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Nebie looking to buy his first Diesel

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Relentless007 
#1 ·
Hello good folks,
I am looking to purchase my first 250 or 350 diesel truck. I am an older guy and quite handy a maintaining gas powered rides.

I am looking at 03 to 07 truck that are for sale locally and must admit that it is all a bit confusing. My bother in law is a Ford licensed and trained tech for 35 plus years. Is is also diesel certified. (Ford trained) He has said that I should look for a truck that has as low a mileage as possible and one that has not had the motor touched. All this I completely understand. He goes on to say that after I buy it he needs to do about 2 to 3 thousand on the motor to update it. I asked him what this evolved, and he said to update the computer. that seems steep for an update??
He indicated that i should stay away from anything that had been chipped or power modded.

I would really like to understand more than what he has told me.
My goal is to have a nice clean truck that will pull my 66 Dodge Charger on a trailer to shows with out an issue. I have no intention of modifying for power or big load exhaust systems... that is what the Charger is for.
Is their a big difference in fuel mileage between the 250 and the 350? The duels look cool, but are they worth the premium price?

Hope this is not to much for an intro post.

Thanks

Jeff
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the Forum.

A 2003-2007 would be the 6.0 diesel engine.

There were some design weaknesses with this engine and so guys made improvements and call it "bulletproofed".
You should be able to google for more info but some 6.0 owners will probably chime in soon. Meanwhile here is a link that might help:

Bulletproofing the 6.0L Power Stroke
 
#3 ·
2 or 3k for computer upgrade doesn't make sense to me. As ArticDriver said, to bring the 6.0 to a reelable truck you need to put at least 2 or 3k in parts may be more depending what you want


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#4 ·
#6 ·
If you are only towing a car and a few toys I would have to say stay away from a dually, they are a pain to park and cost extra when it comes time for tires. A single rear wheel truck will put plenty of power to ground for your needs, i know this because its all we use pulling 18k of tractor up and down the road and around the farm.
You are going to have a tough time finding a clean 6.0 with low miles (im calling under 120k low) that hasn't been modded. Another consideration is if it is over 100k and gotten a new HPOP(heigh pressure oil pump) it will need one soon.
This bullet proofing you here about is mainly consist of an EGR delete and stronger head studs with maybe a light tune. If done correctly its nothing to worry about you just gotta see if it was done by a shade tree mechanic or a reputable diesel shop.

If you are set on getting a 6.0 i must insist on getting an 05-07 year model, they have a lot less issues.

For what you can get a squeaky clean 6.0 for you can probably get a newer 6.4, more power and can be made to be as reliable for the same amount of dough. The 6.0 and 6.4 both have there inherent problems but can be 'bullet proofed' per-say for close to the same amount. You can squeak out a little more fuel millage out of 6.4 but don't go cheap on the programmer and the EGR delete is a must (unless you live in a state where you have to pass yearly emissions test)

In general all the Powerstokes are good trucks- the 7.3 will outlast any diesel out there, the 6.0 is sweet if you are sweet to it and loves to be tinkered with, the 6.4 can make a whole lotta HP for relatively cheap and then become a real HP monster if you really pour in the $$ and time, the new 6.7 is bad to the bone stock and the after market is getting very interesting.
 
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