Looking for a Used Diesel Truck

NorCal Boater

NorCal Boater

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Jan 24, 2008
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Covington, LA
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Guys, I'm looking for a diesel truck and I'm a long time Ford Guy. Anyone have any info on Ford's 6.0? What's the max miles I should look for with a diesel? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks
 
Look for a Duramax with the Allison transmission. A contact of mine(25 yr certified diesel tech) sold me on the combo. His second choice was the Ford 7.3. In his opinion, the 6.0 was a flop and the 6.7 has not been around long enough to make a sound decision. The Cummings is a great motor, but the mopar's have transmission issues. Just his $.02 and remember what opinions are like....I bought an '07 Duramax with the Allison last June that had 37k miles on it(not 137k, but 37k). It was owned by an elderly couple and all service records were available. I have put almost 20k on it and have only done oil changes and 1-fuel filter change. I love it...gets 18 mpg on the highway, pulls my boat very well, and is super comfortable. As with anything, maintenance(or lack of) will be the key....

Bennett
 
Norcal, I agree with above on the 6.0, I think Ford's best was the 7.3 NA, but those are really old now. The Duramax and allison are decent, But the best set up in my opinion is the dodge with a stick. Of coarse now days no one wants a stick, so I think the newer dodges with the auto is good. The trannys have improved a lot since all the problems with them earlier. I work with heavy equipment and many diesel pickups on a daily basis, but I drive an F-350 gasser. If you don't need to pull or haul, I think your ahead in the long run with gas when it comes to pickups
 
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Navistar supplied the powerstroke diesel up to 2009/2010... I am not exactly sure which year. Then Ford took over manufacturing their own diesel. If I was looking for a used powerstroke I would make sure it was a Ford.
 
My company has had every diesel out on the road. Stay as far away as possible from the 6.0s. There the worst diesels out there. Company spent a fortune trying to keep them going down the road. The dodges are pretty good but the automatic transmissions are the weak point in the system. We have replaced multiple transmissions in our dodges. The duramaxs are the way to go. You will pay a little more for them but they are worth every penny. Don't buy with a lbz motor they have injector problems. From 04 to 08 were realy good years for these trucks. My personal truck is a 04 with a lly motor has 210,000 miles on it I pull with it every day almost and I haven't touched it other them some wheel bearings and a alternator. The independent front suspense on these trucks, is the only weak point but they are very cheap to maintain and repair. So either one a dodge or my first pick a gmc/chevy would be a good pick, just make sure what ever you get hasn't been turned up or has some modified chip in it, these destroy these engines. And they don't need them they will pull just about anything you put behind them just as they stand.
 
Ditto the Duramax. over the years we've used them all and the GMC/Chevs have been the most reliable and least expensive to run as far as repairs go. Good luck.
 
Guys, i love my 03 Dodge quad cab 3500 SRW 4x4 with 5.9 Cummins.. 176k 22-24mpg stock. No mods done at all. Even towing another 1/2ton pickup on a trailer with a plow in it's bed i was still getting 19mpg. Plus they are rebuildable motors... Duramax as throw aways last i thought. Only thing that i needed to do in the last 100k was a lift pump, replaced the injectors, and oil changes.. Best of luck whatever you decide.
 
My previous truck was a 2004 F-250 Super Duty with the 6.0 Sold it with 130,000 went through two turbo's, averaged about 15 MPG. It was loud ! Guy that bought it had no problems with the mileage.
Recently purchased a used 2011 F-350 Super Duty with the 6.7 it had 58,000 on it. I average about 15.7 MPG, this truck has tons of power and purrs!
 
I bought a 2000 f350 4x4 quad cab two summers ago and it's been great. I pull my boat with it and it does quite well.
It has the 7. 3 and it was a one owner truck with 106,000 miles on it. I know it's an older one but it is low miles and I have no payments, and I really am happy with it.
 
The 6.0 has major top end issues. A friend of mine has f350 with the 6.0. Heads went at 60k. It's a known problem with them. Ford has a fix but didn't warranty it or recall it just supplied info on what to do. Worst part is the cab needs to be lifted to repair everything. But apparently there bullet proof after the head fix.
 
I bought my 2007 F250 new in 2006. It has the 6.0 and almost all of the 95,000 miles have been pulling a Sea Ray. Last year I had to replace the turbo at the cost of $2,000. My mechanic (not a ford dealer) said the turbos in the 6.0 are designed to operate at low and high rpms, therefore eliminating the need for a second turbo. However, at around 100k miles the turbo will stick in the open position and need to be replaced. The mechanic said the replacement turbo has fixed the problem and I shouldn't have to replace the turbo again. Other than the turbo failure, I have been very pleased with the truck and haven't had any other problems. I have pulled a 240DA Sundancer all over the mountains of KY, TN, and MS at highway speeds. My diesel MPG is around 17 and may go up or down a little depending on the terrain. Everybody has their favorites but I wouldn't hesitate to by another Ford. And I just think they are one of the best looking trucks on the road.
 
Not all 6.0 year models are bad. Ford did have real issues with low sulfur fuel on the early years. Read the diesel truck forums and you will be enlightened. All the big diesel trucks have issues....expecially when power is increased over stock.

We love our 2006 F-350. With the rear end 4.10 gear and towing the 260 we get right at 11 mpg. Not towing maybe 15.
 
Shawn, a friend of mine owns Rio Vista Ford so let me know what you are looking for and I can put him on it. He will give anyone I send to him a great deal.
 
I bought a 2002 2500HD Crew Cab 4x4 with the Duramax and Allison tranny brand new. I just turned 108,000 miles and the only problem I've had in 12 + years was the fuel pickup became clogged. Replaced it and it's good.
 
The 6.0 head gaskets leak and 1000.00 to fix. Have 2002 F250 with v10 and has all the power you would ever need almost to much has 3.73 rears and revs 1450 at 45 mph around town 11 and 13 on road truck weight on scale is 9800.
 
I have a 2002 ford excursion with 7.3 Powerstroke turbo diesel. 485,000 miles on original engine and tranny.
 
Thank you all for the great input. The GM trucks sound great but I would like to stay under $15,000 and all the ones I have seen are more than that. I'm also pretty picky as I need leather and a crew cab because we take our big dogs with us most of the time. I have to have something with adjustable pedals for my wife, she's somewhat height challenged at 5' and I'm 6-2.

I'm also looking at F150s, Expeditions, Tahoes and Yukons. There are a lot of F250s in my price range but most all are the 6.0 and over !00k miles. I was thinking that if I found something between 100-140k miles I should be OK....right? from what you guys are describing most of the problems with the Ford occurred before 100k miles. I'm only going to be towing about 5500 lbs.

Thanks,
Shawn
 
NorCal Boater said:
I'm only going to be towing about 5500 lbs.
Click to expand...

it sounds like you just want to get a diesel truck, not that you need a diesel truck....if you are towing only 5,500 lbs you could easily get by with a 1500 (or 150) series gas truck as long as it has a towing package....with a towing package the 1500 series gas truck should have a towing capacity around 9 - 10,000 lbs.....

cliff
 
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