I am almost afraid to comment here. I have owned 3 F250's with the 6.0. The 2004 blew up at 30k and was lemoned out for a 2005. The 2005 was towed multiple times to the dealer then also blew up at 31k miles. It was lemoned for a 2006. Knock on wood, the 2006 is setting a record for me. It is up to 36k with only a few minor problems.

It gets 17mpg on the highway, 14 around town with lots of stop and go and 11 pulling a 5000 pound loaded trailer.

It is a great diesel truck but I have to say, each of my trucks stickered at over $50k. The thought that I had to renegotiate each time and go through the hassle really shook my confidence in Ford products.

The new F150 seems great but I am gunshy for Ford now. The diesel is more truck than I need now and the higher fuel costs just seem like a slap in the face.

Yeah, the lower fuel economy of the fords is why I didn't buy one. (and I was afraid of the rumors of the diesel reliability being bad)

Just go with the old 5.9 Cummins in the dodge. Very reliable and I see 15 city/ 24 hwy mileage. (2wd 3500 srw shortbed).

But yeah, these days, I wouldn't buy any of the new diesels due to the new NOx regulations that are sucking the fuel economy out of the new engines (and in some cases, making them more maintenance with urea tanks).
Diesel will eventually go back up in price and then have the $1.00+ premium over 87 that it had this past summer.

The Scorpion 6.7 liter engine will be replacing the Powerstroke engine starting in 2010/2011.

I HAVE A'96 7.3 P/STROKE VERY DEPENDABLE. HAVE A FUEL LEAK SOMEWHERE BELOW FUEL FILTER. BETWEEN CYL. HEADS. AT 196,955 MI. I AM NOT COMPLAINING JUST THOUGHT SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME SOME INSIGHT.

The Navistar Diesels designed and built after 1993 proved to be junk with serious reliability problems. The VP of Engine Engineering was more of a politician than a engine designer, plus the relationship with Cat had gone to pot. He ended up working elsewhere in the company. McCandless was the best engine design leader at Navistar and the father of the HEUI engine.

The 6L powerstrokkes are pure D crap. I have 2 in my fleet with constant problems. My other 4 7.3 are golden even over 200,000. Not to mention to work on the 6l is a pain in the ass. Usually a 4 hour job just to change an Alternator (these are vans) and I can do the same job on a 7.3 in about 30 minutes

The 6.0L Power Stroke was a tough blow to the Power Stoke and Ford names. I reckon it did not do Navistar/International any good either.

The 6.0 diesel is the first ford truck and motor I ever regretted buying . Terrible turbo went at 20000 , sensors went , Instrument cluster went , and now fuel injectors all at under 85000 miles .

This is definitely a topic that's close to me so Im happy that you wrote about it. I'm also happy that you did the subject some justice. Not only do you know a great deal about it, you know how to present in a way that people will want to read more. Im so happy to know someone like you exists on the web.
National Power Supply Engines

The FICM went-out at 60K miles, the oil pressure sensor switch at the same time. It is a 2003 6.0L with 70.5K miles on it as of today, I don't drive it much. I paid over $2K to have a new FICM, oil switch, and 2 new batteries installed after this all collapsed. Did Ford ever reimburse owners with this defective engine, especially when it failed at 60K?

I had a company truck ford f450 06 6 litre and at 50 k the transmission packed it in and all the injectors in the eng had to be changed , and the last straw was exhaust gas cooler which is right in the v of the engine packed it in . The owners of my company got rid of it and bought a newer 2010 and no problems anymore. I was going to buy a ford for my personal truck but instead bought a Dodge 3500 / 07 / with a 6.7 litre and just love the truck . I have never owned a truck with so much torque and power . Its also scary fast , faster then some muscle cars i used to own .

We have 3, F-750 with 6.0 litre engines. All ran fine until around 35,000 mi. Since then we've spent close to $10K per truck with no joy. They run fine with no load. Try to carry something with them and they have no power, they belch and cough. Sometimes they have to be towed. In the vain belief that this was an issue with tank linings being eaten by fuel additives, we've replaced nearly the entire fuel systems on all three trucks -- from tanks to injectors. All for naught!!! The problem appears to lie within the International computer which controls the engines.

Ford offers no assistance whatsoever. The local Ford truck dealer loves this because each time he suggests changing something else (sometimes two fuel pumps within 12 mos.!) and collects another nice charge, but doesn't solve the problem.

I'm at a loss. For a small company, having 3 mid range trucks which are worthless to our fleet and can't be sold with integrity. What do we do?

Thanks for the comments here. Glad I saw this link. Been wondering why the 05s and 06s were going for cheap. Guess the ole addage "if it looks and smells like a rat" is true here. Heard very good things about the 7.3s tho

I have a 2005 ford f250 with only 39000 miles on it had to have towed and now sits dead ford wont do a dam thing about it all they say is their is no recalls on the triuck

I have 2006 F 250 with the 6.0 only had the egr cooler go bad at 70,000 I,m self employed and I depend on this truck for my living at this point I have 101,000 miles each run I do is 750 mile round trip at 75 mph with a load on haft the trip . I need this truck for another 100,000 miles so I,m willing to buy some more warranty becuse of everthing I here about the 6.0, Point me in the right direction please

I have a 2000 ford f250 2wd 7.3L 6speed manual with 185,184mi. Change the oil, oil filter, Fuel filter, do a injector tune up and change/add clutch fluid, and the air filter. Had to change the cloth once and a harness had come unplug due to mice moving around. Best damn diesel ford/Navistar could have made was the DT444 the 6.0l is a great diesel after you get all of the probe worked out. The 6.4L is a POS diesel, and I feel that the 6.7L could be the next 7.3L.

If that isn't unforgivable, I don't know what is. If you're going to build something, it shouldn't matter what it is, under no circumstances should you cut corners, ever.

Just got dinged for replacing the EGR Cooler and Oil Cooler on a 2004 F250 SD 6L with 80K miles on it. Not an expense I bought in for. Makes the decision to buy Ford diesel a bad one.

1996 ford f350 5spd manual best damn truck a guy could ask for 601000 miles with no major repairs ever just change oil and all filters on time. Ohhh and one camshaft sensor at 345000 miles

CTC Deezul asked where the 6.0l hate was, so I sent him a link to this page.

I only had truck 3months and have spent tousonds

I have spent tousands

I have spent tousands

How do you start... I went to purchase a 7.3, was talked into another truck... 2006. Only to find out it had the 6.0... my journey began when the engine shut down completely in Oakland California at 10 PM at a out of the way fuel stop. Dead. A mechanic told me I had the 6.0 and they were known for "issues" and took a fist full of my money. Long story short... 3 repairs later I am well over $10,000 in repairs and the latest code came up... I need to replace the Head Gaskets, Bolts, and the EGR valve... I do research only to find conflicting information on what to do best. If I totaled up my time into research it is a fortune! Today alone I have spent hours on the phone with Ford Customer Relations, Kay, Erin and spoke with Navistar (manufacture of the motors) and talked at length with Shannon. No one can give any real help. Repair centers are telling me 30 hours just to do the heads... This is my third major repair people! This is my second major loss of income due to Navistar/Ford engine failure. Really, frustration, stress, missed deadlines and risk of my health and safety because of breakdowns unexpectedly. Now you know why there was a lawsuit! But, Here I sit. I now have to hire a driver to transport. I should have been there, but instead it will be late. And... Ford wants to charge me a fist full of money... after costing me so much? I did not have time to post this, but my therapist is a long way away, costly... and this was available. Sorry... It seems to be the word of the day... sorry! Venting, expecting no possible resolution. If anyone knows the "facts" on steps to take... Milling, or not... stronger studs, or not... delete EGR, or not? Nobody seems to agree. Those who say do say that the Ford policy is to put inferior products back in. Who to believe? Enough time wasted. Maybe it is time to buy a Dodge.

I was a development tech and warranty tech at Siemens Diesel Systems which was the manufacturer of the G4 injectors for the 6.0 l Powerstroke diesel. I came up with a simple redesign that stopped plunger scuffing on the early injector plungers with DLC coating. I inspected hundreds of injectors that had failed due to hammering themselves to death. They were all from engines installed in Fords. We never had any failures from the same engines installed in International trucks. The injectors were failing from fuel starvation and air getting into the fuel system. Since this was a returnless fuel system, when air got in, the only way out was through the injectors. These injectors were powered by high pressure (6000 psi) oil. Without fuel in them to push against they would fly to bottom of their travel and hammer themselves to death. They would literally be just metal powder inside. I tried to get a redesign made with relief ports but no one would listen.

Since the biggest difference between the Ford and the International was the fuel supply system I believed the flat bottom tanks in the Fords were allowing air to be sucked in when they would run low on fuel. The International trucks had round tanks which would not get air in the fuel pickup unless they ran completely out but that would shut the engines off before they could kill injectors. They also had a fuel return to the tank for pressure regulation. The Ford did not it was internal in the supply pump.

After months of investigations by International engineers (which I worked with closely) the final root cause was determined to be the software in the Ford ECM. International trucks had entirely different ECMs. During cold starts, especially during below 40F the ECM would put too much advance in the fuel timing which would cause the peak cylinder pressure to go over design limits by 300 to 500 psi. This would overload the cylinder head studs and cause the heads to lift and "burp'. The fuel passages to the head came from the block and passed through the head gaskets into the heads. This would cause a big bubble of air to be pushed into the fuel system. This bubble would get into the injectors and cause them to hammer themselves to death. It would also force a bubble of air into the cooling system. It would migrate to the highest point which was the exhaust cooler for the EGR. With out water in the cooler the hot exhaust would melt the brazing and cause the cooler to fail.

So there you have it. 3 reasons why the 6.0l had high failures. They put in stronger head bolts and reprogrammed the fuel maps to stop the cylinder head lifting. Also

NEVER LET YOUR 6.0 RUN BELOW 1/4 TANK OF FUEL AND BLEED THE FUEL SYSTEM THOROUGHLY IF YOU EVER OPEN IT. EVEN WHEN YOU CHANGE THE FUEL FILTER. KEEP AIR OUT AT ALL COST.

I'm interested in your products, I hope we can cooperate together. Please cantact me by e-mail.