# 2003 F350 6.0L Diesel Super Duty a good truck???



## allenslabs

Passed a car lot and they had a 2003 Ford F350 Crew Cab Super Duty 6.0L v8 Diesel. Is there anything I should consider as I am seriously thinking of looking hard at it as in...like...(GULP)....buying it. Any help would be great!!


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## agmantoo

The pre 6.0L v8 diesel (the 7.3) had a better reputation from all the research I have read. I too have been considering a newer farm truck. Seems that all the full size ones have some problems.


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## allenslabs

I know and they seem to have heavy price tags despite those problems. That is what is aggravating! LOL!


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## Allen W

Local mechanic said he wouldn't touch 6.0 ford.


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## allenslabs

Nice. Maybe I shouldn't either.


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## PD-Riverman

3 members of my family bought new Ford trucks with 6.0L. All 3 sick of 6.0. One stayed in the shop about as much as he drove it. One sold his 2 years later while it was running good between shop visits bought another one a couple years newer---he finally bought another vehicle so he would have something to drive while his newer 6.0 was in the shop(often). All 3 have been trying to sell these trucks but because of the 6.0 having a bad name they can not find a buyer that would just pay them off. Now a second one has bought him a older Ford truck with the 7.3 and he lets his 6.0 sit most of the time. I see alot of trucks in my line of work and Most all of them have had problems with 6.0's. I find one every now and then that says he has not had any problems with his with over 100,000 miles on it. (I was looking for a newer truck is why I was asking about the 6.0's) I would not buy a 6.0. Good Luck!


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## po boy

Have '03 6.0 with 98,000 miles and no problems so far. It is cold natured and must be warmed up when it is cool/cold.

My dislikes about the thing is it being cold natured and takes about 48 acres to turn it arround. On the road, it is fantastic!

What I read about them does scare me...
FYI http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/showthread.php?t=79091


Dig in here: http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f5/

and look at this: http://powerstrokehelp.com/6liter/6-0_main.asp


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## Darren

Everyone I know that has had a Ford with a 6.0 diesel had problems. There's a reason that truck is sitting on a used vehicle lot. It's probably not because the previous owner loved the truck.


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## travis91

7.3 or 6.9... nothing else.. stay away from the 6.0 unless you wanna tear it down and fix every last problem


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## Beeman

Search any diesel board and they will tell you to RUN, not walk away from a 6.0L I have a friend with one that I service for him. I don't see how anyone can afford to own one. Oil change is 15qts. plus an expensive filter and you better use the right oil and a good filter. Fuel filter kit costs $75 and because of injector problems they recommend change every oil change. Coolant needs changing every 30k mi. and you better use the right coolant. Coolant neglect will cause problems later when you buy the truck used. I changed his coolant at 30k and it came out looking black. He's already had something with the EGR take a dump that cost him in the hundreds and this truck has less then 40k mi. on it. If he keeps it I think he'll really regret it.


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## travis91

its really almost cheaper to have a gas engine if your not towing everyday


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## bbigcnote

i have a early 2004 6.0 yes they have problems but fixes are there to make them reliable. i had to do some work to mine early but have put close to 50,000 miles on it without incident since. to check for a the biggest problem check the temp difference between the coolant and oil. more then a 15 degree difference the oil cooler and egr cooler needs replaced plus a very through coolant flush and replace. the gold coolant in the fords is good for 60,000 miles. i installed a coolant filter to help filter it. i can give you more advice on this by pm if you want. i use mine as a daily driver and tow occasionnally get between 16.5 and 17.5 mpg when not towing and around 10 towing. not bad and has more power then needed to tow.


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## BCBear

2003 egr units are round and it is extremely rare to have an egr failure with this year truck. Also if the reprogramming has been done at the dealership then you should be fine. diesel 10w 30 only and absolutely doing you filter and fluid changes on schedule and it'll be good. No chips please. Check out Bill Hewitt out of Georgia on youtube...he explains the whole deal starting from the 7.3 and right through to the newer diesels. Knock on wood my 2003 6.0 liter has been great. These trucks love the freeway.


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## JawjaBoy

I know some guys that work for Georgia DOT and they have several 6.0 Fords. All say that the 6.0's are enough to make even die hard Ford guys buy a Chevy. They got the 6.0's when they turned in their older 7.3's and say that they have all had numerous problems, stay in the shop and do not pull anywhere near as well as the 7.3's. Somehow, one lone Chevy Duramax truck was issued to their office and they say that everyone fights over it because it is dead reliable and pulls so much better.


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## agmantoo

I understand that dealerships have become skilled at servicing the engine in those trucks. The access to the engine for major repairs is by removing the cab!


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## ace admirer

they seemed to have teething pains,,,sad after the rock solid 7.3's


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## bikehealer1

A friend of mine bought a 6.0 4wd a couple of years ago. it was back at ford so many times he actually started contracting to them to remodel the place while they were fixing it under warranty. seems he sat around waiting so long and talking to people he got the scoop on the remodel project from one of the sevice reps there. He finally ended up with a rebuilt 7.3 trade in in place of his 6.0. he's much happier now.


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## CesumPec

I have 2 6.0's.The 2005 has 60K miles with no problems. The 2004 has 175K miles and has been lots of trouble. You need to do the EGR delete package which will run you in the neighborhood of $500. I get 11 MPG in both; with $4/gal diesel, that really irks me. I'm looking into getting an ECM chip reprog. Talked to a guy tonight that has a 2006 F-450 6.0 rechipped, EGR deleted, and he claims 14 MPG. That difference would pay for the chip in roughly 7 - 10K miles. 

Talking to the Kubota dealer yesterday, he says as of this year, all tractors over 25 HP have the EGR "solution" and there is no delete avaiable. That was a salesman talking and wanting me to purchase a 2012 model so it is subject to verification.


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## Seth

I had an 04 6.0. Owned it for 54 weeks. Ford bought it back. After its 39th week in the shop.


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## joejeep92

I work on them every day. A previous post said you have to remove the cab for a lot of things...not really. Just pulling motors is all I pull it for and the passenger side head. They are great motors in the base form but the weak points are the emissions controls (egr cooler/egr in general) and the heads and their components. Find one that has had the heads done with the updated gaskets and studs and you probably won't have an issue. A lot of problems I see that develop are related to driving them WAY too hard.


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## joejeep92

I also might ad that all the trucks we build end up being farm trucks, service trucks, or otherwise work trucks. These guys drive them really, really hard. Not even borderline abusive anymore. These trucks have a very strong drivetrain and we have very very few comebacks on them.


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## TripleD

I guess some of yall got good ones.. ? I bought a new 05 f-450 after 50k everything started going wrong. An O ring in the high pressure oil pump went out 3 times injectors next.I paid 44k for and sold it for 14k with 68512 miles on it.


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