Ford F250 with a 6.0

Okay looking for advice.

I stumbled across a 2003 F250 with the 6.0 diesel. The truck has less then 51000 miles and is an absolute cherry. The guy pulled a 5th wheel a little with it, bought it new. He gave me a price, but I am not sure if I want to drop the money in it to bullet proof the motor.

Any of y'all done that? Would you do it? And what is an approximate cost? I was told the 6.0 is a stout engine once the work has been done.

Thanks in advance!

I would buy it at the right price and spend the 4000 to bullet proof it.

Trying to figure out a good price, he gave me a number. The factor is the wife, asking me why? I told her because when I get it fixed and crank it the whole neighborhood would know it!!!

Off the top of my head. I say around 12000. depending on what model it is.

Lariat, leather interior is spotless as is the body. Got a little more chrome extras on it then I'd like. Also has a 60 gallon tank in the bed. He is a little over that, I am going to talk to him this week.

I had mine studded/ bulletproofed after an EGR failure and resulting head gasket leak just out of warranty. I put a 140 hp tune on it when I had the work done it it runs like a scalded dog. . I’ve put another 80k miles on it since then.
I would check on the pricing for studding/EGR fix. Mine was just over $4000 and that was 9yrs ago. I would expect it’s gone up since then.

No way I will EVER own another nor recommend a 6.0 Powerstroke. NOT good. In fact, I don't think you could GIVE me a truck with a 6.0 unless I could sell it immediately.

Good power, poor mileage, and they go BOOOM.

IF you have it Bullet proofed, you might be (MIGHT) be OK.

It is like rolling dice with the 6.0, but if you do go with it, I wish you luck.

sb

I worked on a lot of them at my shop! Studs, EGR delete, oil cooler...I wouldn't have one if you gave it to me!

what the heck is going on with the 2019 f250 death wobble issues, not good.

Y'all are telling me what I thought already. It would be my daily tow vehicle, I can think of nothing worse then it laying down on the side of the road while pulling the boat.

Now if I could put a 7.3 in it...............................................

Send me the info. I have 4 friends that run them as hot shots. If all the conversions are made there great. Some people but a diesel and drive it like a gasser. There a learning curve. just like a boat. Some get it some dont.

I drove a couple of Dodge's, it was a learning curve. Still thinking about this one!

I am interested.
I have a mechanic that will make that bad boy behave.
I have 3 7.3 one has close to 1,3000,00
The other two way less.

Ford seemed to figure it out with the 7.3, but that is just reading on my part. I have zero 1st hand experience with the 7.3 Ford of newer trucks.

Now the old international 7.3 they used was SOLID. But that's way old.

sb

Personally no way . Tell you this it ain’t worth much even clean and low miles. Heck if the man gave it to you he might need to throw in some cash lol. Again just say no.
J D

Wouldn't touch one if it was me....

I don't know why anybody would buy an old diesel. I couldn't wait to get rid of my 6.sl0w. My 6.2l gasser is faster, tows as good stock, gets about the same economy and is bullet proof in comparison.

Here's my advice (I'm a Chevy/Duramax guy but I'm not gonna be bias.)

Yes, the 6.0 is a bad mofo once it's bulletproofed, I know a few that have been over 300,000 miles.

But think of it this way.. Idk how much he's asking for the truck (gonna make up a number, lets say 9k.) You put $4000+ into it to bulletproof it, you're at 13k. The truck is already 17 years old.

For that 13k, you can get an already ready to go diesel that is solid (like the LBZ Duramax or 5.9 Cummins) and now go through all the shop work+ get a new truck.. That's my thought on it.

I have to be bias for a second here though.. I'd go with an LBZ or newer (2006-newer) Duramax over a Cummins.. The Cummins automatics are completely asstastic, the body is a POS. The only thing good on those trucks is what's under the hood. So I don't understand why one wouldnt opt for a well proven, reliable, and powerful LBZ Duramax, with a legendary automatic transmission (Allison), and a good solid chassis/body. You can call this bias all you want, but if with the year range you are looking for, the Duramax is going to be your best option for all around.

And yes, I have experience with the Cummins which is why I have my reasoning.. As we speak right here right now we have a 5.9 in our fleet that is in the shop right now getting a trans rebuild at 240,000 miles.. I helped my friend rebuild his in his 2nd gen 5.9 at 270k, and another Cummins guru friend of mind just had his 68RFE rebuilt in his 6.7 with 185,000 miles. And yes, they all have some rust, they all have cracked dashes.. Meanwhile, a hot shot truck in our fleet (2007 LBZ Duramax 3500) has 973,000 miles with the 100% original Allison transmission.

So you can call me bias all you want, I just believe what I see in person.

how do you like your Majek 22 Extreme ?

Great boat! Perfect for fresh and salt.. Any questions feel free to PM

After lots of good advice I have decided to pass on it.

The red portions would be my disagreements. If the 6.0 is BULLET PROOFED, they are reliable, if not I wouldn't own one. The 6.2 tows as well as a diesel? Don't think so nope not gonna happen. Same fuel mileage? I doubt it, drive them similarly and see the difference.

That 6.0 you are looking at has had the 5th wheel hooked up for 51,000 miles. How it was cared for and driven would mean something to me. If you want to put the $$$ into it and rack up miles and have a legit use for it then go for it. If your not going to keep it long term and its just a fire it up and let the neighborhood hear it piece then id pass.

I don't have to speculate. I owned both.

6.0l 325HP 570lbs torque, 5 speed tranny
6.2l 385HP 430lbs torque, 6-speed tranny

I get the same city mileage out of the 6.2l gasser that I got out of the diesel after I tuned it. Towing does not translate into much difference in the real world based on my experience. A lot of the problem with the 6.0l, at least imo, was the transmission. The 6.0l constantly downshifted unless you locked it out of o/d which put it in 3rd gear and over it's peak torque rpms. You have more control and more gears with the newer truck, where you can manually lock out each gear. Now tune the diesel, and everything changes. I love Ford, but as far as engines go the 6.0l was my biggest disappointment next to the chevy 5.3l....or maybe the Ford 3v 5.4l.

My comments are all geared at comparing a deleted and tuned 6.0, I wouldn't own one otherwise.

Well sheesh, you're no fun when we can't find something to argue about.

Now go trade your 6.2 for the new 7.3

I picked up a 6.0 that my buddies dad bought brand new. Had been bulletproofed when they had it, but no big tune on it. Is it as stout as my 6.7 powerstroke? No, but it has pulled that 6.7 to the shop twice for big repairs. Regularly pulls farm equipment, hay, and cattle trailer. Been a good truck. It isn't going to win any races, but I honestly wouldn't be scared to drive it across the country.

A buddy just bought one with the 7.3 gasser and pulls his RV with it, loves it!

I have an F-250 with the 6.2 and I love it. It pulls stuff fantastic and these trucks have proven to be dead solid reliable. The new 7.3 gas seems really impressive from what I’ve seen of it too. If you’re mainly just going to be towing a boat, you don’t need a diesel. To me, it isn’t worth the extra headache. Diesels cost more to maintain and repair and the modern ones haven’t been amazing in terms of reliability.

Any 2011+ Super Duty 6.2 or 7.3 gas is going to be a far nicer truck than an old 7.3 or 6.0. These modern trucks ride much better, they have more options and better interiors, they aren’t old so you won’t have to deal with the headaches of owning a 17+ year old vehicle, and with the 6 and 10 speed transmissions they will tow and haul and perform much better than the old V10 with the 4 or 5 speed while getting similar mileage to the old 6.0 diesel.

I literally see no point in wasting money on a diesel unless you actually need one or just have so much money to blow that all the additional costs associated with it aren’t a problem at all. Gas is more reliable and friendlier to your wallet.

Define "boat" J. R.. If it's a 35 foot speedboat or a 25 foot center console with twin 300s, that big diesel is warranted, for instance.

Fair enough, I think for most freshwater boats though, the gas truck will handle just about any of them just fine for the most part. Save for a few exceptions.

Extremely large and heavy stuff like the speedboat you mentioned, or some type of yacht, houseboat, or anything of that magnitude will need a diesel, or possibly even a semi truck.

Also not hating on diesels, I love diesel trucks. They just don’t make much financial sense for the average truck owner or boater. Sure some things are too big and heavy for a gas truck to handle, and sure companies and individuals in certain occupations may need them for work. I just think the financial burden of one of those trucks is not necessary unless you need one, and you can get a lot newer and nicer truck for about the same price point as what these older diesels are going for if you opt for a newer gas one instead.

Ill echo that and take it one further. If your towing a bass/bay boat type boat don't even spring for a 3/4 ton, any of the gas 1/2 tons will do it with ease. I love diesels and I drive one, although its not one of the fire breathing 400 HP 1000 ftlb monsters they are building these days its a puny little half ton ecodiesel, even knocking down an average of close to 30 mpg its +'s over a gas vehicle are debatable.

Just out of curiosity for the guys that had problems with the 6.0's, did yours ever have a performance chip put in?

Not until after the problems were fixed. The big issue is the EGRs tend to fail and makes them overheat causing the head gasket to leak. The stock head bolts are a poor design and stretch if overheated. Mine was stock when the EGR failed at about 90k miles. About a year later ( just out of warranty), it overheated again pulling a trailer up a hill due to a head gasket leak. Likely the head gasket went when the EGR went out the 1st time, but it was the 1st time I pulled a heavy ( around 8000 lbs) load up a hill so I never knew.
I had the head bolts replaced with ARP studs and had the permanent EGR fix. At the same time I added a 140HP tune (moderate) with no engine problems since. Once you fix or delete the EGR and get head studs it’s a great engine and can tolerate a heavy tune. In stock form you can pretty much count on EGR and head gasket issues at some point, especially if you tow anything heavy.

What are you going to be towing with it??

I was gonna tow a Skeeter bay boat, but momma raised hell.

The fuel economy alone, with a bulletproofed 6.0, will more than pay for the cost of the bulletproofing. I towed back and forth to Las Vegas many times with a bullet proofed 6.0, hauling about 18,000 lbs. On a towing/performance tune, it averaged 15.8 to 16.1 depending on the terrain. With a light load like a boat, it would likely double the mpg of a 2500 with a gasser. I've had/used (some were company vehicles) a 7.3 Ford, a 6.0 Ford (bullet proofed), a 5.9 Cummins with a 6 speed stick, a 6.6 LBZ Duramax with 6 speed Allison, and my current rig, a 6.7 Ford.

For Tire frying fun, the Duramax, and the 6.0 were tops. For absolute grunt, the 5.9 Cummins. Fuel Economy, a tie between the 6.0 and the Duramax, For absolute bells and whistles, and just a nice all round truck, my 6.7 King Ranch. The fuel economy absolutely sucks balls with any of the new diesels, compared to the old ones. You can delete them, and pick up substantial power, and mileage. But, I'm waiting on mine to go out of warranty, before I would even think of that.

head studs, with a vc flush and new oil cooler and a egr delete is not a bullet proof job. I have built bullet proof 6.0's and held a international sr mechanics lic.back in my day. parts alone are north of 12,000. To truly bullet proof one it requires a complete tear down of the motor and then block & head machining and building up from there. I use to laugh at people who spent 8,500 and said there 6.0 was bullet proofed because they got head gaskets and a egr delete with vc flush... and the shop still didn't even change lifters.

6.0's are a power making machine and can be great engines when built right. But studs and head gaskets are not the answer. beside the head studs stretching is what we found the real problem is was the variable vane turbo to caused a lot of head issues . Ford uses a different program vs international with the same engines in the small delivery trucks and buses who never seen the head gaskets issues just the leaking up pipe problems. Fords program pushes the the turbo much harder then the international program did and that cause a lot a stress on the head gaskets and studs back in those days. Thats why Ford kept changing the ecu program updates all the time besides the ones for the injectors cooling tip issues.Just telling you what I seen a lot of and what the international engineers where telling us about the difference in programs.

16 mpg hauling 18,000 lbs... do we even need to call BULL $HI+ on that or can people smell it for what it is?

The rest of the post is about as useful.

You can call it what you want, but it was hand calculated, and verified by my employer, as they had to have gas receipts, and they couldn't believe it either. Also remember netween Oklahoma City and Vegas, it's about as flat a stretch of highway as you'll ever run. .Not much in the way of hills and/or mountains

I just wish I could get my 6.7 to even get close to that on the highway with nothing behind it.

No matter who presents this, its BS. 15 mpg on flat terrain with a rig, 7k truck and 11k trailer, is not going to come close to 15 mpg. I would be amazed if someone could get 12 mpg with that load and 10 to 10.5 would impressive.

I have a 5.9 with 5 speed that will tow at 17 mpg pulling my boat here in Texas. Put it in the Arkansas hills and it drops to 15.5 every time.