would you buy?

sjwelds

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Would you buy an 03 ex cab long bed 4x4 6.0 automatic with 240k for $5,000 if you had no clue on any maintenance history?

Test drove it and seemed to do ok... Started up fairly easy (cold start 90ish ambient) shifted fine etc...
 

Oledirtypearl86

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@sjwelds As long as it wasnt a total wreck inside and out I love the 6.0 platform they have a bad reputation because people tune the **** put of them and never maintain them I have an 03 excursion I just rolled 300k miles on and it gets greatfuel mileage and has lots of power and is reliable. Also its all stock never deleted. Stock injectors and hpop
 

bismic1

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Do you know for a fact it was a cold engine though? How did it start when fully warmed up?

No one should buy a used 6.0L without an engine monitor and scan tool.

One specific thing to look for is oil and coolant temperatures when fully warmed up. So many used 6.0's have clogged up oil coolers and the general public doesn't even look for that. It is easy to do wit a $40 investment (download ForScan Litre to a smartphone and buy a BAFX brand OBDII adapter - WiFi for iOS and BlueTooth for Android).
 

lotzagoodstuff

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I would recommend a couple of things. For starters, see what you can find with a Carfax or VIN search.

Depending on what the VIN search tells you, I would suggest putting a monitor on it and looking at the coolant to oil temp delta while driving it with a load or up a long grade to see where the temps settle out. I think Auto Enginuity or Torque Pro software can do this, but don't quote me on that. I'd find somebody familiar with AE as it's likely that they can look at some other parameters that will help you determine the health of the engine.

It's a really good price, but just know that you'll have to at least do an oil cooler and the big flush as a starting point. That's the best scenario. The worst scenario is that you have to do everything and that will make that initial price seem like chump change.

It's very unlikely that it has that many miles on it and hasn't had at least one cooler done already, but without any history it's a pretty huge gamble. I don't know if you can tell or not, but if there's any signs it's had the heads off or the cab has been pulled already, I wouldn't touch it. That's my personal opinion and that statement should be treated as such.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.
 
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lotzagoodstuff

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Nevermind reading mine: I write it late last night and realized I never pushed the post button.

Listen to Bismic & Pearl, they have lots of 6.0 PSD experience.
 

sjwelds

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Just for a shop truck. Hauling our portable welder skid, pulling a steel delivery trailer now and then, maybe 3-4000 miles a year.

The old idi is rusting away....
 

sjwelds

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Took it on another longer test drive today.

Highest I saw was 15-18 degree difference in oil to coolant temps. This was with my cheap crappy amazon obd device and forscan lite so not sure how much to trust that...

Bunch of codes:

P0272
P0403
P0405
P2284
P2290

No check engine light tho...

Tried the hot restart. Took a little cranking but still less than 5 seconds I'd say.

Pulls right under hard braking.

AC doesn't work at speed, at least not very well.

Loud hum from front end at higher speeds. Wheel bearing maybe?

No coolant in the degas bottle. Didn't notice any real residue around the cap tho.

Guess we'll see what the boss thinks. Would be a company truck.
 

troutwest66

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Have it scanned and checked by a good diesel mechanic that knows the 6.0.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
 

Oledirtypearl86

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@sjwelds. Still sounds pretty decent nothing to out of the norm ac needs vacuumed and re filled hum is likely a hub assembly I'm not sure on the codes and it probibly needs a caliper on the offending side all easy stuff to fix
 

u2slow

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The longbed extra-cab configuration is very common (and available in all makes). I would keep shopping for something with less unknowns.
 

sjwelds

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Yeah kinda the way we're leaning. Looking at a 2013 F250 gasser. Probably be better for the short runs we use it for. Probably more dependable as well if we're being honest lol.
 

u2slow

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Yeah kinda the way we're leaning. Looking at a 2013 F250 gasser. Probably be better for the short runs we use it for. Probably more dependable as well if we're being honest lol.

For gas, I would be leaning toward GM LS V8 engines for dependability. JMHO.
 

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