls like a 12 legged mule on steroids.

Be cool, come home soon and safe, and thank you for serving America!

 

22,500 miles and I've had to have the serpentine belt replaced under warranty. That is it, love the truck, love the engine and I use mine for the same purpose you would be interested in using yours. I do a mix of city/hwy driving, usually no towing. When vacation we drive the truck to our destination because it is so darn comfy to travel in. We put a movie in the DVD player for the kid, the wife reclines the seat and snores, and I drive with a huge grin on my face.

 

This sounds fishy, all these problems should be covered by warranty. I cannot see a dealer stating that 3 tranny replacements, pwr steering pump, head gaskets and $7k in other expenses comes down to a air filter.

So you have two friends that have had issues and you probably read other posts here, that ford 6.0 have issues. And base this on all Fords are not built "Ford Tough" Well, if that's true, then I should rip out my trouble free 6.0 and drop in a Toyota four banger, I hear those are reliable.......

 

No problems, a little less MPG than I was hoping for, still 30% better than a gasser and more power. Iam very happy.

Thank you for serving our country.

 

26,000 trouble free miles. Getting 22mpg wouldnt trade it for my old 7.3 back. And sure wouldnt trade for a jap built chevy or mercedes owned dodge. Ford is the best and only American made truck. And yes I know someone willl say the dodge and chevy are built in US but the profit still ends up overseas.

 

What does this mean? There are no truck parts that I am familiar with that are produced by the japanees.

 

Bedwards,
Then let me give you a first hand story.... I would NEVER own another 6.0 and in fact my '05 was so bad that I just traded it at a loss to get the heck away from it! Ford customer service in non-existant by any stretch of the imagination and once you buy they could care less about you which has been the experience of myself and many others. It is sad when the area rep calls you and tells you that the dealer will not touch your truck again, not even for normal service..... Save the money and buy a 7.3! Should have NEVER traded my '02 away.

It is a roll of the dice with these new 6.0's the question is..... Do you feel lucky today??? Well, do you? (fade out clint eastwoods voice)

 

Don't expect great mileage on a 05 - it isn't going to happen! Truck handles great and pulls like a champ and fun to drive. Who knows how long it will go before something breaks? Apparently there is some good reason Ford is going to change the engine - wish I knew what it really is. Drive them all and then spend YOUR money on what makes YOU happy.