Maybe no Camping this year... up-dated

[Bill-N-Donna]

I have put almost 80K miles on my truck while I’ve owned it. I’ve replaced the coolers twice (OIL & EGR) and both times I was towing the Camper when they went out. IMHO, Ford doesn’t have a reliable replacement cooler that will work and withstand the temperatures created while towing. The EGR cooler will inevitably plug up and burn out in time. This creates a lot of white smoke and it’s just a matter of time until it will happen again.

This happened last July on our way to Pegion Forge for the Mid Atlantic rally. After three days of repair on the road by Ford we proceeded on to Pegion Forge. While the work I had to have done may be under warrantee I really hesitate to have this done again even if they would be willing to replace it because I know it’s just setting me up for another disaster on down the road.

I can’t feel at ease towing on the road like it is. The purchase of a new truck capable of towing the Monty is definitely out of the question for now.

In order to tow the Monty this year with ease I purchased some electronic gages that will allow me to monitor the coolant & the oil temp. A diesel mechanic at Ford told me that these temps should operate about 15° difference while driving. I've also been told by other sources that if they get higher than that they are indicating a problem with the EGR cooler plugging up. I’m averaging about 25-30° difference under normal driving @ 55. When I step it up to 70 (not towing) the temp diff will climb to a difference of 40° over a 4 mile stretch. I haven’t gone further than 4 miles at that speed. I would not have known that I even had a problem had I not purchased these gages. I believe it would have failed me again very soon. Now I’m not having any visible signs either of anything wrong but only driving for short distances right now.

I’m considering having some aftermarket coolers put on and also eliminating the head gasket problem that can occur as well with one more trip for service but not at Ford.

Ok, now that I’ve bored you all with all of this, has anyone on here had similar issues with the 6.0 and put aftermarket coolers on? If so I would like your feedback! My choice would be to use Bullet Proof replacement coolers.
Thanks!

[BB_TX]

Wow, with 379,000 miles on it my first thought is that maybe something else is actually causing those things to fail. Overall engine wear? I do realize that Ford has had some problems with them though.

I did have an EGR valve go bad on a 2004 6.0 I had. Failed at about 35,000 miles and replaced under warranty and no more problem. But my 2007 6.0 never had a problem with it. Although I did not put nearly that many miles on it, only about 80,000 when I traded it for the 2012.

[Phil P]

Hi

I agree with BB_TX sounds like you have a problem overlooked by the Ford dealers.

Ford has had their problems but yours sound excessive. I would get on one or more of the ford diesel truck forums and post your experience there and see what you find.



Phil P

[JandC]

I assume that you purchased your truck used with almost 300,000 plus miles on it, and have now put almost another almost 80,000 miles on it? I would certainly expect some major engine issues. Actually I would expect that truck not to be extremely reliable when pulling that much weight. Have you considered maybe starting over with a gently used dually with maybe 50,000 miles or less?

[DarMar]

Wow for sure that's a lot of miles racked up on your current TV. I have always found that one can pay 3 or 4 thousand dollars a year in repairs to an older vehicle or one can pay 4 or 5 thousand a year in payments on a newer vehicle with very few repairs. For the most part the later has always worked out for us and never left us stranded on the roadside.

[tweber502]

Bill, Have you considered having an EGR Delete done to your 6.0? the truck is WELL out of warranty so wouldn't be any issue there. My understanding of the delete is that by having this done, you are no longer recycling the exhaust gas back into the engine, eliminating any 'sooting' issues that would otherwise be problematic. You also would allow the engine to run cooler by this as well, not to mention the possible increase in fuel economy. I am very seriously considering this mod for my old diesel with 185000 miles. I believe, at least for my truck, I can have the delete performed, a small tune and 4" exhaust installed all for around 1K +-. This allows the engine to operate at considerably cooler temps, also increasing HP and economy. Just a suggestion. Tim

[mlh]

The first thing I would do is get rid of the EGR. You might be able to just unhook it. I had a 6 L and that is what I did but if it's going bad that may not be an option. A bullet proof oil cooler is something to think about they are better than the OEM filter. Stronger head bolts are a big improvement in these engines but at nearly 400 K miles I'm not sure the engine is worth that if in fact it does have that many miles on it. The engine could have been replaced before you got it. I would say go talk to a garage that specializes in hoping up diesel trucks. I have one close that does all of my work and would be happy to talk to then if it would help.
Lynwood

[richfaa]

Bad luck. We have nearly 75 K miles on our 08 6.4L with not a problem as you describe. Do do have after market gauges and we closely monitor our pre turbo EGT.380 K miles is a lot of miles.

[Fire5er]

Defiantly EGR delete time. Only about $1200 for a 6.7...should be less for a 6.0L. When I started to see issues with my 2006 F350 6.0L I traded it for the 2011 F350 DRW and haven't looked back...love this truck so far.

[leemedic]

Hey guys, check out this website about "Bullet Proofing your 6.0"

http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com

[Bill-N-Donna]

Good to hear the responses. It sounds like some of you are familiar with the problems I’ve described. My problem with the delete kit as what I know about it is that it’s illegal in all 50 states. My preference would be to stay away from that side of it. Talking to a repair shop close to where I live they said its nothing to get diesels in there with as much as 650K miles on them. They have confidence in the Bullitt Proof coolers as well and they believe I wouldn’t have any more problems once I have it done. I would however do the stud improvement as well.

I was curious as to whether or not anyone on this forum has had the Bullitt Proof coolers put in and how they have done with it since we all pull a similar load.

I’m not concerned about the miles unless they were to find major issues when they get into it. I actually feel that they would advise me as to anything bigger that would be an issue. It actually runs great as it is. I just don’t trust the coolers and I don’t have any intentions of getting caught out again like in the past. Not a great feeling to say the least.

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by Bill-N-Donna

Good to hear the responses. It sounds like some of you are familiar with the problems I’ve described. My problem with the delete kit as what I know about it is that it’s illegal in all 50 states. My preference would be to stay away from that side of it. Talking to a repair shop close to where I live they said its nothing to get diesels in there with as much as 650K miles on them. They have confidence in the Bullitt Proof coolers as well and they believe I wouldn’t have any more problems once I have it done. I would however do the stud improvement as well.

I was curious as to whether or not anyone on this forum has had the Bullitt Proof coolers put in and how they have done with it since we all pull a similar load.

I’m not concerned about the miles unless they were to find major issues when they get into it. I actually feel that they would advise me as to anything bigger that would be an issue. It actually runs great as it is. I just don’t trust the coolers and I don’t have any intentions of getting caught out again like in the past. Not a great feeling to say the least.

And this:

http://www.xtremediesel.com/XDP-6.0L...tem-XD143.aspx

[clarkandsheila]

I may have missed it but I did not see any mention of a coolant filter installation.
I too have a 6.0 Ford, 2006 purchased in 2007 . No where near those miles though .
Before I bought mine I signed up for and read through several forums and one thing that can help stop plugging of the EGR coolers is a coolant filter.
The kits are available for around $150 or so.. I cobbled my own up. I used a FLeetguard filter head and I use the Fleetguard WF2007 filters.

If you do not have one of those filters then I strongly suggest installing one. You certainly may want to get the other stuff done but get the filter installed.

[Phil P]

Hi

I have a friend with a 2014 f450 and pulling a 43 ft SOB is having similar problems and has had it at the dealer several times for a few days at a time for replacement of parts.

Just goes to show that purchasing new is not necessarily an advantage

Phil P

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by clarkandsheila

I may have missed it but I did not see any mention of a coolant filter installation.
I too have a 6.0 Ford, 2006 purchased in 2007 . No where near those miles though .
Before I bought mine I signed up for and read through several forums and one thing that can help stop plugging of the EGR coolers is a coolant filter.
The kits are available for around $150 or so.. I cobbled my own up. I used a FLeetguard filter head and I use the Fleetguard WF2007 filters.

If you do not have one of those filters then I strongly suggest installing one. You certainly may want to get the other stuff done but get the filter installed.

I have the same year, 2006 and purchased it 2 years ago. It had 68,000 miles. Within 6 months I had to replace the oil cooler, then the egr cooler, had to have the turbo cleaned out. Luckily I purchased a very good extended warrantee that cost me $2100. The warrantee company now has over $10,000 in repairs in my truck. She is running very well now.

After the extended warrantee expires, I may consider the Bullet Proof. I have already installed the coolant filter. It has been on just over a year. I figured everything oil liquid on the truck has a filter, why not the coolant.

[WaltBennett]

Bought our '06 6.0 two years ago with 28k miles on it for a price that would let me put a whole new engine in if I had to. I read the info others have posted, but came across one that quoted a former Ford assemblyman who said that the blocks from International (the manufacturer) would sometimes have noticeable casting silicate still in them - they were designed to be school bus engines with no emissions stuff. If not filtered out, this is what caused all the EGR and oil cooler failures, which would lead to worse issues. I had the cooling system flushed & added a coolant filter before putting 1k more miles on it. It's been trouble free, hauling our Montana locally and on a 7k mile trip to the southwest & back. Still not quite at 50k miles, but I've been changing the coolant filter every oil change.

[DAR]

Bill I have watched with interest the miles of your truck climb in your signature, wondering when you would have these exact problems with the 6.0 engine. Some folks have put many miles on there trucks with little to no problems others have had many problems with them. I am in the latter group I have a 5500 work truck with the 6.0 I ran it for 10 years and put just over 300,000 mile on it, in that time I spent enough money on repairs that I could have bought and paid for another truck. I did Limited research into bulletproofing the engine, I could not find anybody who had the bulletproof done and then put enough miles on the truck to be able to say yes it works and it fixed all my problems for XXX number of miles. From what I gathered in my research most who had this done either didn't put many miles on there trucks or they sold them soon after because of fear of reliability issues. I would like to hear from somebody who has put 100,000 or more mile on a bulletproofed 6.0 and has not had any more troubles with it. I also seem to remember that the projected mileage life of these engines was 250,000 to 300,000. Also it seems that most 6.0 owners love there trucks... when they are running, one of the reasons I kept my truck in service as long as I did, if I knew I could fix the recurring issues with the 6.0 I would consider putting mine back on the road.

I hope you are able to have a good run with your truck if you decide to bulletproof it. God Bless Don

[Bill-N-Donna]

UPDATE: It’s getting hotter than it should under normal driving conditions according to the gages I installed. I have had some gurgling in the coolant reservoir and according to a former Ford Mechanic he thinks I might have some gasket issues. I’ll know more when he gets it tore down. I have taken it this guy’s garage to have it worked on. He’s a former Ford mechanic that advertises he’s certified. I feel he will do a good job for me.

Head gaskets are a common problem with the 6.0 but I haven’t had any trouble in that area since I’ve owned it. I would rather patch it up for a while than make payments on a new one. I’m going to have both coolers changed to the Bullet Proof coolers and the mechanic will change the head gaskets and install the studs to eliminate the head gasket problem. He told me he would have to pull the engine completely out to do this. The studs are good to about 220bs where the OE bolts are only good to 80 lbs. This is what fixes the head gasket problem in the 6.0.

Every mechanic that I’ve talked to has never heard of one of their coolers going bad. Hopefully I’ll have this problem eliminated in a few weeks and try it out on our first planned trip for this year with Bingo & his family in May.

I’m not concerned about the miles on it. I know how it runs and it actually runs great. I was also told by one shop that it’s not uncommon for a diesel to come in with 650K miles on it and told by more than one mechanic that I would probably never have any more trouble with that problem. It will be nice to get on the road without having that in the back of my mind.

[dieselguy]

I've bit my tongue here, but I'm gonna have to voice some thoughts. It seems you've already plunged into an engine removal and spruce up, so most all this is moot. I admire you for hanging on to your truck thru thick and thin approaching the 400,000 mile plateau. We all get attached to things and reason around better judgment. I too am Ford thru and thru but ...... The guy that said he sees 650,000 mile trucks all the time wasn't necessarily talking dependable daily driver pickup trucks. For the effort and money you've dissolved into your truck, you could easily have better peace of mind moving away from the 6.0 and its peculiarities and being the proud owner of a newer slightly used truck. (You don't have to buy new) Granted you'll have a freshened up power plant with so called bullet proof aftermarket items ... but what about the brake related parts ... U-Joints ... body mounts ... door hinges ... tranny ... the rear end ... the wheel bearings ... steering box ... engine accessories (A/C, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, starter), the radiator ... heater core ... suspension parts ... all the other sensors??? Your devotion to this truck has you failing to see the whole picture here ... 350,000 isn't just an average figure for the diesel engines in a pickup ... it also takes into account the lifespan of the components for the rest of the truck as well. Manufacturers don't make things with an infinite lifespan otherwise they would go broke for no one buying past their first purchase.

[tracyclifton]

As stated "Bought our '06 6.0 two years ago with 28k miles on it for a price that would let me put a whole new engine in if I had to. I read the info others have posted, but came across one that quoted a former Ford assemblyman who said that the blocks from International (the manufacturer) would sometimes have noticeable casting silicate still in them - they were designed to be school bus engines with no emissions stuff. If not filtered out, this is what caused all the EGR and oil cooler failures, which would lead to worse issues. I had the cooling system flushed & added a coolant filter before putting 1k more miles on it. It's been trouble free, hauling our Montana locally and on a 7k mile trip to the southwest & back. Still not quite at 50k miles, but I've been changing the coolant filter every oil change." This is exactly the problem with the 6.0. The first thing to realize is that there is no such thing as bullet proofing it. Something lese will fail. It sounds like the motor wasn't flushed properly when the oil coolers were replaced before. Normally, if a proper flush is accomplished before an oil cooler change, the oil cooler won't get clogged again causing the egr cooler and oil cooler failure. If it were me, and I'm a die hard 6.0 owner, I would look for a low mileage used 6.0. Run the gauges when you test drive it and make sure there are no current codes or problems. Then buy it and when it breaks put that money into the lower mileage truck. Check out the 6.0 section at Ford-trucks.com and you will learn more than you would ever want to know about the 6.0. Good luck.