Anybody still driving a Ford 6.0?

Wes

Wes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
Ridgeway, SC
Been thinking about adding a tow vehicle to the family fleet. I’d like to upgrade to a bigger boat in the future and the Tacoma ain’t gonna like it. I’d like to be able to tow to the coast comfortably. Seems the 6.0’s are plentiful and somewhat reasonable. I had an 03 probably 15 years ago and I never had any of the issues that were common. Curious if anyone is still driving a high mileage one, or if everyone has steered clear. No more than I’d tow, a gas 2500 is probably the smartest move, but they seem to be the same price with identical mileage. What say ye, NC4X4?
 
DSM Turbos said:
I have one and love it.

Would a new truck be nice? Yep but I can treat this one like a truck and not care as much.

If it’s studded just make sure it’s done right. Or you maybe doing it again
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Any concerns as far as finding a tuner/tunes if it takes a dump? Had an H&S mini max on my dodge and they don’t make them anymore. I sold the truck, but that was always in the back of my mind.
 
Every 6.0 I ever had, wound up blowing white smoke, but they were towing 5-10k daily. I’d imagine these days, if they haven’t blown white smoke yet, they’re not going to, or has already been bullet proofed.
 
Wes said:
Any concerns as far as finding a tuner/tunes if it takes a dump? Had an H&S mini max on my dodge and they don’t make them anymore. I sold the truck, but that was always in the back of my mind.
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Mine has been deleted and all for years so I’m not sure about now. I have an sct live wire on my truck and I just got new tunes for it recently
UTfball68 said:
Every 6.0 I ever had, wound up blowing white smoke, but they were towing 5-10k daily. I’d imagine these days, if they haven’t blown white smoke yet, they’re not going to, or has already been bullet proofed.
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A lot of the white smoke is due to running a ficm with low voltage and it hurts the injectors. Mine does a puff at start up but archoil helps a ton
 
DSM Turbos said:
A lot of the white smoke is due to running a ficm with low voltage and it hurts the injectors. Mine does a puff at start up but archoil helps a ton
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I hear ya…all but one of mine that weren’t bullet proofed looked like this at all times inside of 200k. But I do know several guys still running stock, towing a boat or camper once a quarter, with no issues.

8D7ABC44-9E8A-4E61-99A9-B3503FBF9CA4.png
 
UTfball68 said:
I hear ya…all but one of mine that weren’t bullet proofed looked like this at all times inside of 200k. But I do know several guys still running stock, towing a boat or camper once a quarter, with no issues.

View attachment 379042
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I sold my 07 to @snappy at 230k in 15 and he recently passed 400k. A ficm and an Egr delete heads never off still rocking
 
I blew a head gasket leaving Golden Mountain several years ago. Made it home by adding gallon of water to the degas every 100 miles with @Jason W. Following me. After head job and ARP studs... I still had to back off on fancy gap every tow. Relegated to 50mph or it would creep up over 235° and send warning lights like strobes in the cab
After every trip I could park my truck and go back 3 days later and remove the degas lid and it would release pressure with a POP. I had the heads decked and the head gasket job was done right. Only thing I can figure is that despite the ARP studs and proper gasket I blew the new gasket with a pinhole that sent pressure into the cooling.

Sent it down the road for more than I paid for it so it's another man's problem. Would never have another 6.0 but heard WAY more horror stories about the 6.4
I have no intention of owning a Ford powered Ford, ever again
 
@skyhighZJ has a friend that is trying to sell one I believe.
 
I had an 06 I purchased with 195k & factory head bolts. Ended up selling it with 212k on the clock to buy @Van-go 6.7. No comparison bt the two but I did love my 6 liter. They're finicky but keep good on maintenance & they can be dang good tow rigs. I did end up dumping a decent bit of money in mine for the common pitfalls & it was everything other than the typical, high dollar stud job (i.e., degas bottle, boost tubes, radiator, etc.). All of which fairly simple jobs but them dollas added up
 
If you find a reasonably priced one with higher miles, most of the kinks are probably worked out by now. I would consider owning a 6.0 Ford maybe. I would never consider a 6.4

And since someone was gonna say it, might as well be me… towing to the coast is relatively flat so a gasser will get the job done. A good 3/4 or 1 ton GM 6.0 truck would surprise you. It’d be a lot cheaper to maintain too.

But, if you just want a diesel, get you a diesel. I have an 8.1 truck and a Duramax and I love them both for different reasons.
 
77GreenMachine said:
If you find a reasonably priced one with higher miles, most of the kinks are probably worked out by now. I would consider owning a 6.0 Ford maybe. I would never consider a 6.4

And since someone was gonna say it, might as well be me… towing to the coast is relatively flat so a gasser will get the job done. A good 3/4 or 1 ton GM 6.0 truck would surprise you. It’d be a lot cheaper to maintain too.

But, if you just want a diesel, get you a diesel. I have an 8.1 truck and a Duramax and I love them both for different reasons.
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Not opposed to a gasser at all. Been looking at 6.0 2500hd’s quite a bit. Some V10 excursions too, but I’d rather have the LS.
 
jeepinmatt said:
@Wes I was actually looking for something else a few minutes ago and stumbled across this 6.0 at Lugoff Ford.
Good looking truck, seems like a decent price, and not too far from you.

Edit: But when I clicked the link to make sure it worked I noticed the "mechanic special" banner in the pics. So who knows.
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I appreciate you looking. I might give them a call and see what’s up. Thanks
 
All i know is several low hp bullet proofed 6.0 all had problems again.

While my stock fuel setup, 5.9 was beat on constantly with mini maxx turnt up and twin disc clutch.


And trust me i really tried to talk myself into a 6.0 excursion..
 
83oldyoda4x4 said:
All i know is several low hp bullet proofed 6.0 all had problems again.

While my stock fuel setup, 5.9 was beat on constantly with mini maxx turnt up and twin disc clutch.


And trust me i really tried to talk myself into a 6.0 excursion..
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My only reservation with a dodge is my last truck shredded a 68RFE and I drove it like an old man. Serviced it like I was supposed to as well. Heaviest thing I towed was a 17 foot center console.
 
Gasser 2500 HD Chevys aren't a bad option at all. My neighbor expanded his lawncare fleet about a year or two ago adding an early 00's 2500 HD gasser.

If it has to be a diesel or if you just want one to do things with I'd recommend a manual Cummins. It's more fun throwing parts at a diesel truck when it doesn't absolutely need it. 6.0s are problematic bullet proofed or not. A studded 6.0 will still blow heads at stock power levels meanwhile a stock head bolt Cummins will hold up to 45psi of boost. Powerstrokes aren't known for fuel economy numbers either, if that's a factor for you a gasser 2500 HD is the better choice by cost of ownership hands down.

If it's going to sit and not be daily driven most of the time, you may get away with it if it's been maintained and has the right paperwork.
 
@Wes sorry I never got back with mileage on that truck. Things have been hectic around here to start this least. This is what I sent to another board member who inquired about it:

driver seat is a little worn on the edge but the rest are good to go.
-Color is white with tan leather/carpet/trim.
-No stack that’s the exhaust pipe which is 4” straight. It lost a couple hangers and was dangling when I picked it up so I yanked it off and through it in the bed.
-no rust. Been in NC it’s whole life
-aftermarket radio with an amp and some boom booms behind the back seat.

-what I “know” about the motor is it was running rough due to what I can gather is an injector issue or HPOP issue but I honestly don’t know what the deal was as I’m not a powerstroke guy at all. The rad fan assembly is a mess cause a jackass mechanic didn’t secure it properly after replacing the electric clutch assembly and the shroud let loose of the rad and got into the pulleys and tangled up the wiring (I don’t believe it ever got hot but won’t put any guarantee on that). I know after Jerry went to jail and I went to pick it up I got it to run and drive up on a trailer but it was really stumbling and weak, leaking oil from somewhere up on the motor (not sure from where but not coming from F or R main so 🤷🏼‍♂️). It has a bunch of turbo pipe upgrades but doesn’t have a tuner. It has an edge monitoring thingy on the dash though. The battery’s are toast. Tires are drag slicks. But I have a couple 35x12.50x20 LR E BFG a/t I’d throw in the bed for free. It has 37” hankooks on it now. It has a 6” lift (unknown brand).

Honestly if someone had a wrecked 6.0 this is the perfect donor candidate as I see it unless you’re good with powerstroke and can figure it out. I just don’t have the knowledge or desire to learn cause my driveway has Cummings lol.
 
skyhighZJ said:
@Wes sorry I never got back with mileage on that truck. Things have been hectic around here to start this least. This is what I sent to another board member who inquired about it:

driver seat is a little worn on the edge but the rest are good to go.
-Color is white with tan leather/carpet/trim.
-No stack that’s the exhaust pipe which is 4” straight. It lost a couple hangers and was dangling when I picked it up so I yanked it off and through it in the bed.
-no rust. Been in NC it’s whole life
-aftermarket radio with an amp and some boom booms behind the back seat.

-what I “know” about the motor is it was running rough due to what I can gather is an injector issue or HPOP issue but I honestly don’t know what the deal was as I’m not a powerstroke guy at all. The rad fan assembly is a mess cause a jackass mechanic didn’t secure it properly after replacing the electric clutch assembly and the shroud let loose of the rad and got into the pulleys and tangled up the wiring (I don’t believe it ever got hot but won’t put any guarantee on that). I know after Jerry went to jail and I went to pick it up I got it to run and drive up on a trailer but it was really stumbling and weak, leaking oil from somewhere up on the motor (not sure from where but not coming from F or R main so 🤷🏼‍♂️). It has a bunch of turbo pipe upgrades but doesn’t have a tuner. It has an edge monitoring thingy on the dash though. The battery’s are toast. Tires are drag slicks. But I have a couple 35x12.50x20 LR E BFG a/t I’d throw in the bed for free. It has 37” hankooks on it now. It has a 6” lift (unknown brand).

Honestly if someone had a wrecked 6.0 this is the perfect donor candidate as I see it unless you’re good with powerstroke and can figure it out. I just don’t have the knowledge or desire to learn cause my driveway has Cummings lol.
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That one sounds above my pay gray as far as diy wrenching goes. Sounds like a good donor truck for sure. I appreciate the reply.
 
I don't have a 6.0l but I do hate owning something with several catastrophic failures built into it. I don't like the anxiety before a big trip AND I don't like the hassle of selling it when I am ready for something new.

I am sure it has been said, but if you buy the truck for $8k, and put $10k worth of preventative maintenance and fixes into it, you still have an $8k truck as far as the next buyer is concerned.

I worked with a guy that bullet proofed his personal 6.0l three times. That being said, his 6.0l work truck (almost identical) never gave him an issue.
 
Wes said:
Not opposed to a gasser at all. Been looking at 6.0 2500hd’s quite a bit. Some V10 excursions too, but I’d rather have the LS.
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I now tow my jeep with a 6.0 LS 2500 suburban and don't worry about heat
 
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