New to the diesel 6.0 scene

[johndeerefan]

Hi everyone. I have been reading issues on the 6.0L diesels and I am impressed with this forum. However, I still know very little about them. I am use to working on farm tractor diesels.

Here's my scenario: I am seriously looking at buying an 05 crew cab 4x4 with 112,000 miles on it. It is an automatic. The previous owner has had 8,000 worth of warranty work (egr valve & head gaskets) done on the truck and claims it runs perfectly now. He also says the transmission is great and has done very little towing with it. He wants $21K for it and it has several aftermarket goodies on it (mainly cosmetic). What do you all think? What should I look for when test driving it? I can not afford to spend several thousand in repairs in the near future.

Here is the description he gave me

This truck is an 05 Ford F250 Crew Cab Lariat FX4 Pkg. It has the 6.0 powerstroke automatic transmission and 112,000 miles. All power, leather, pwr seats, pwr sliding rear window, auto climate control, keyless entry with alarm and remote starter, 4" lift kit, 20x10 moto metal wheels and 35" toyo mt tires, painted to match fender flares, 5" stainless MBRP turbo back exhaust, volant ram air intake, HID headlights, all other LED lights (inside and out), Pioneer double din navigation with xm radio and ipod hookup, all memphis door speakers, 2 sony 7" drop down monitors seperate dvd player and wireless headphones, towing pkg with gooseneck hookup (rarely used), billet grille and fender emblems. I bought this truck new and has been well taken care of and always dealer serviced (have all paperwork).

[Hank89]

If you can't afford to spend several thousand in repairs, then don't buy it. If you can put 4-5k in an account for repairs, then do it.

[Hank89]

Sounds like he has 70,000 dollars in that truck, If you paid him 20k, That meant it cost him 10k/yr to own. Talk about a poor investment.

[superstinker]

If you do buy this truck expect to be very meticulous with the upkeep of it . The 6.0 liter is rocket of an engine but it needs to be looked after like a child. You have to be on top of the maintenance of it or it will bite you in the behind as fast as you can turn your head and they are not cheap to fix either! Personally I would look for super duty without the 6.0 in it. good luck if you do decide to buy one.

[mlwest]

The first thing any 6.0L owner needs is a way to monitor Engine Oil Temp versus Coolant temp. No factory Ford gauge will inform the owner of this design problem and it's what takes out the EGR cooler and other random issues.

Research oil cooler issues on this site - you'll be glad you did and it will be worth your effort to learn of the one fatal design flaw of our 6.0L motors.

[F250pharen]

Here is what I JUST purchased
06 F250 6.0 CC FX4 Lariat auto, LOADED every option minus AUX switches. 35,000 miles. Paid 28,000 out the door. I personally would rather have a truck that someone else didn't add all the upgrades to. You never know how the previous owner drove the truck for those 112,000 miles. I bought mine from an old man that didn't tow at all and drove like an old man.
Just my opinion, but I would spend a little more and take a lot less of a risk.

[bismic]

Originally Posted by johndeerefan

I can not afford to spend several thousand in repairs in the near future.

This is a key statement. The 6.0L is expensive to repair. If you can't do most of the repairs yourself AND you do not have cash reserves for a $2k - $3k expense, you should probably pass on the opportunity or follow F250pharen's good advice.

I am very pleased w/ my 6.0L, but I know there are weaknesses. You can save $20k to $30k by "buying used", so I think it is a great thing to do. You just should not do it w/ limited ability to do a repair or two (this is probably true on ANY used vehicle purchase that is past the warranty period).

If you do buy a used 6.0L. mlwest's advice is very good! I would also suggest that a fuel pressure gauge is also a necessity - and personally, if it did not come w/ a boost gauge, that is also very important. Then add on a coolant filter!

Hank89 - sorry to repeat what you said, I just noticed your post. Very good advice IMO.

[STG]

If you buy used, BUY A STOCK TRUCK.

[mont91]

I do not see any mention of a tuner(chip) but with all the other stuff seems odd not to have one. Head gaskets point at a tuner, but not always. Are you planing on towing. Does it have the extended engine warranty and if not can you get one? An expanded Oasis report would be nice. All those power extras would bother me regarding how the pickup was treated, the stock 6.0 does not take kindly to hot rodding.

[johndeerefan]

Thanks everyone for the kind words of advice. I have bought the truck just won't get it for a couple of days. It was in excellent cosmetic condition and came with every record. It has always been serviced by the dealership and any problems were dealer worked on. Maintenance has been performed at the proper times. The dealership pulled the oasis report for me also and it matches the receipts he had. They said everything was done when it was suppose to be done. Yes, it did have a SCT programmer on it, but only used on towing setting 2-3 times while pulling a horse trailer. 99% of the time it was returned to the stock setting. Like I said before, the egr cooler, egr valve, oil cooler, and headgaskets were replaced at 70,000 miles. By the way, fuel mileage is not as good as I would have suspected. 14 or so in city and 18 on the highway. Guess that is what 35 inch tires and 20" wheels get you.

I took it to the dealer for a diagnostic hookup, oil change, driving test, pressure test, and anything else they could check for. The voltage on the FIMC was reading 27 volts, so they are replacing it under warranty today. Everything else was within factory specs of readings and no engine codes were found. I did notice a diesel smell in the cab when it idled at a stop for a period of time. The dealer could not find any leaks of any sorts. Any ideas on what that might be, remember he has 5" aftermarket exhaust installed. Could it be something to do with that?

He also has some type of idle rev up installed on one of the aux switches. Pull the parking brake and flip the switch and the truck idles up a couple hundred rpms. He said this was for when it was cold outside. Any clues on why I need this?

Here is some pics for you all. And thanks for the insight.

[teamroper60]

Very nice looking truck!

If the dealership went over it with a fine tooth comb and found no leaks, your exhaust smell could be a result of nothing more than wind direction... If I have a tail wind and am stopped, I will occasionally get a whiff of exhaust.

[CAMPINGTOM]

I get the exhaust smell too if the wind is right when parked. OP said diesel smell, did you mean exhaust or fuel?
The high idle feature should be used whenever you idle for more than a couple of minutes. Do a search for "high idle" or "wet stacking" and you'll have plenty to read.

It looks like an awesome truck.

[OT]

JDF..considering mods, 14/18 mpg is good. If you notice smell (eng. running) inside cab with windows shut, could be actual exhaust etc. leak? Overall nice looking ride, etc etc. Good luck!

[johndeerefan]

It is an exhaust smell. It only really happens at slow speeds or idle.

[superstinker]

Originally Posted by johndeerefan

It is an exhaust smell. It only really happens at slow speeds or idle.

Are you experiencing headaches lately? Some trucks have experienced exhaust fumes entering the cab from an exhaust leak. btw nice truck jdf!