Pickup engines, starting with Ford

I bought a 2007 with a 6.0. 130K miles
Great price as no one seems to want them.
For what I paid, I can afford to stick some money into bullet proofing if need be.
So far it's been a great truck. I did have to replace a turbo hose as it kept coming off under high boost.

I found this You Tube video interesting as a preventative measure for the 6.0 problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM38rFuI_YE

viceprice said:

I found this You Tube video interesting as a preventative measure for the 6.0 problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM38rFuI_YE

Click to expand...

Interesting, but yikes! If you look at his other videos, to do the ?real? fixing (beyond the $5 coolant cap) ranges from $2-8K. You?d have to find a mid 2000s 6.0L in the $5-7K range, and unless there?s some issue (such as 400K+ miles) the ones I?m seeing are asking the low teens. With nothing else to go on I?m very leery of the 6 & 6.4 Fords and I think budget will keep me out of the 6.7

I have a V-10........pull a 37' 5th wheel. It pulls great and stops great. I only use it to tow the 5ver and put about 1000 mies a year on the truck so a diesel was not even in the picture.

cpaulsen said:

I have a V-10........pull a 37' 5th wheel. It pulls great and stops great. I only use it to tow the 5ver and put about 1000 mies a year on the truck so a diesel was not even in the picture.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I?ve eliminated the 6.0 and 6.4 Powerstrokes and 6.7 era aren?t in the budget. Like you, for the amount of pulling I anticipate I?m sure the V10 would do the job. The trick is to find one in a one ton

Definitely should consider the Dodge/Cummins and Chevrolet/Duramax too.  During the era of the sicks point ohhhhhh and sicks point four, the 5.9 Cummins and 6.6 Duramax were the more reliable engines.  Automatic transmissions are the weak link in the Dodge/Cummins trucks, but can be made very strong for far less than "bulletproofing" a poorly built engine.

gravesdiesel said:

Automatic transmissions are the weak link in the Dodge/Cummins trucks, but can be made very strong for far less than "bulletproofing" a poorly built engine.

Click to expand...

Sheesh, now I have to worry about transmissions. And I'm starting to hear some noise about electrical issues on the Dodges.

Had a look this morning and saw some nice looking 2000ish Ford V10 duallies, a solid $5K cheaper than diesel. I can buy a lot of gas and a couple extra tires for $5K. We'll see

Most of the Dodge/Ram transmission problems were at least partially the fault of the owner. There have been 7 Dodge/Rams in the family and except for the 2013 I had, all have hit at least 150k on the odo, with two of them over 200k. Never had a transmission problem. At least two of them get beat pretty really hard, and one of them is one that has over 200k. Two of the others don't get babied either.

viceprice said:

I found this You Tube video interesting as a preventative measure for the 6.0 problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM38rFuI_YE

Click to expand...

If you spend more time on his You Tube channel. He gives high marks for the later 6.0s (2006 and 2007s I believe).

Friend of mine is certified diesel mechanic.  He says the 6.4 means how many times you will have it in the shop for repairs in a 12 month period.?

clockdrfla said:

Friend of mine is certified diesel mechanic.  He says the 6.4 means how many times you will have it in the shop for repairs in a 12 month period.?

Click to expand...

Good one and about the dang truth!

kdbgoat said:

Most of the Dodge/Ram transmission problems were at least partially the fault of the owner. There have been 7 Dodge/Rams in the family and except for the 2013 I had, all have hit at least 150k on the odo, with two of them over 200k. Never had a transmission problem. At least two of them get beat pretty really hard, and one of them is one that has over 200k. Two of the others don't get babied either.

Click to expand...

That is true.  Adding engine power is hard on the stock transmission.  I just ordered a new 4500 with the Aisin automatic.  It will be my first ever automatic transmission truck and I have had a 1993, 1996, two 1998s and a 2003 Dodge Ram Diesel all with manual transmissions.  I still have the 1996 and 2003.  I plan to enhance the power on the 4500 a little but its transmission should be fine because the much more powerful 3500 "pickups" use the same transmission as the "detuned" cab/chassis trucks.

There are way too many negative concerns re the 6.0 and 6.4 to even consider them at this point.

My 6.7 motor seemed solid enough -never any internal problems, but the truck was in the shop a LOT due to the environmental wackos, er, sensors/system, DEF shut-down issues, false DEF readings, and once at only 24k miles the fan clutch went out leaving us stranded halfway up the west side of the mountains to Cloudcroft, NM and later coming up a steep grade on I-25 near Santa Fe the enviro system thought the truck was too smoggy and shut me down.  Thank God I had road side assistance because both times I was pulling the Silverback.

I guess if you wanted to pay someone you trust to do a "delete" on the 6.7 it would be a great truck.  Or, maybe you can do it yourself if you have the know how.

Like I said, I was not sad to see that truck go.

I have an '06 with the 6.0. I take very good care of it, all the oil changes etc on time every time. I had the bulletproofing done at 140,000 miles and essentially rebuilt the entire top end. I find this truck to be extremely reliable IF the EPA crap is pulled off. The problem was not with the engine. It is very strong and reliable. It is the emissions stuff added on that has caused the problems. I decided to spend the money on this one instead of buying new because I love this truck!

There is only one (easy) way to see if a 6.0 has been bulletproofed and that is to look at the head studs. Lots of pics online showing what that looks like (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/930633-how-can-you-tell-if-the-head-bolts-have-been-replaced.html). If the head studs have been replaced it makes sense the whole bulletproofing was done. The only other way is to check for an EGR delete, not as easy but a mechanic should be able to figure that out in an hour or so depending on the method used.

The emissions stuff has been deleted, and still passes smog test with no issue. I then put a programmer on it and it runs like a scalded cat when I want it to, and all the power I could ask for when I put on that program. Mileage went up, engine runs cooler and just as clean. Plenty of power to tow whatever I want.

FF/PM said:

I have an '06 with the 6.0. I take very good care of it, all the oil changes etc on time every time. I had the bulletproofing done at 140,000 miles and essentially rebuilt the entire top end. I find this truck to be extremely reliable IF the EPA crap is pulled off. The problem was not with the engine. It is very strong and reliable. It is the emissions stuff added on that has caused the problems. I decided to spend the money on this one instead of buying new because I love this truck!

There is only one (easy) way to see if a 6.0 has been bulletproofed and that is to look at the head studs. Lots of pics online showing what that looks like (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/930633-how-can-you-tell-if-the-head-bolts-have-been-replaced.html). If the head studs have been replaced it makes sense the whole bulletproofing was done. The only other way is to check for an EGR delete, not as easy but a mechanic should be able to figure that out in an hour or so depending on the method used.

The emissions stuff has been deleted, and still passes smog test with no issue. I then put a programmer on it and it runs like a scalded cat when I want it to, and all the power I could ask for when I put on that program. Mileage went up, engine runs cooler and just as clean. Plenty of power to tow whatever I want.

Click to expand...

) )

2012 and above 6.7 or 2002 and below for the 7.3 in the Fords, Cummings in the Dodge pretty much any year,  Duramax 2004 and above with Allison is great. I'm a fleet mechanic at a sheet mill and we have ALL Fords and I will tell you it's hard to beat that V10 for a workhorse, not fast , not the most efficient but if properly maintained and if you don't exceed it's capabilities it will run and run.