Ford F350 Power Stroke Question

[Henry]

I have a buddy with a 2004 F350 Dually and the 6. 0 liter Power Stroke. This was apparently the first year for the 6. 0 liter. The rig has really low miles and I "need" the space provided by the crew cab (I have three little monsters). Is this a good motor / truck? I keep getting mixed reviews from people of questionable authority. I saw that 2003 was the last year for the 7. 3 liter Power Stroke. Am I better off with 7. 3? Yes I'm keeping the cummins, please no Ford bashing, but some honest, educated input would be tremendously appreciated!

 

[TowPro]

Not sure I would recommend it. My Brother brought home an 05 with 50K miles on it. He put an additional 50K on it in 2 years. Been back for EGR around 4 times. They replaced a couple injectors a couple times. More then once he drove it around with some kind of computer attached to it that he would have to press a button every time the truck acted up. Some other valve I can't recall was replaced.



They have reflashed the ECM 3 or 4 times.

 

[Dl5treez]

2003 was the first year of the 6. 0 and the last year of the 7. 3

2003 7. 3 = great truck. Probably the best late model 'stroker combo to date.
2003 6. 0 = big fat ginormous juicy jiggly piece of camel crap to be avoided at all costs. According to some, a properly running 2003 is the best one, as it's closest to what Navistar intended before the 18 million FoMoCo revisions, but they're rare as hen's teeth. FWIW we have 6 in our fleet that are flawless... go figure. LOL

2004 6. 0 = less of a pile than an '03 but still a pile... more were good in '04 than in '03 but still the majority had issues.

2005 6. 0 = better still, but not great.
2006/07/08 6. 0 = supposedly the bugs have been fixed, and the ones I'm around daily (company fleet) are fine, but still a 6. 0... ...


In a nutshell. For more info and great 3rd grade over-dramatic retarded fighting see the 6. 0 forums at TheDieselStop. Com - www.thedieselstop.com

 

[DWeiler]

Go with the 7. 3 if you can,i drive one for a living and just hit 210,000miles with an 01-450cube. Still on original turbo/glowplugs/injectors,no internal problems yet but pretty much replaced everything else---3 trannys,idler arms only last 100,000miles/alternators about the same. Starter last 1-2 years but i do start this thing 30 times a day(that does not count)/front end components 60000 miles/brakes the same. Oh yes once it reaches -15 below celcius up here you had better plug her in cause it will not start---this from all 8 7. 3 we have had in the past 10 years. I must say that all the bashing i said about these Fords over the years, the one i have now is the best one so far but it is getting tired---hoping to make it to 300,000 before we look at something else. PS they are underpowered from the start but a mild chip /programmer can help in that area. My 2 cents DW

 

[Alan Reagan]

My next door neighbor has two 04/6. 0s. He has a golf cart business and uses the trucks for delivery.



I'm not being a smart ***** here but for him it takes two to have one to use. Both have started skipping over the past three months and have been in and out of the shop. Ford has been able to stop one of the two from skipping/missing but not the other. He has had starting problems with both and the rear end replaced in one of the two.



Neither smokes and neither has been modified. Both are POS as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Mhannink]

look for a 7. 3 if you can. had an old idi(non turbo) one and it never left me anywhere better then i can say for either of my dodges cummins. the 6. 0 is a pile my uncle has 2 and yes they have been good nothing major and they always seem to run. but i wouldnt touch them. had a buddy that worked at ford and all he did was replace turbos injectors and head gaskets on them. the 7. 3 we have has been great 150k and weve done the injectors and had a clutch issue early on. nothing else has been wrong it also has been towed home less then my dodges. course i seem to have bad luck w/ trucks

 

[MStrain]

I would look for a used Mega Cab, may be hard to find since they just started making them in 06, maybe one with a Hemi. the Hemi is a good gas engine, I have driven them and they are pretty powerful. My old boss's 2005 6. 0 PSD was a nightmare for him, overheated all the time, ended up completely blowing the engine while towing his 10K toy hauler, the engine was replaced by Ford, he only had around 30k when they had to practically dismantle the whole truck to replace the Powerstroke. Then when his truck hit about 38K the transmission sprung a leak while he was driving down the road not towing anything, started dumping all the transmission fluid all over the road from a quarter size whole that opened up on the side of the trans, and since he was just out of warranty they told him he was pretty much SOL, and would have to pay to fix the trans. His brother also bought a 2004 6. 0 PSD used from a Ford dealer, a gift for his wife, on the first trip he took it from the dealer where he bought it with 45K on the truck, to pick up his toy hauler and go to Sand Mountain, 50 miles out of Sacramento the lights all went off on the dash and it died. Turns out the engine completely blew, the dealer he just bought it from the same day towed it back and replaced the engine. Ford trucks are nice, I like the room, but the drivetrain is a POS, look under the hood and you will be scared, you can't stick a pencil in there it is soo packed. I am not biased against Ford, but when two people I know have had major engine failure on relatively new trucks, you know something is wrong with the engineering.

 

[JoelMartin]

My buddy had a 2003 6. 0 that worked pretty good until it had about 50K then the engine blew. He went through about 3 engines in 20K. Replaced it with a 2005 6. 0 and already went through a couple engines in 60K. He was pulling a lot of weight but that was no excuse. I would advise getting a 7. 3 if you really want a PSD.

 

[24V-DSL]

Six-oh is the biggest blunder for Ford since the Edsel.

 

[Cattletrkr]

If a full sized diesel grocery getter is what you need, go GM. Ride better, handle better, and they don't have a 6. 0 in them.

 

[Henry]

No, not a grocery getter!!!!

You can see by the mods to my cummins that a grocery getter is not going to cut it. I throw a camper on the truck and haul toys. Maybe I'll look closer at the Duramax. I would look at the Megacab, but apparently D. C. can't figure out an eight foot bed! What the #@$%! By the way, I ripped out the piece of junk Banks Power Pack and replaced it with an Edge Juice with attitude... ... ... ... works purrrrfect!

 

[Cattletrkr]

yeah but a chipped d-max will fly pretty dang good and you can get it with 4 full doors. that's all I was getting at.

if you need to haul the "monsters", can we assume that the mrs will be riding/driving as well. she'll appreciate the nice ride.

I'm not trying to push the GM, just that if you need 4 real doos and a diesel, I wouldn't even think 6. oh$@#.

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

I saw one estimate in the Detroit Free Press that the 6. 0 has cost Ford over one billion $ in warranty work. Yes, billion with a b.

 

[Grizzly]

I have known too many people with the 6. 0 and every one has been a nightmare. I believe the 7. 3 is a good engine, but they lack power and have poor mileage. I think there plenty of room in the back seat of a Quad Cab Dodge. Kids will adjust.

 

[HBarlow]

I've talked with several RV transporters who have been nearly financially ruined by a 6. 0 Ford and have heard of many who were ruined. They are not transporting any longer because of their 6. 0 Ford.



If you buy one be sure and get the "roll back wrecker" option. That allows your Ford a free ride back to the dealer everytime the 6. 0 engine fails. You'll be needing it.



Harvey

 

[MStrain]

Well DC won't make a long bed mega cab, but these guys do, MegaCab Long Bed Conversions , now that is almost the perfect truck, except for the turning radius.

 

[Henry]

OK, OK, forget the Ford, which year Duramax?

Ok, I'll bag the Ford option. I have a quad cab and it doesn't work for a trip of any length. If I start looking at the Duramax, is there a particuar model year I should look for / avoid?

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

Go for an LBY - I think they are 2004 and later.

 

[C. Harlan]

Say No to Six-Ohhhhhh!!! That should speak for itself.



-Chris-

 

[Henry]

Which year Duramax then?

It is painfully clear that a Ford is the wrong way to go. That being said is there a particular model year Duramax that I should consider / avoid?