Im looking at a 2004 F350 with 45000 miles. They do the ford CPO and give me a power train up to 100000 miles. It runs smooth shifts good is in nice shape. Has anyone had trouble with the 6.0? I know the 7.3 was a IH tractor motor and you can save bucks going to your local tracto dealer for parts. Do they still get OK mileage going down the road? Im looking at this because my chevy is dieing a slow death and I need to get it gone. Im thinking buy enough truck now I can pull a nice closed car trailer in a couple of years when the kids are gone and I have play money.

Larry -
I have had neither motor, but a guy in my office had a 6.0 in his wifes expedition, and the 7.3 in his truck. The 7.3 is a tank, and the 6.0 is finicky... You can run biodiesel in the 7.3, but the 6.0 can't handle it... From what I recall he said they both got about the same mileage...
Get the 7.3... It is the preferred motor -

try this place
http://www.fordpowerstrokeforums.com/forums/

they should be able to help the best. I do know the 6.0 had a few issues when released. A family fried also went from a v10 ford to the 6.0 as his work truck (he and his wife get new cars every few years anyways) and didn't notice any better mpg.

Thats my unbiased report, even though I'm a chevy guy. Also, Thom, did you mean excursion? Not that it really matters, but whatever

Hope that helped, and the forum should be able to give better stories

I have a 04 excursion with the 6.0 diesel. I absolutely love it. I average around 17mpg mostly highway. Closer to 15 on strict city. Towing a heavy trailer the worst mileage I have gotten was just under 14. When I went to Seattle recently I got 17mpg towing my 914 on a dolly. There were definatley issues & quite a few recall warranty work. Most were ironed out with the 03 but not all. In trying to get better mileage I got the Quadzilla chip installed. It added 60hp & the difference was obvious right from the start. Unfortunatly there mileage if anything got just a hair worse. I then added cold air intake which helped get it back to where it was before. Next will be the exhaust. I've been holding off as it will be quite a bit louder. I think after x-mas I will get it done.

So in my opinion I love the excursion. If I was to do it over I think I would have gone with an 02 with the 7.3. Only because I would have spent alot less & I know the 7.3 is rock solid. I am happy with my rig but I love the 7.3. I had a 97 f-250 crew cab with the 7.3. I still regret selling that truck. Best truck I have ever had Good luck whichever way you go

The 6.0ls have problems with head gaskets, egr coolers, injectors, and just about anything else you can think of. I work for a ford dealer, and at any given time there is a pair of trucks that need head gaskets. The 7.3s don't seem to have nearly the problems of the 6.0.

j-mccar3, do you know if the trucks with head gasket issues were chipped at all? I know the Fords are known to have head gasket issues when people start running tuners on the higher performance settings.

I have an 07 with just under 25K and I like the truck. The lag is a bit funky to get used to (and part of that is due to my altitude so shouldn't be as bad a lower elevations) but overall it is a sweet truck. After it got a few miles on it I started getting pretty good mileage - I tend to get around 19mpg on longer trips and that averages in mountain driving. A couple months ago I headed out east to check out a new track - on mostly flat but slightly decreasing elevation with a good wind at my back I got 22.5!! 'Course, coming back I got 18.5, but frankly that averages at over 20mpg. Bone stock monster of a truck with all the goodies - crew cab, 4x4, 34" tires (Harley trucks have 20" wheels with 34" tires).

Towing can be pretty rough but I have to pull a serious grade both directions to and from Pueblo that drags mileage down, and there is always wind to buck in the mountains. I was getting 10.5 last track day but got behind a semi and tucked in - was up to 13.5mph by the time I got to Denver.

Around town I have a short commute and can't get a good run going (stop and go) so I get 13.5-15mpg, but if I get even a good run down to Denver or such I can get up to 16-17mpg pretty quickly.

Click to view attachment

A guy at work said to find some one who works for ford and have them check an OAISIS report to see if it is a RAV reaquired vehicle. Here is the vin if anyone here can run this. 1FTSW30P54EB81580 Car fax will not always show cars that were buy backs.

I've had both 6.0 and 7.3 and I've still got the 7.3 if that says anything. I don't think the 6.0's are all that bad, just more complicated due to the tighter emissions standards.

There's a Truck website that has a section for submitting your VIN for an Oasis report. Someone does it for free, nice service. They also have a good forum for ownership impressions and problems they've encountered. The Diesel Garage

Thanks I went to the site and put the info on the report list. Ill check back in the AM over there and see what turns up.

My Dad has had the 7.3 for some time. No problems with it.

I've got the 7.3 and the only thing I would change is the automatic trans. It has not been a problem I just hate anything without a 'real' transmission. If it ever fails it will be replaced with a manual 6 speed.
With a few tweaks my 1 ton crewcab 4x4 gets 18-19 mpg city and 22 mpg on the freeway. My neighbor had a 6.0 and had several 'issues' with it and sold it last year and got a brand new one.
Steve

I had a ford F350 04 6.0 bought it new and had oil leaks and blew the turbo to the moon at 50k ......Thats why i now drive a 04 Dodge Cummins turbo got over 100k on it and not a single problem.And i pull big loads..........Knock on wood......04 Fords were junk IMO

Funny. I have an 04 with 95,000 miles on it. Most of them pulling 10,000 lbs.

When I bought the truck it had EGR issues, but I really haven;t had a problem since. No leaks, and no no breaking.

I have left the truck bone stock though. A lot of people fiddle with them and they are very temperamental to that.

I guess I got a good one!

No fiddle`n bone stock .....maybe i had a lemon ..but then i bunch o folks had lemons ....maybe you got a dependable one ...KEEP TRUCK`N

Yup. I know quite a few people who had Ford buy their lemons back to make lemonade. I just keep knocking on wood.

I will admit that when the 6.0 does go belly up, a 5.9 Cummins will be going in.

I have an 03 F250 6.0 PSD with 125K on the clock. A lot of that mileage is towing my 8500# trailer all over the east coast. I have had very few problems with the truck, just emissions recalls, and one other warranty item. The truck is a beast..it tows my trailer like its not even there.. though the brakes could be a little better. Change your oil religously.. (all 15 qts) it really makes a difference.


The 6.0 is really a complicated pieces of equipment, hence following the maintenance recommendations is uber important

I get 15-17 mpg around town, 20-22 mpg highway. and 12-14 mpg towing. It tows better than my friends 04 Dodge Cummins, gets better mileage than the cummins, and has a much better transmission than the dodge. The Ford tranny is a 6 speed, though it only uses 5 of the gears...actually its a 3 speed with 2 final drive ratios, and selects the gear based on load.



I run B100 in my truck every opportunity I can. If Bio is avalable I fill up with it. Bio has higher cetane than dino diesel

Though this truck has been great for me, when I buy another tow vehicle it will be a Duramax (Izusu) with Allison transmission.

Who is the guy who redid Arnolds hummers and a few others to run biodiesel.
He used (please tell me if I am right) the Duramax Engine and Allison tranny.

What is the package put in? Only Izuzu???

Rich

The Duramax is the Chevy GMC diesel option from the big three.

Ford=Navistar (International)

Dodge=Cummins

Chevy GMC = Duramax which I believe is a Isuzu industrial engine.

The Allison trans is sweet..

Cummins is the better motor !20% less moving parts then all the rest IMO but i do wish i could mate the allison tranny to it! those things are tuff as nails ...My brothers had alot of problems with his Duramax hes buying a 09 Dodge after two fords and one chevy........where only talk`n trucks here

You used to be able, and maybe still can, get a Cummins in a Ford from the factory....though it was in one of the heavy trucks. i.e. F450 and above.

I agree the Cummins is a simple engine compared to the PSD 6.0, which is one reason following the maintenance schedule religiously for the 6.0 is so important.

Any of the big threes work trucks will be fine..

So there you go Mr S.T.T..With out know ing the history of the maintanance on the Ford (vehicle report thing mite help )I would not purchase it.I have a friend thats a diesel mech here in T-town he drives a Cummins and thats why i do.Its the only ones that he does not see in his shop...Good luck