Powerstroke 6.0L did what they do. Sell or hold

Alrighty then...need some advice. I have an 06' 6.0L Powerstroke F-250 w/ 71K miles on her. Yesterday the truck poured white smoke out the talepipe and died. I had it towed to the local Ford dealer. Today they called and said that the EGR cooler failed. The guy stated that he doesn't know for sure yet, but believes that the head gaskets are likely bad too. He stated that the repair would take 10-14 days (there are a few trucks ahead of mine) and would be covered under the 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Truck runs out of warranty in November of this year or in another 29K miles. I have heard that this repair could cost as much as $8000 mostly due to the labor involved I suppose.

Here's my question. Should I dump this thing before this happens outside of the warranty period? I have heard that the 6.0Ls have lots of issues. The only thing that is holding me back from selling it is that it is paid for and I don't really want payments again. However, i also don't want to be coming out of pocket thousands of dollars at a time if other major issues happen outside of the warranty period. Additionally, when I checked on extending the warranty out to 200,000 miles, many of the plans were very expensive.

Any words of advice? Anyone had similar issues w/ the 6.0L Powerstroke?

ya i would get rid of it as soon as possible, nothing but issues, and yes its $8000 is about what it cost to repair the head gasket, and egr cooler. If you keep your truck have the dealer put in aftermarket head studs, they did that for my buddy, also look into an egr delete kit. Then you should be pretty good, but IMO i would get dump it as soon possible.

What Andy said. See if you can get aftermarket head studs put in. If it popped a head gasket, it's likely because the OEM studs stretched anyway. They should be glad to install good ones (provided you pay for the aftermarket studs) as it will reduce the likely hood of you coming back in for warranty work. Delete the EGR and drive it.
6.oh.no's don't have a s good of resale in general and with fuel prices going up, none of the big diesels will have as good of resale. So, if you like the truck otherwise, get it fixed right and drive it. Sure be cheaper than buying a newer diesel.

When I was looking for a truck last July there were 6.0s everywhere for really low prices. I was interested in them but got suspicious and started researching a little bit and was really surprised at how bad people's experiences were with them on what you would expect to be a completely bulletproof truck capable of 300k+ without major mechanical failure.

Anyway, sorry to hear 'bout your'n. I'd probably sell it and get something you can afford with the resulting cash but I have also heard good things about the 6.0 with the aforementioned aftermarket head studs and EGR removal.

I have 187k on my 07 6.0. This last fall I had new heads, head gaskets, oil cooler, egr cooler and factory studs replaced. The truck had a programmer on it when I bought it making my warranty void. The dealer Cook Ford Texas City, TX made it right and repaired everything required. I had the computer reset to stock and have no issues with it. I have put 30k miles on it since, some towing. I get on it and no issues. I hear that Ford had gone with different studs to help with these issues.

Future plans since I have a new top end and everything else is still solid and pulls my EPIC 23V like a champ.
ARP head studs (yes after the fact, just didn't have the funds at the time)
EGR Delete
EDGE programmer with settings on the fly. Fuel economy, tow or haul butt.

Sorry to hear have those issues, glad you have a warranty! I was just looking at the cummins again this week, but will pass for now.

Dont fix the 6.0. Instead, pull it and swap in a 12 valve Cummins. You will then have the perfect truck that will last you the rest of your life

adam i have seen one it was sweet, yes i would fix it, headstuds and egr delete will fix the main problems with the 6.0,

like 882001 said.....EGR delete, head studs, swap out that VGS turbo for a fixed geom. and you are pretty much golden. Pick up pretty much and diesel magazine next time you are at the grocery store, and there will most likely be an article about getting your 6.0 running reliably. It can be done, just takes a few mods that will void the warranty, funny how that works huh? the parts that will fix the truck will void the warranty.

It can be a solid motor once you get some ARP head studs and get the EGR delete, swapping the turbo, getting a tuner, exhaust, intake will just be the next step and it will be fun

Another option will be to get a 7.3L powerstroke if you can get your hands on one...those are hands down the most reliable motor out there. I saw 01 and 02's last summer for under 15k.... I love mine, has been an awesome truck. I have 150k miles on it and its not even close to stopping...tows well, handles snow well, gets decent milage (17-19 highway, just gotta keep the rpm's at the sweetspot (~2200 rpm)) sometimes a bit higher depending on my altitude.

Originally Posted by wakecumberland

Dont fix the 6.0. Instead, pull it and swap in a 12 valve Cummins. You will then have the perfect truck that will last you the rest of your life

No you will need to swap out for the Allison Trans for it to be the Perfect Truck, IMO. I have always said - Ford body, chassis, suspension, Dana Axles, cummins 5.9 HO mated with an Allison Trans.

But check out www.Powerstroke.org

It seems to me that if you are getting it fixed, you should be good to go for another 70k miles I would just keep it at this point.

Thanks for all the info. I think I am going to keep it and try to do the APR head bolts and EGR delete. I would hate to have payments again, especially since the truck has pretty low miles for a diesel. I do appreciate all the input.

If it is like mine next up is the turbo charger (3k or so), then the Fuel Injection Control Module($1.5k) and currently I have an oil leak in the bed pan which is estimated at $2.8k. All of this after I went through the EGR and head gaskets. Of course all the problems started 2 months out of warranty. I am sort of like you but I already sunk a ton of money into it so now I am hoping I can get another year or 2 out of it.

EGR delete after the warrenty is up and have them install ARP head studs when they change the gaskets and you wont have any more problems.

Turbo problems are caused by the EGR system, the delete kit helps that. Turbos on diesels need to be taken out and cleaned every once in a while.

I am the manager for an oilfield service company. I have around 25 Ford F series diesels running with my crews. I think I have seen about every problem you can have with one, and paid for many of them. My advise is to get rid of it while you can. It is my experience that once the problems start they don't stop. Our trucks are hauling loads most of the time, and granted that they are company trucks, but I am in an 07 with 170k on it. That is by far the most mileage we have gotten out of a 6.0. It has cost the co. close to $15K to get that kind of mileage out of it, and my truck does not do the day to day "work" that the others do. The 6.4 wasn't any better. Replaced engines in 4 of 7 08/09 models. Each of them had less than 35k miles. It has been so bad that in mid 09 the decision was made to go to the V10 engine. Our company has an agreement with Ford, so swapping manf's wasn't even a topic of discussion! We are currently monitoring the new engines in the 11's before we decide if we will return to the diesel engined trucks.

From what we see in the field the newer Dodge's are by far the best trucks these days. Ford's are having engine problems, Chevy's are having suspension probs (front ends won't stay alligned and eat a set of tires in no time), but the Dodge's are being used and abused and just keep running. Also keep in mind that the average mileage on a service co's truck is somewhere around 60K a year.

dale, good point. while my thinking that you can fix a 6.0 is just a theory. i drive a 7.3 and and often ride in a 5.9 dodge, i believe the cummins is a better motor. the rest of the truck is questionable. the dodge tranny aint so good thou

Dale,

Great review. Thanks for the info. I have a buddy that owns a car dealership and he is going to sell me an extended warranty at cost that has a $100 deductible and will cover for 5 years/100K miles. I just can't imagine selling it at this point since it is paid for. I have put a lot of oney into this truck in stereo, lift, wheels, tires, train horn etc and I do love it. I think I am going to hang on to it, especially since it is paid for.

after the EGR delete, and headstuds, go buy ur self a SCT tuner!! and have some fun