# Ford Diesel?



## rialynn79 (Jul 28, 2009)

My pops is a 30+ year Ford mechanic he said that the 6L and 6.4L have some engine issues.

If you have a diesel - just wondering if you experienced any issues with them.


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## SoCalOutback (Dec 18, 2005)

rialynn79 said:


> My pops is a 30+ year Ford mechanic he said that the 6L and 6.4L have some engine issues.
> 
> If you have a diesel - just wondering if you experienced any issues with them.


The 6L has some issues with head bolts stretching under certain circumstances, in the 6 people I have personally talked to that have had this happen it is my opinion that it is due to the Banks performance system they had installed. It also has some issues with the EGR and EGR cooler causing the coolant to flash boil when exhaust gas temperatures exceed 1200 degrees.

I have over 100K on mine and love it. The key to longevity on any diesel is changing all the fluids on schedule. There is a lot of info on fordtrucks.com.


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## Livin4weekenz (Aug 26, 2007)

I to have the 6.0 and have had no major problems it is kept stock.

I do believe this motor gets a bad rap

It's not tuner friendly I guess you could say


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Early 6.0's had a lot of issues but later ones were really good. My 6.4L has been good except for the fuel economy hit due to the emissions controls


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

I agree with Nathan on this one (I'd be dumb not to!), the early 6.0L engines had well documented issues, and as SoCalOutback mentioned, adding a performance kit sure didn't help. It is my understanding though that by the end of the run for that engine most of the issues had been resolved.

As for the 6.4L engine, mine has been trouble free in it's first 30K miles. That's barely more than broken in for a diesel, but still it shows every sign of being a very good engine. The fuel mileage leaves a lot to be desired by diesel standards, and I hate the frequent regen cycles on the DPR (Diesel Particulate Filter), but those issues have more to do with the times than the engine itself.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

I have '06 6.0l and it works just fine - no problems - I'm of the opinion that by '06 Ford and International figured out what the problems were so they wouldn't spend all their profits on warranty repairs.

I just completed a 5550 mile, 3-week trip last month and my truck worked just fine, averaging 10.83 mpg pulling my loaded OB including a Onan-Cummings 4300 generator and 10 gallons of gasoline. The worst we experienced was heading home to Southern California just west of Las Vegas where the temperature reached an unbelievable 120°! We usually put our cruise control at 62mph and the truck pulling our OB just purrs along, on the flats, against the wind, uphill or downhill. But this was one time we turned off our air-conditioner and only went 45mph up the big mountain.

Also, if there is any major work to be done on a 6.4l, mechanics need to pull the entire cab off of the chassis! And, as mentioned earlier, on several Ford truck websites, people are complaining about the 6.4's lousy fuel economy.


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

I had an 04 F350 6.0l ec,sb,4x4 at work at 47,000 miles the coolant bypass to the turbo failed and flooded the engine with coolant while driving 65mph on the highway. Ford fixed the problem but the dealer ended up taking the truck back (future enging problems) and it was replaced with a 06 F350 6.0l ec,sb,4x4. This truck has had no engine problems as of yet and was passed to the boss as his shop truck and now I have a 09 F350 6.4l sc,4x4 duelly 10' dump that fit my work needs better. James


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## Scottyfish (Mar 7, 2009)

A lot of folks had issues with the early 6.0L's (2003 -04 models) with injector flooding, head bolts, etc. However, as mentioned above the majority of issues were worked out for the later models (2005 to 07). We have over 50,000 on our Excursion 6.0L and have only experienced a bed pan oil leak (the bed pan is a plate between the bottom of the engine block and the oil pan). As well, for the past 20,000+ miles, I have had the BANKS 6-gun tuner hooked up. When towing, it stays set at the #2 power level (second lowest), and I closely monitor the EGT's, backing off the throttle if they get too high. I would almost guarantee that folks who have expereinced "BANKS-related" issues are not taking care of their toys and pushing things to the absolute limits. They may have the money to buy the fun stuff, but do not have the intelligence to actually "possess" the items and utilize them properly to ensure the longevity of the truck. These were the kids that would get a new toy and have it broken within a few minutes. Today, they cry just the same....


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Most of my face time experience is primarily with the 7.3 versions of the Powerstroke starting in 97. The person I do know with a 6.0L has had turbo issues and head bolt problems, which were fixed by Ford.

My only complaint with the 6.4 is probably the fuel economy. To be fair if I really compared it to my 7.3 it probably gets really close to the same mileage given equal hp and tires. The only repair was to replace the intercooler which had the powder coat flaking off.

Someone mentioned removal of the cab. What I have heard is this was actually started on the 6.0L version by a Ford tech to reduce repair cost/time. The 6.4 version was designed to make doing this even easier. It was all about time in the shop.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Yes, the Cab is designed to be removed, and yes, it can acutally reduce costs in some cases. However, it isn't cheap to have any of these engines worked on.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

I have one of the last 6.0's in my 2007. It's my understanding that MOST (probably not all) of the bugs were worked out of of the 6.0 with the first version of the 2006's. Other then a faulty alternator at 34,000 miles, mine has been running great. One of the main problems with the 6.0 are the head bolts. When guys over tune them, the bolts break off. Since our purchase this past spring, I only have one regret. I wish we would have made the upgrade sooner. Mine is stock and that's the way I plan to keep her. With all of the research that I have done, I found a great users forum, Ford Truck Enthusiasts which was and continues to be a wealth of knowledge.


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