Tow rigs- any 6.0L Powerstroke experience out there?

Chris Kouba

Supporter
Question for you gents with 6 liter experience. I am in the process of deciding what to replace the Suburban with and think I would like it to be diesel.

The tour of duty will include towing a 22' enclosed trailer with a GT40 inside, hauling a slide in camper, and towing a boat. Two of these activities will potentially be taking place concurrently.

I am pretty serious on the hauling capabilities so I am more inclined to go with diesel. I found a '05 F350 crew cab long bed with the 6.0 Powerstroke and I know there is a crapstorm of opinions about them. In researching the motor, there seems to be a lot of vocal people who have had terrible experiences with them- and for every one who has, there seems to be others (less vocal) who haven't. Some say only consider the 7.3l, some say stick with Dodge and Cummins, others say take care of it properly and you're fine. I am somewhat at the stage of analysis paralysis.

The other forums I've been poking through don't seem to have the signal to noise that we usually have here so I thought I'd ask around. Anyone have any experience with the 6.0?

Thanks in advance,
 
Unfortunately, with the 6.0L PowerStroke it is a give or take experience. You either get one of the good ones or you do not. This is speaking from experience.

I can understand your desire to "keep it in the family" so to speak, but I wouldn't be afraid of considering a Chevy/GMC Duramax or a Dodge Cummins rig.

If one automotive company built the best vehicle in whatever niche it produces for, there wouldn't be alot of choices out there.

For a tow rig, diesel is almost mandatory for many heavy-duty options, reliability and fuel economy (that term being relative).

If I had my way, I would mate a Cummins 24valve with an Allison automatic and drop in on a Ford F350 frame, but with a Dodge MegaCab for the leg room, and an rear-steer Dana axle from an early 2000's Chevy/GMC...shy of a custom-build that would take as long or longer than a GT40, it's not gonna happen, but a guy can dream ;)
 
Hi Chris,
I have a 2004 f350 4x4 xtra cab 8ft bed and 6.0ltr diesel its been chipped for extra 25hp,i am so far rapped with the way it tows.i have been towing a tandem inclosed trailer with wrx rally car and everything else on board effortlessly,the tow/haul works great too.
I think good maintenance will be the key.
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
Have a Ford dealer pull an OASIS warranty report. The early 6.0's (mid 2003-2004) had issues. These were mostly solved by Cornbinder and the later 6.0s worked very well. I have sold many and the vast majority are reliable, hardworking engines.

That said, the 6.0 is the reason Ford no longer purchases engines from International and has gone "in-house" for truck diesels. The new 6.7 is getting great reviews from owners for power, quietness and mileage. Of course, now I am no longer involved with Ford but I still talk to owners and dealers and hear good things. One friend is still the lead diesel tech at a large Fors dealership and he is very impressed with the the 6.7.
 
Chris,
I'm with Rick. 2005 or later on the 6.0, but if you can swing it, the 6.7 is a great engine. I like the F350 frame and suspension. There seems to be less twisting in the Ford vs Chevy. I can't speak for the Ram.
Garry
 
However, in '08 on, the US government has required strict emissions and all of the manufacturers have had to do a lot of work. One of my contractors has an '09 and bent the tail pipe on a job site and $2400 later, was pretty upset. Can't get any kind of milage, and the tail pipe is the particulate filter. I have an'03, 05 and an '06 Dodge diesels and the best is the 03 and the 05. The 06 has a drop in milage due to the more restrictive emissions.
 
Ditto on the OASIS report on the truck. How many miles on it? If you get it I would suggest getting the EGR cooler replaced with one of these BulletProof EGR Coolers the factory ones like to pop a tube inside and allow oil and coolant to mix. While that is being done have the oil cooler checked for being plugged. Also add a coolant filter. If you are going to chip it, do ARP head studs and go with an SCT tuner so your engine and trans can be tuned right.

Bill
 

Chris Kouba

Supporter
Bill-

SCT is an acronym I've seen floating around various forums... What does it mean?

Rick-

What is Cornbinder?

My digging has pointed me in a few directions-

EGR bypass/delete (I think I can get away with this in OR) or do the Bulletproof one
Coolant filter
Gauges for temps (I've seen the Insight Edge mentioned a number of times but don't know exactly what that is at this point- yet)
Get the Oasis report

Other than that, I found an '05 for what I think is reasonable money and am inclined to go with it. I will be getting it checked out on Thurs at a local dealer.

Please keep going with the feedback... I appreciate it!

Thanks,
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
Ditto on the OASIS report on the truck. How many miles on it? If you get it I would suggest getting the EGR cooler replaced with one of these BulletProof EGR Coolers the factory ones like to pop a tube inside and allow oil and coolant to mix. While that is being done have the oil cooler checked for being plugged. Also add a coolant filter. If you are going to chip it, do ARP head studs and go with an SCT tuner so your engine and trans can be tuned right.

Bill

Thg issue with EGR coolers is that in a 6.0 the EGR cooler is the highest point in the cooling system. If the coolant level is down a little, the EGR cooler does not get coolant and despite being furnace brazed construction, it will overheat and melt the joint causing a leak and an expensive failure.

And "Cornbinder" is oldtimers nickname for Inetrnational Harvester, the old name for "International Truck and Engine Corporation" the "Partner" of Fpord who built the Poowerstrokes until 2010....with a "partner" like that, you don't need any enemies......
 

Chris Kouba

Supporter
I found a really nice '05 F350 King Ranch crew cab dually with a non-chipped 6.0L (cat deleted), auto and 96k miles. It's from out of CA and is super clean.

I haven't thoroughly poked through it yet, just the casual lot inspection (still in the looking stage) but am thinking of taking it to a dealer to get an inspection this week. If that's clean, I am pretty sure I will be picking it up. It's a super nice truck.

Thoughts?
 
Chris,
Get a carfax and check for service records. If it was maintained by Ford dealership, the better it will be. When you have the inspection, have the dealership pull the ID number and verify all service bullitins were carried out. 96K miles is nothing on a good diesel properly maintained. Look for frequent oil changes. I don't remember but somewhere around 100,000-150,000 you might need to check timing tensioners, but that may have been on some but not all. There is a Ford Forum that you should pose some questions on as I have recieved some great tips from guys like us who have encountered different problems and have worked out solutions. Someone on there can give you better insight than me as I have all my diesel work done by my mechanic. I really love American trucks with diesels, its the only way to go for a big hauler.
Garry
 

Brian Hamilton

I'm on the verge of touching myself inappropriatel
The only thing to watch out for on the 6.0L diesels is the head gaskets, EGR cooler, and oil cooler. They will pop the EGR and oil coolers and then pop head gaskets, pretty much at the same time. The way to avoid this is to have the coolers replaced by stainless steel pieces aftermarket. If not, then you're looking about $5,000 to do all the work at your local Ford dealer. Well, that's at my labor rate of $84 hr. I am a Service Adviser at the local Ford dealership and I've seen 5 so far in my month's employment that have this problem. If you go with the 6.0L, PLEASE get this done. Then you will have no problems at all.

That being said, the new 6.7L is a BEAST!! We just got a recall notice to upgrade the ECU software in them that boosts power and fuel economy. Now we send them out with 400hp and 800 ft lbs. YAAAAAY!!!!!!
 

Ron Earp

Admin
That being said, the new 6.7L is a BEAST!! We just got a recall notice to upgrade the ECU software in them that boosts power and fuel economy. Now we send them out with 400hp and 800 ft lbs. YAAAAAY!!!!!!

I was REALLY interested in getting one of the new Ford diesels. My dream truck would be a standard cab, short bed, 2WD, six speed diesel. No I don't want 4WD or four doors.

But, alas, Ford in their wisdom decided no manual transmissions at all. Period. Autos only for diesels. Closest I can come to building one on the Ford site is a XLT 2WD diesel with auto tranny. Yes, it is a great auto tranny, but I'd like a manual truck please.
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
I was REALLY interested in getting one of the new Ford diesels. My dream truck would be a standard cab, short bed, 2WD, six speed diesel. No I don't want 4WD, four doors, or a bunch of other shit.

But, alas, Ford in their wisdom decided no manual transmissions at all. Period. Autos only for diesels. Closest I can come to building one on the Ford site is a XLT 2WD diesel with auto tranny. Yes, it is a great auto tranny, but I'd like a manual truck please.

Ron,

We went down this road. NO manny's as "take rate" is too low to support EPA certification costs. You can get a standard cab. 2WD with six-speed auto however.

And new 6.7 IS a bear, lotsa power and mileage like the lamented 7.3. Six speed auto, etc.

Talked to my Ford diesel guy today to run OASIS on the truck that started this thread. His opinion (and trust me, Eric is NO optimist) "Ford solved ALL of the IH issues and made a HELL of a motor!!"
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Ron,

We went down this road. NO manny's as "take rate" is too low to support EPA certification costs. You can get a standard cab. 2WD with six-speed auto however.

Yep, we did go down this road. But somehow Dodge, and I think Chebby, still seem to manage to put out diesel manuals.
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
Yep, we did go down this road. But somehow Dodge, and I think Chebby, still seem to manage to put out diesel manuals.

Not to be a smart ass (but I am!!!) buy a Dodge or a Government Motors truck! As they say, once you buy a Dodge, you will be a Dodge owner for life..........'cause you can never trade out of the motherfather!
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Not to be a smart ass (but I am!!!) buy a Dodge or a Government Motors truck! As they say, once you buy a Dodge, you will be a Dodge owner for life..........'cause you can never trade out of the motherfather!

Oh, I completely disagree there. Dodge is making some good trucks these days. Nice interiors, Cummins motor is strong, and the package seems to work well. They certainly didn't suffer the tarnished rep as Ford/International did over the 6L motors. However, be that as it may, I'd prefer a Ford truck.
 
Oh, I completely disagree there. Dodge is making some good trucks these days. Nice interiors, Cummins motor is strong, and the package seems to work well. They certainly didn't suffer the tarnished rep as Ford/International did over the 6L motors. However, be that as it may, I'd prefer a Ford truck.


A 2dr 2wd manual diesel would be a pretty sporty truck...

But I still think my Cummins/Allison/F350 frame/MegaCab/GMC rear-steer hybrid would be the baddest "stock" configuration money could buy ;)
 
Bill-

SCT is an acronym I've seen floating around various forums... What does it mean?

Rick-

What is Cornbinder?

My digging has pointed me in a few directions-

EGR bypass/delete (I think I can get away with this in OR) or do the Bulletproof one
Coolant filter
Gauges for temps (I've seen the Insight Edge mentioned a number of times but don't know exactly what that is at this point- yet)
Get the Oasis report

Other than that, I found an '05 for what I think is reasonable money and am inclined to go with it. I will be getting it checked out on Thurs at a local dealer.

Please keep going with the feedback... I appreciate it!

Thanks,

SCT is a tuner, here is a link to one of their units for the 6.0L Diesel. SCT Performance - More Power! Less Fuel!=
 
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