# Ford 6.0 Diesel



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Need some advice from the Ford diesel experts...

I have found what appears to be a screaming deal on an 2003 F350 with a 6.0 diesel. I know Ford had some issues with the early 6.0's (being an '03, I assume this is an early model), but I don't recall what the problems where, or how serious an issue they may be.

Any thoughts?

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

Doug- 
I have an early '03 Excursion (built 03/03) and really have not had many problems with it.
It's only been back to the shop a few times for some warranty work. Most of it was minor, but I did have to have the transmission rebuilt due to problems with the torque converter (I think). The transmission problem was very early on, and have not had a problem since.
My biggest complaint is that the injectors seem to be noisey. Doesn't cause any problems, just a little annoying.

Overall, I love it. I wouldn't hesitate with another '03 model if I had to replace mine.

Good luck.
--Greg


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## mobile_cottager (Mar 1, 2007)

A good friend of mine had an 03 F350, It had a bad viberation in it, A number of dealers could not find the problem with it, it got so bad that he would not drive it, after 18 months of fighting with Ford's head office and a good lawyer, Ford purchase the truck back from him. only 6 trucks were back in Canada.
If the engine was so good....why did Ford drop it and replaced it with another engine.


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

I participate in a pretty good diesel forum and wander over to the Ford side once in a while. As I recall, Ford had some major issues with turbos and blowing out the heads. I didn't pay too much attention (I was pretty focused on the Dodge 6.7L problems at the time) but a good resource is The Diesel Garage. The site is well maintained by the moderators and there is a lot of good information.

I recommend getting the VIN and calling a Ford service manager and ask him to check it out for you. If the truck has been in for numerous warranty issues I would reconsider.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

So you're thinking of going diesel huh?

What happened to your Pontiac G8 Sport Truck??


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## prankster (Dec 20, 2007)

hey doug i got a 2005 6.0 f350 dually and the thing is a freight train.no probs yet and it has 115000 km on it!


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

I had a 03 f350 6.0l supercab short box 4x4 at work. One day driving down the highway the coolant bypass valve for the turbo went south and filled the cylinders with coolant. The truck had 47,000 miles on it. The crank was twisted along with the connecting rods. Ford bought that one back and I now have a 06 f350 6.0l and I think that the bugs are worked out of the engine now. The 6.4l replaced the 6.0l due to that it would not meet the next emissions standards and with the other problems it had it was easier to start over. James


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Around here diesel prices have got so high that yesterday I saw a sign that said "Free Diesel Pickup with every fillup"..

LOL

I crack myself up...


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Well, where do I start. Since I was always told to start on a positive note, I will say, you will have gobs of power. Now, for the negatives. Injectors, turbo's, EGR valves, etc, etc. The major problems with the injectors was lessened with a programing change. The turbo was redesigned, and they are cleaning the EGR valves instead of replacing them now, (there is a way to bypass the EGR if you are so inclined.) Is it at a Ford Dealer? If so, then request an Oasis report, so that you can see what warranty work was done. What is the mileage? If I'm not mistaken, there is a 100,000 mile warranty on the engine, but I don't know if there is a time limit on that also. I would also get a car-fax report too, just to make sure.

All and all, I've been happy with my '04 (8/03 build), but it has not been without probems, and there have been a few time when I was cursing myself for buying a Blue Oval. Good luck.

Tim


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

The Ford guys can correct me, but I believe the '03 models still had the leaf springs on the front.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Ghosty said:


> Around here diesel prices have got so high that yesterday I saw a sign that said "Free Diesel Pickup with every fillup"..
> LOL
> I crack myself up...


Ghosty, thats just not very funny....
















Doug, you got some good info here so far. YOu might want to check out WWW.POWERSTROKE.ORG and look in the 6.0 section. Its a good group there. I have seen guys request Oasis reports there too.
Good luck!!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

So Doug...Which 5er ya getting?









Only reason to get a TV that big is if you're moving on up.

Spill the beans.


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## SoCalOutback (Dec 18, 2005)

Doug,

I own an '05 and did a lot of research before I jumped into the ford diesel. This form on www.ford-trucks.com has a lot of info on the 6.0. You can also get someone to run an Oasis report for you if the truck your looking at is not at a dealer. '03 was the first year for the 6.0 diesel and for made a lot of changes it each year after. The '06 and '07 model years seem to be the best since they appear to have fixed a head bolt issue that caused some issues on some trucks. Based on the research I did the biggest problems are on trucks that ran the Banks performance kit, I would stay away from any 6.0 that had the banks at any time.

-Todd


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## HTQM (May 31, 2006)

A fellow outbacker on here has an early '04 F350 (SRW) pulling a 31KFW, other than not so good mileage he has never had a problem. After a lot of ribbing about my 5.9 getting 4 to 5 more mpg he took it to a local Ford place to have it checked over, they were amazed. Seems the truck was running on the original '03 ECM flash, they couldn't believe it was running and siad that was definetly the reason for the mpg. Since then it has gained 3 mpg, even with his Tony Stewart right foot.

We jsut did an exhaust mod that should gain him another one or two mpg.

Like others have said, check to see what recalls have been done and what flash the ECM is on. Drive and maintain it right and it'll last a couple 100K.

Hope this helps
Dave

PS. Steve is full timing and doesn't get much time to post, if I see him I'll let him know about this thread and he can add more info.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> So Doug...Which 5er ya getting?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


AHHH, good point. Doug has some splainin to do....


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## Fanatical1 (Jan 9, 2006)

and he didn't say if it was a dually or not???


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Like others said, watch caefully on forums for turbo/injector/head gasket problems. There were big calibration problems that were fixable, but I hear new head gaskets can approach $$,$$$ from a dealer


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.

And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.
> 
> And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.
> 
> ...


Used 5er?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

PDX_Doug said:


> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.
> 
> And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.
> 
> ...


The last couple years of the 6.0L were really quite good.
I'm inches from a 6.4L and acutally would prefer a 6.0L for the fuel economy benefit (the price of emissions regs....







)


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## rmsmith1208 (Nov 18, 2006)

i bought a 04 350 with the 6.0. have to say i was hesitant at first with all the problems i had heard with the head gaskets and all. from what i take it it seems alot of the were letting loose possibly from the tuners being run. mine still has a factory warranty on it thankfully. i would check to see if it still does and cant hurt to buy an extended warranty. i plan on doing this for mine right before the factory runs out. but in all so glad i have it


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## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

Hey Doug,
Well I have had a lot of Ford's 12 so and on my 13th right now, several have been diesels and unfortunately the worst was a 6 litre 2003 F250 Super Duty. At 156,000 Klms (warranty good to 160,000 Klms) the engine developed a lower engine leak, main seal, Ford tried 4 times to reseal and discovered that the bottom half was warped and therefore needed a new engine. Ford offered to replace it at no charge or buy it back and give me a great deal on an 2006.
See new truck below! The ease at which Ford and the dealer processed the deal was pretty impressive and I will continue to deal with them. No problems with the new truck at 92,000 klms and pull the FIVER like a dream! Get it checked out by someone you trust and good luck!
Steve


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Nathan said:


> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.
> 
> And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.
> 
> ...


The last couple years of the 6.0L were really quite good.
[/quote]

X2

-CC


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

GoVols said:


> The Ford guys can correct me, but I believe the '03 models still had the leaf springs on the front.


Yep, the 4x4 did..


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

Nathan said:


> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.
> 
> And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.
> 
> ...


The last couple years of the 6.0L were really quite good.
I'm inches from a 6.4L and acutally would prefer a 6.0L for the fuel economy benefit (the price of emissions regs....







)
[/quote]

Plus the new engine is stuck running with the ultra low sulfer diesel only.


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

Txcamper said:


> Sorry to disappoint you guys, but no new Outback in our foreseeable future.
> 
> And thanks for all the great advice and tips. From what I have been seeing, going with the 6.0 would be a real leap of faith. One I'm not sure I'm in a position to make! But we will see.
> 
> ...


The last couple years of the 6.0L were really quite good.
I'm inches from a 6.4L and acutally would prefer a 6.0L for the fuel economy benefit (the price of emissions regs....







)
[/quote]

Plus the new engine is stuck running with the ultra low sulfer diesel only.
[/quote]

Around here, ULSD is all you can find. Do other parts of the country have anything else?

Bill


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## n2striper (Jul 21, 2007)

Well opinions are like....well you know. I'll start by saying that I have been in the automotive,heavy duty,and marine biz for 25+ years. I really think that the 1999-2003 7.3L fords where the most reliable units.I personally and intentionally stayed away from the 6.0L because of some of the reasons already stated. I bought a pre-owned 2000 F350 S/D DRW with under a 100,000 miles on it and love it!! I will tell you that because the injectors use HIGH oil pressure to 'fire' them clean QUALITY oil is a must. Hope I didnt offend anyone.Remember the first sentence?

Bobby Allen


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