[Slacker1965]

kevin here
I am considering buying a '05 2wd 350 6.0l with 161k on it. after reading about the issues & pita of removing the cab to get to the heads etc, I have a question for the experts;
am I foolish for attempting to tackle a vehicle & the probable repairs without any practical diesel experience?

I am not scared or intimidated by a challenge, I rent & work separately in a well equipped shop. I am somewhat internet savvy & know how to read.just no experience with modern trucks, let alone one of these deals.

the truck currently runs ok, but keeps setting a code. a shop(not diesel specific) says the codes point to 2 injectors. I do not have any documented service history, the former owners widow said that the truck was mostly a to & from work vehicle & was never used to tow that she knew of. the PO had a heart attack or something & ran the truck ito a ditch where he expired. I am not superstitious, we are all terminal. the truck appears to have been taken care of. no water in the oil.

I haul some race cars & such on a open trailer(5-7k) total. my '75 highboy with a 390 pulls my junk fine, but at 5mpg & no ac in the south sure sux. also it is tall & the wife is scared of it.

body work has been done in primer, a $500 maco paintjob or wrap is fine for me.

price is $4000

thoughts?
ideas?

peace
ks

 

[fordsforever73]

Personally, because of known issues of reliability with the factory ficm, I'd send the ficm to ficmrepair.com for upgrades and lifetime warranty first off. I think of this as good insurance that can save some unnecessary repairs.

As for removing cab, many, including me, have removed heads by leaving cab on, albeit there is pro's and con's to it. Lol. Repairs on these motors are not that bad in my opinion. You just have to be patient, have room, time and be willing to learn. I never thought I'd do my own, but by doing research on this website and reading lots, I decided to tackle it and am glad I did. You have to be methodical with repairs if you want to save time...depends on how fat your wallet is. Lol

 

[rideraa]

Do you like working on trucks or race cars ?

If your on a fixed weekly racing schedule and this would be your only go to I would pass without knowing what's been done.

Putting head studs & head gaskets in is the biggest time sponge to replace, Look along bottom upper edge of head (by exhaust manifold) you should be able to see if it has studs or bolts for the cylinder heads. You want studs.

161K ... not to long after that is when my gaskets started to fail.

 

[Nitro6r]

I just got my first 6.0, also my first diesel, about a year ago. I have had to do all the things people talk about one here - oil cooler, flushes, egr delete, turbo cleaning, glow plugs - all out of necessity in that first year. bought at 100k miles and now at 130k. If you want to work on a truck and make it your own, then it may not be a bad deal, just get someone knowledgeable with a 6.0 specifically to put it on a scangauge type tool and tell you what's wrong with it.

Sight-unseen, I would plan (if I didn't do the work myself) to spend about 4k on top of the price to buy in making it reliable. If I planned to get the truck and fix the issues myself, I'd plan to spend about $1500 and about 20-30 hours of my time doing those same procedures. I'll say this though: If you get it and have to pull it apart to do anything, do everything you can at that time. Pulling the turbo to clean it, then pulling the turbo and intake for the oil cooler, then pulling the turbo and intake for the egr is dumb. Learn from my mistakes.

As for the fear of working on a diesel, I didn't find it that different from any other engine as far as difficulty. These forums along with youtube will get you through most things. I would probably not get into the bottom end on my own however, but all the top, turbo, and peripherals are cut and dry.