6.0 Shopping, what to look for?

Dieselrob

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Hi guys, I am shopping for a 6.0L, and wanted to know what someone needed to look for with these trucks as warning signs?

I have driven 2 so far, highway speeds and so far:

The F350 Dually I drove with 170k on the clock, the turbo sounds normal applying a constant amount of throttle, if you hammer on it, the turbo changes pitch and literally sounds like an aircraft turbine, it goes away removing your foot from the pedal, returns when applying gratuitous fuel. It immediately threw a engine warning light as well. I had my passenger video it because I have never heard a turbo sound like that and it didn't sound right. I can upload it if anyone is interested.


I love the power response in the 6.0 compared to the 7.3s I drove, and the 7.3s are few and far between in my area. The transmissions on the ones I drove slam shifted, or it felt like it was hopping.

So for someone semi set on the 6.0, besides extensive test drives or having my mechanic look it over(which I will) is there anything the average joe can check out or be on the lookout for with these trucks?


Here's the turbo from the F350 I drove, I have never heard that pitch, and it threw the engine light right after
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRO0NBoShSE&feature=youtu.be
 

lotzagoodstuff

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Go do some research on what's commonly referred to by the 6 liter crowd as "the delta", or for the rest of the universe: the difference of the oil temperature vs the coolant temperature. If you find somebody who has caught theirs before the delta number got too high, and did all the preventative maintenance, they can be a great truck. If you come across one that hasn't had this done, and the delta is higher than 15 degrees cruising at 65 mph, be prepared to do all the work to correct this. It's pretty invasive, and although the parts aren't terribly expensive, it's a lot of labor to do it correctly.

Again, do some research and you might find yourself looking for a 7.3, or heavens forbid an IDI :angel:

Good luck
 

bab029

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I had a buddy with a 6.0 that sounded like a jet engine, but it was only when the engine was below operating temperature. Turned out that it needed 4 injectors. Note sure if it's relevant or not.
 

rjglenn

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I bought a used 6.0 back in October. I spent $728 three days after buying it to replace the injector pressure regulator because I didn't know better. Looking back I would tell you to:

Go buy a Scangauge II. Set it up to monitor water temp, engine oil temp, injector control pressure, injector pressure regulator percentage, & VTG percentage. There are others but these are important. You can also read and clear DTC. Hook your scan gauge to the OBDII connector of the truck you are wanting. If the seller says no, leave.

As the poster above said, you want to know the difference between the engine oil temp and the coolant temp. This is not something you will be able to do on a short test drive; you'll need to drive it for an hour or more on the highway. If the seller won't let you do this, leave. This will test how well the engine oil cooler is working. If the oil cooler is stopped up, then that means the flow of coolant to the EGR cooler has slowed. At a point, it can no longer properly cool the EGR cooler which will fail. When this happens, coolant will leak into the intake, and on into the cylinders. Since water won’t compress, the head bolts get stretched which warps the heads and blows the head gaskets.

This test starts after the truck has reached its normal operating temp of 190*F. If the truck won't reach 190*F, leave. This means that the thermostat has failed open or has been tampered with to hide a high delta. Either way you won’t be able to do this important test. It's your money to spend, but for mine, I wouldn't risk it. Drive on level ground for 20 miles at 65 MPH while watching the coolant temp and oil temp. I read somewhere that 8 degrees is ideal, I have 10-12 on mine which I am comfortable with. If it's 15 or more, leave.

While it’s warmed up check the injector control pressure. It should be at ~585 at idle and well over 1000 while driving down the road. Mine runs @ ~585 at idle & 1400-1500 on the road which I am comfortable with. Somebody else is going to have to tell you the ideal value of the IPR percentage, but as I understand it, the higher the number at normal operating temp the harder the high pressure oil system is working to maintain pressure. This could indicate a weak high pressure oil pump or failed pump gasket, failing o-rings on the stand pipes or injectors, or failure of the injector pressure regulator itself. If any of these values are out of whack, leave. Same with the VGT percentage, somebody else is going to have to tell you the ideal numbers but the higher the number the harder the variable geometry system is working to operate the turbo. If these are out of whack, leave.

You can get a great value on these trucks because lots of folks are wary of them. On the other hand, you can spend a crap load of money and still be unhappy. I did have the one issue but since then I've pulled tons of hay without issue and I really like how the truck performs.
 

rjglenn

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Oh yeah, you'll want to take a look at the FICM voltage too. Needs to be above 48 volts. I like the Scangauge II. It's fairly inexpensive and can be used on many different vehicles. Best of luck to you.
 

tbirdfiend281

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the whistle sounds like it could be a blown charge air cooler rubber tube, or maybe even a blown up pipe. It is hard to tell if its an exhaust based extra whistle or an intake one. Can you take a picture of this trucks motor?
 

79jasper

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I can say, if you've never been around a 6.0 before, test driving one may scare you.
The turbo is usually pretty loud. People aren't used to it and think something is wrong. Which in this case technically is as it set a code.

Tbird, could have been a low or over boost code, correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Dieselrob

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Appreciate all the help.

I ended up with a 2006 single cab F350 4wd. It has 260k on the clock, with head gaskets done at 80k per oasis. Prev owner towed with it, changed the oil at every 3k.

My mechanic hooked it up, took it for a spin, everything looks great, the 15 degrees is right on point. I however got a list on what he recommends I do as preventative/need to do.

Bulletproof EGR
Dummy plugs
HPOP fitting


First mod was adding clearance lights, that first cut is a nerve wracking one! LOL
You must be registered for see images attach
 

tbirdfiend281

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Could have been a low boost could yeah.

The HPOP fitting you are speaking of is the snap to connect one correct? Have your ford contact check Oasis to see if it has been done, my guess is that it probably had been at some point along the road, as they tended to crap out often. If this isnt the fitting you mean then disregard what I am saying.

What are dummy plugs?
 

FordGuy100

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Appreciate all the help.

I ended up with a 2006 single cab F350 4wd. It has 260k on the clock, with head gaskets done at 80k per oasis. Prev owner towed with it, changed the oil at every 3k.

My mechanic hooked it up, took it for a spin, everything looks great, the 15 degrees is right on point. I however got a list on what he recommends I do as preventative/need to do.

Bulletproof EGR
Dummy plugs
HPOP fitting


First mod was adding clearance lights, that first cut is a nerve wracking one! LOL
You must be registered for see images attach

If "15 degrees is right on point," is referring to the Oil/coolant delta, then that is not a good thing. 15 degrees is the cut off point, lower being your oil cooler is not clogged enough to be considered "bad," at or above 15 degrees means you need an oil cooler sometime in the future. Sooner is better than later.

I would throw an EGR delete into to. Invest is some way to monitor the delta (EDGE CTS/CS, something like that). Install a coolant filter. Then do a complete flush of the cooling system with Restore and Restore+ (or chemicals that do the same thing as those). After doing those flushes, drive a good couple hundred to a thousand miles. The coolant filter and old oil cooler will get clogged up with the debris that is still floating around from the flush. You can then replace the oil cooler, since the old one is probably full of crap at that point and your delta has increased substantially.
 
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