Superduty V10 vs 6.0

[Saline]

Knock on wood, my 6.0L has had no problems other than the turbo needing to be cleaned. I'm at 57,000 miles.

[john101477]

X2...In just over a year I was $2700.00 in the hole on repairs, luckily another $1300 was covered by my extended warranty. Might I add that my truck only had 42k miles and never towed more that a 4x8 trailer. One of the biggest mistakes of my life...so far. Very happy I traded it in, but not so happy that the repairs went on my Amex card.

Shame on me though, I was warned about the 6.0 (even by someone who worked at a Ford dealership) but I didn't listen....

I bought mine with 42,000 and drove it to Idaho where the oil pump went out. got it fixed drove it 15,000 more miles and the injectors went out in the middle of BFE nebraska on my way to a job in Idaho. No warning, no nothin i went from full power to no power with in 5 miles. Limped to next town where I was recommended to replace the fuel filters. Thats fun on asphalt in the summer when it is 95 on the heat index.
Want my advise? dont buy a used 6.0 or gasser from ford. Ironically the last time I was in Cali I seen the Dodge cummins mega cab I had originally looked at and it was still on the road. I should have went with my gut instinct instead of following the money on the truck. Lame

[homemade]

If you do that, it will trip the CEL (no flow) I did my own EGR cooler delete on my van, it was quite the job! Glad I did it though, I now have piece of mind that I won't have a failure. I also cleaned the turbo, installed an EGT gauge & custom tuner from DP tuner. Runs great, I be @ 100K really soon.

According to the Sinister site that isn't a problem for '03-'04


"It should not cause a check engine light on 2003-04. It may cause a check engine light on 2005-07 however there are a few solutions. On the 2005 you can leave a working EGR valve in place and that should fix the problem. The 2006-07 you may need to add a SCT tuner"

The turbo cleaning and EGT gauge sounds like a good idea too.

[homemade]

Want my advise? dont buy a used 6.0 or gasser from ford.

That is the bottom line. I passed on the ‘05 V10 and will deal with what I have, but the EGR system must go. I recall that the F-450 and higher offered Cummins 5.9 as an option in '04 - when Ford was aware of the problems with the 6.0 (probably pre-production) they should have dumped International or Navistar or whoever made it and only offered the Cummins. They dumped Bridgestone/Firestone as a supplier but chose to hang on to the 6.0 for 5 model years - no excuse for that.

I have a scan gauge coming so I plan to compare before and after EGR delete to see if there is any difference. I won’t have a EGT sensor until after the delete though

[john101477]

That is the bottom line. I passed on the ‘05 V10 and will deal with what I have, but the EGR system must go. I recall that the F-450 and higher offered Cummins 5.9 as an option in '04 - when Ford was aware of the problems with the 6.0 (probably pre-production) they should have dumped International or Navistar or whoever made it and only offered the Cummins. They dumped Bridgestone/Firestone as a supplier but chose to hang on to the 6.0 for 5 model years - no excuse for that.

I have a scan gauge coming so I plan to compare before and after EGR delete to see if there is any difference. I won’t have a EGT sensor until after the delete though

That 5.9 was what the Dodge I was looking at had in it. they even had the aftermarket exhaust break from cummins on it. it was a cool truck but I did not push hard enough with the dealer.

[RocKrawler]

V10 all the way, much more reliable than the six-oh-no motor. A local diesel shop told me its the most expensive diesel to maintain and keep running. There are v10's with over 700k and still going strong

[locrwln]

[QUOTE=homemade;1003280] I recall that the F-450 and higher offered Cummins 5.9 as an option in '04 - when Ford was aware of the problems with the 6.0 (probably pre-production) they should have dumped International or Navistar or whoever made it and only offered the Cummins.

Umm, no. The cummins 5.9 wasn't an option in the F series until the F650's. 550 and below were either 6.0 or gas only.

I agree with the 6.0 being a bad idea (unless you are willing/able to "fix" them), I talked to a service writer at a Ford dealership and he said the 6.0 keeps them busy and warned me against buying one.

Jack

[Carlyle]

After the egr delete at 100k on my 6.0 I had no issues.

[Carlyle]

On the other hand I just ordered a Dodge 5500 tow weeks ago...

[jagular7]

No, I didn't do the motor work on my truck. With the EGR gone out, I kept the engine cool with refilling the radiator with water. I had continued towing my Jeep back home to a recommended Ford Tech from a friend. I had the River City delete kit. In review, its probably not hard to get done, but it took 4.5 hrs to go 180 miles keeping the engine cool. I would pull over once I saw the stock temp gauge rise. Let it cool down enough to pour water back in. Then go again.

I think my truck's biggest issue was the injectors themselves, though no issue was scene with analyzers. I had smoking issues at start up (real cold days), heavy diesel smell (warm days), etc.

Other issues for 6.0 owners is the temp difference between oil cooler and water temp. You can get a set of gauges for that or use a plug-n-play digital setup. Many tuners on the market plug into the ECM and provide monitoring gauges with no tuning. Supposedly difference in temp greater than 8-10* creates issues. Computers are all over today's diesel trucks. The programs within those computers direct the operation of the engine.

As others have mentioned, there are other issues on the 6.0. Schafering wiring on the motor grounds/shorts the wire. Turbo has variable vanes and at times, these will get a residue on them restricting the movement. Same for the intake plenum walls gaining residue and restricting the air flow. Exhaust leaks from the manifolds off the heads appears to be gaining popularity.

For the basic upgrades on the 6.0, I would add a EGR delete kit, add cat delete kit and open the exhaust for lesser backpressure(wouldn't run straight pipe). Head bolts/studs if you tow, add hp/torque numbers with tuner, tow heavy loads, etc. Keep oil clean with the micro-filter system, Same for the coolant system. Change out the stock coolant (Ford's) and go with Extended-Life Coolant (ELC) with non-mineralized water. Good set of electronic gauges with a large screen to watch, water temp, oil temp, boost, EGT, fuel pressure. Swap in some banjo bolts for the 6.4l into the 6.0l fuel lines into the head. I would look into the fuel filter system as well since the injectors tend to generate issues and its usually related to the fuel instead of the oil pressure. You really want to keep the oil clean as its the power for the injectors.

I'm done with the 6.0l unless I can get it at the price I want it at. I would do a history search as well as take it to a diesel tech for eval and have them do an engine analyzer test. Just don't forget to review in detail the driveline as well. Balljoints, ujoints, and front suspension bushings tend to take wear. Shocks and brake rotors are a big thing as well with a lot of weight up front and little in the back (pickup).