Ford Power Stroke 6.0L. What do you all know?

[Nostril Cheese]

A buddy of mine called me today asking about an E350 with the 6.0L. He runs a tour company and needs a van with light off-road capability. I was going to go with him to check it out overall, but I don't know these engines all that well.

I figured we have a few diesel guys here. Any problems? Things I should check?

It's a 2003 with 110K. They are asking $8000. I know it's had the turbo rebuilt.

[mpeastend]

Lots of problems. Pretty big disaster for Ford with warranty claims. They wanted to modernize the 7.3L & had Navistar develop the engine. Engine runs too hot due to smog & has numerous problems with EGR, injectors, turbos, etc. Multi-billlion dollar fiasco for Ford over, what is it?...five model years I think. Then they had a stop-gap measure of going to the 6.4 L with regeneration burn but that also was running too hot & used lots of diesel on a lightly loaded motor. Now Ford developed their own in-house 6.7 L with the diesel particulate filter & urea injection so only sunshine & puppydogs come out the exhaust. Heard nothing bad about the new motors so far.

Getting back to your 6.0L...the motors required a very specific coolant & really needed additives in the fuel for the health of the engine. The oil was critical to the engine...it fired the injectors with oil pressure. Dirty oil would eventually damage the injectors & motor. Any water would also spell disaster for the injectors. BTW the injectors were a huge hit @ $800+ per!
Please go to this website & spend 8 or 10 hours watching all the videos this guy has posted for the problems & fixes for the 6.0L powerstrokes. There is even a comprehensive video of how to buy a used 6.0L truck with numerous things to check & a nice walkaround point-by-point tour of a typical truck. Granted the guy is selling items to further his business but I watched all the videos when I was in the market for a diesel & decided against a Ford because of all the issues. If I lived down near Buford, GA, I'd have this guy do a PPI & then do the maintenance & upgrades and be happy but the videos will scare the crap out of you!

POWERSTROKEHELP.COM - The Information Source for Ford Power Stroke Diesel Owners & Mechanics and Home of EDASŪ "Engine Damage Avoidance System" for Powerstroke Diesel Trucks

[fred cook]

Have one in my 2003 Excursion. So far (140k miles) no problems except for having the turbo exhaust vanes cleaned which was about $900. It gets about 15-16 mpg in town and 20-21 on the road. Not too shabby for a 7200 lb vehicle! Also, it is the best towing vehicle that I have owned! While it is a bit noisy outside, it is as quiet as a gas engine inside the cabin. I have the oil changed every 5k at which time everything else is checked by the Ford service folks. Since I have to assume that they are looking for extra work ($$$), the fact that they never find anything is remarkable. At this point, my opinion of this vehicle and engine is that I would not sell it even for 10 or 20% more than the NADA retail price!

[Skytrooper]

I have a 2006 F-350 dually with the 6.0. I just passed 140k with it and it is doing fine. Regular oil changes at 5k. It gets a good workout hauling horses to competitions and hauling my chumpcar to races. Awesome truck.

[kaisen]

mpeastend is correct, but buying a 6.0 Powerstroke isn't always a death sentence. Some are very, very good. Others are not. But since the troubles can be very expensive, the warnings from naysayers are repeated quite loudly.

Here's another piece to your specific puzzle:
6.0PSD's in the E-series van aren't the same as the ones in the F-series. They have WAY less power and tend to run much hotter (not good)
AND.....
They're almost impossible to service in a van. Leaking valve cover? Injector replacement? Bad glow plug harness? Bad head gasket(s)? THE BODY MUST BE LIFTED OFF THE CHASSIS!! There's simply not room between the body and the engine. Good news, the turbo and EGR cooler are easier to get at in the van. And you'll do those a couple times.

ANY leak of any kind from above the oil pan will be extremely expensive and you should walk away

There's almost no reason to buy a diesel in a Ford van. Buy a 6.8L V10 and save thousands. Much quieter, smoother, and less problematic. Will it use more fuel? Sure. Big deal. But do the math, the diesel won't make sense.

It's not the delta in power, capability, or fuel economy that it is in a F250/F350 pickup.

Disclaimer: I owned a 2005 E450 6.0PSD Cube Van and a 2007 F250 Crew Harley 6.0PSD PU

[911boost]

I also have a 6.0L Powerstroke 2004 Eexcursion with right at 100,000 miles. I change the oil everything 5K with synthetic oil and use the fuel additive at least once or twice a month. I see about 16mpg average, but tow fairly often.

Other than having to replace the alternator I haven't had a single problem.

I love the Excursion, and while the new 6.7 seems to be a good motor, there is no way I'd sell mine, and I have gotten offers.

I do agree with Eric though, get a V10 pwered van.

Bill

[speeder]

This thread reminded me of a crazy story, which has nothing to do with 6.0 diesels but I'll tell it just for the heck of it. Has something to do with V-10 vans.

My buddy who does camera-rigging on films all over the country bought a new V-10 E-350 a few years ago and it was a great rig. Used a lot of fuel but he was expecting that. 100% write-off and he made stupid money.

He was my neighbor in my building. One morning, he knocked on my door and told me that someone had tried to steal the van and damaged it. It was parked on a fairly busy street 1 block away. I walked up to see it and sure enough, the door window was broken and someone had tried to jack the ignition. Amateur hour all the way. All of his mega-buck rigging equipment was still in the back, (much of it custom made), no way that some mook with neck tattoos would know what the hell it even was.

We walked back home to call the cops and wait for them to arrive, who knows how long that would take? I can't remember exactly why, but I walked back to the van with him 15 minutes later and it was gone!

Some other mook came along, (or the same ones came back with better GTA tools), and took the half-stolen van!! With all of the fking rigging in it that was worth a lot more than the new van! In broad daylight on a busy street with the cops on the way!!

All he cared about was getting the rigging equipment back, he could not work w/o it and he was in the middle of a film. Enterprise rental could replace the van in 10 minutes. He never got the vsn back but he got a call the next day from someone down in the hood telling him that someone pushed a large aluminum case out of a van as it was driving down their street. We went and got it. The thieves most likely wanted it for human smuggling across the Mexican border, with the 1-ton suspension you could cram a small town in the back and pull a trailer with another small town inside of it. They would not know film rigging mounts from pieces of the space shuttle.

Crazy. Forgot all about it until the V-10 van remarks above. FWIW, he loved it out on the road.

[intakexhaust]

A few get lucky owning a trouble free 6.0 but do yourself a favor and just call a Ford dealer for a quote on replacing injectors every 30 to 40K miles. Don't forget to constantly add fuel additives as meekishly prescribed by Ford. If you get past that, enjoy the stink draft and noise that comes thru the back slider window.

[Joe Ricard]

6.0 with 100K on the clock is probably going to be a good one.

I do not suggest chipping them for added boost. There are things to do like better head studs and gaskets but it's big money and a hassle.

6.0l is fast enough and can tow damn near anything. get a good set of gauges.

And fast enough to take my 7.3L off the line to 60 MPH. after that they are dead nuts even to 110 MPH. Yes they will go that fast.

[desertt5]

I've got an 03 Excursion with the 6.0. I have done an EGR delete, oil cooler rebuild, coolant filter install, FICM rebuild, repalced IPR, ICP, turbo cleaning, snow plow fan clutch upgrade, and 2 injectors. I did all the work on mine and only needed to buy a couple special tools along the way.

Mine WAS one of the horror stories. Most my problems could be attributed to poor up keep by prior owners. Clean fluids are a must. Coolant filter is a must. Factory filters also.

Injectors only run $220 or so from Tousley Ford. Powerstrokehelp.com is not the best source of information IMO. ford-trucks.com and a few other forums are much better.

[kaisen]

Again, the E350 VAN does not have the same specs as an Excursion or Super Duty pickup.

6.0L Powerstroke in a VAN = 235 hp and 440 lb-ft
6.8L V10 gasoline in a VAN = 305 hp and 420 lb-ft

But you get to pay DOUBLE for a diesel. You can get a '03 E350 6.8L V10 w/ 100K miles for ~$4K all day long.

EDIT: I re-read..... you said 2003 E350.... are you sure it's not a 7.3L? The 6.0 didn't really come out in vans until the 2004 model year.

[juan ruiz]

Another Ford Excursion here 6.0, 2003 purchased with 23k, today has 150k, oil changed every 5k Factory Filters for sure! I tested with non OEM, and they fail.

So far

2 sets of batteries due to the alternator, 3 alternators later I replaced it with a heavy duty and never had a problem again.

Had an exhaust leak by the turbo on the Y pipe, replaced both of them.

Had a mayor fuel leak.

But very true there're some Horror stories out here about them BUT a lot of them have to do with engine modifications.

[vash]

Originally Posted by kaisen

They're almost impossible to service in a van. Leaking valve cover? Injector replacement? Bad glow plug harness? Bad head gasket(s)? THE BODY MUST BE LIFTED OFF THE CHASSIS!! There's simply not room between the body and the engine. Good news, the turbo and EGR cooler are easier to get at in the van. And you'll do those a couple times.

dang. my good friend has a sportsmobile VAN, with that motor. you sure?

[Laneco]

Eric is correct - it's a really ugly repair in an E350.

My company buys Ford vans constantly. For the tours we get the gas V8 or the gas V10 (towing power). The V10 does have problems with cracked exhaust manifolds, but the repair pales in comparison to the repairs on the diesel.

We have no diesel vans in the fleet - and we have 8,000 vehicles. There is a reason.

DONT BUY the DIESEL IN THE VAN.

angela

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by vash

dang. my good friend has a sportsmobile VAN, with that motor. you sure?

I know there are workarounds when lifting the body isn't possible (Class C motorhome, for example)

But the preferred method is lifting the body. It's faster.

Even so, the headgasket job approaches 30 hours in labor for a 6.0 PSD van. Less than 6 hours of that is removing the cab (if chassis cab "cutaway" van)

[kaisen]

98 E350 Ford Van Diesel

1998 E350 15 passenger window van 7.3L PSD, 101K miles, $2000

[red-beard]

Geez, with the stuff flying around about the diesel, I'm beginning to think I should dump my 2010 F250 before the warranty is up! I have had the exhaust pipe from the turbo replaced when the vehicle was basically brand new, only a few thousand miles on it.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Geez, with the stuff flying around about the diesel, I'm beginning to think I should dump my 2010 F250 before the warranty is up! I have had the exhaust pipe from the turbo replaced when the vehicle was basically brand new, only a few thousand miles on it.

You'll certainly do very well reselling it right now. The market on them is high.