Ford 6.0 diesel or V10

[johnp4191]

We are looking at used trucks and 2 we are interested in are Fords 2006, mostly identical except for the engine. One is the 6.0 Diesel and the other is a V10 gas.

I know about the issues with the 6.0, but don't know too much about the V10. Comments anyone?

Ford owners with these engines: what kind of mileage do you get?

Thanks for your opinions!

Judi

[racerjoe]

We had an 03 F250 V10, towed a 2950RK, when hauling to our regular campground mileage was about 8.5, 9.0 average. Without trailer about 12-14 on highway. Motor was very dependable and had no issues with it at all. The only thing to look for on the V10 is that the exhaust manifold studs rotted off and is time consuming to replace. So if you go with the V10 check those studs,before buying.

[1retired06]

V10 is a good gas engine but without the torqe of the 6.0. We had a 2005 350 with the 6.0, never had an issue, and would take it over the gasser. 6.0 initially had lots of problems which were addressed during subsequent productions.

[BB_TX]

We had an '07 F350 6.0. Towed the Monte great getting 10 +/- mpg, but that was running near 70 on the highway. Did better the few times I held it to 65 or less. Not towing it would get near 20 mpg highway, again running 70 or higher. Traded mine at about 78,000 miles. Only problem was a cam sensor went bad about 55,000, replaced under warranty.

[richfaa]

We had a 2005 F-350 V-10 that pulled our 2006 Montana 3400 all over the country.MPG towing 7/8 sometimes 4/5 in the hills. Ran out of motor in the mountains. Great motor but not for pulling heavy 5th wheels in the mountains. Go diesel

[mlh]

Depends on how fast and how far you are going to pull your camper. Stay close to home the V10 will work just fine but please note almost all people here have a Diesel. I don't know anyone that pulled a heavy camper out west from Va where I live that didn't come home and buy a Diesel. Me included.
Lynwood

[bigskyjimmy]

I had a 99 V10 and I think it was one of the better Motors Ford made ,I LOVED mine when I had a 34 foot 5th but with the newer heavier rigs like was said before they are begging for mercy at 5K RPM going up the Passes AND like was said Mileage was in the 8mpg range(NOT GOOD) ,I had to let mine out it's misery and had to go Diesel(CHEVY) but I would of went Ford again but that 6.0 powerstroke scares the heck out me WAY to many issues that you have heard about, IMO WHY take a chance??? I was a Hard core Ford guy and I didn't gamble with the 6.0 I would be looking at a 6.4 Powerstoke,Duramax or Cummins,

[Bill-N-Donna]

We’ve had issues with our 6.0 and I’ll spare you the details but I would still take it over a gasser. In all honesty we get about 9-10 towing, 12-13 in town driving and 14 & > on highway driving.

[WaltBennett]

You've heard the bottom line. The V10 is reliable, but doesn't have that much torque and gets terrible mileage. My former truck was a Chevy 8L that had more torque, but still not like a diesel, and also got terrible mileage. The Ford 6.0 has mixed engine reliability, but I bought an '06 that only had 28k miles and looked brand new for a great price. While some may tell you that you've got to do all sorts of things to make the engine reliable, I've only installed a coolant filter after completely flushing that system. That's due to finding some posts by former Ford assemblers who explained the cause of the reliability issues. (It's actually a school bus engine made by International, and the blocks were never completely flushed out after casting so some silicate sand could be left before assembly.) Anyway, I get from 11.5 to 12.6 towing our 3665RE and up to 20 on the highway. Mixed urban driving is between 14 and 17. I'm now at 39k miles and it's been flawless.

[Lenny K]

I used to be a staunch Ford guy until I bought my 2005 6.0, but no more. I know that some people had no or little problems with their 6.0 which wasn't my case. I got good use of Good Sam because I was unable to make a long trip without being towed.
Diesel is the only way of going Judi, so good luck in your decision.

[richfaa]

You should be able to check the maint record of the truck you purchase.

[mlh]

I had a 6 L. It gave great service and was the nicest Diesel stock that I owned but I got rid of it because I knew about the problems with it. Never had a problem with mine. You gave us an impossible choice. Choose between each a gasoline engine that doesn't have the power you need and a Diesel you can have problems with.
Lynwood

[johnp4191]

Thanks for the comments. We have only had diesel trucks, both Ford and GM and haven't had problems, but got to looking and found ourselves in this dilemma! I think we will keep with the diesel. We have done a CarFax on both and neither had any problems reported.

Judi

[1retired06]

Think you will be happier with the diesel.

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by johnp4191

We are looking at used trucks and 2 we are interested in are Fords 2006, mostly identical except for the engine. One is the 6.0 Diesel and the other is a V10 gas.

I know about the issues with the 6.0, but don't know too much about the V10. Comments anyone?

Ford owners with these engines: what kind of mileage do you get?

Thanks for your opinions!

Judi

Judi, I bought a used 2006 6.0 liter. I purchased an extended warrantee with it. I have had a lot of problems with the engine. The warrantee company has $10,000 on engine repairs. Engine Oil cooler failed, EGR cooler failed, A/C, oil leak.

I love the truck, but the 6.0 has issues.

[DAR]

I too own a 6.0, it was my work truck for 10 years and 315,000
miles. I will not go into all the details about repairs many of them have already been mentioned. I loved my truck when it was running, probably the only reason I kept it that long. To me the biggest thing with these engines is that when you fix something you will probabaly have to fix it again a few thousands mile down the road. Every year I had at least one 3-5000 dollar repair. On another note I do get around to a lot of peoples yards, and have noticed more and more 6.0's sitting in the yard collecting dust because the owners are either tired of fixing them or can no longer afford to keep dumping money into them, and the resale value is not very good. Good Luck with your decision.

[leemedic]

Fortunately when I bought my 6.0, it had under 100,000 miles, so I purchased an extended Platinum warrantee for $2200. It was a life saver in the first month of ownership.

[richfaa]

There were huge numbers of 6.0 owners that had no problems at all.

[mlh]

Like Rich said I had no problems with mine.
Lynwood

[1retired06]

Again, my 6.0. ran trouble free, never spent a day in the shop except for software upgrades (2).