Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
i have learned more about the 6.0 powerstroke diesel that is in my
econoline in the last few days, than i ever wanted to know.....
here is the scoop for those of you driving with this engine doing the
pushing....
there are THREE major problems with this engine.
oil cooler
EGR cooler
head studs
they are all interrelated, as when the first one goes, it triggers
a cascade to create other problems.
the first and foremost thing you need to know, is that fixing this
stuff right is freaking EXPENSIVE.
enough so that i looked at trading in my vehicle on a new work
truck. i'm at 90,000 miles, and just paid the thing off, so you know
how bad it might be when i tell you i was looking at F-350's with
the new diesel, which, by the way, is hugely strong, and bulletproof.
and $65,000 the way it needs to be set up with a walk in service body.
that wasn't gonna happen in this economy. so now, comes the fix.
the van is worse than a truck, 'cause you have to completely remove
the engine from the vehicle to do the work necessary. doubles the
labor.
the root of almost all the problems is the oil cooler, under the manifold.
it's an oil to water intercooler, and plugs up with coolant sediment.
no way around it. sand from block casting is a huge culprit. you can
use coolant filters, but sooner or later, that thing is gonna get blocked.
this reduces heat transfer of the oil to the water, and reduces the water
flow to the EGR cooler, right next to it. that causes it to overheat, plug
with sediment as well, and pass on even less hotter water to cool other
things, like turbos, etc.
so, if you have over 40k miles on that motor, both those things need to be
replaced. if you are under warranty, ford will replace them with the same
parts, buying you enough time to get out of warranty. the repair of these
two things is $4,400 at the dealer. for a fix that doesn't solve anything.
mine lasted 90k miles, cause i'm fussy with service on the vehicle, but
moreover, cause i'm lucky. but not lucky enough, cause i'm out of
warranty when it went poop last wednesday.
there are a lot of people with fixes for this problem. the one i'm going
with, is from bullet proof diesel, of mesa, arizona. everything else is a
bandaid. this one solves the problem for good.
a remote oil/air cooler on the front of the radiator, with bypass oil filtering.
and a 316 stainless steel EGR cooler that can't plug up or blow out or rust.
now, the head gasket problem is not a head gasket problem, it's a cylinder
head bolt problem. the only solution that works is installing an ARP cylinder
head stud kit, which costs $500 for the stud kit. they also make an even
stronger head kit for competition motors, which is $1,300 for the kit, and
not needed.
there are aftermarket head gaskets claiming to solve the problem.
they blow out in a year, no matter what head bolts or studs you use.
use only OEM ford head gaskets.
if you fix those three things, the life of the engine should be well above
half a million miles.
so, what's it cost? for a van, right around $9,000.00 i'm waiting on the
exact estimate. probably about $7,300 for a truck, as you don't have to
remove the engine to pull the heads, but you do have to lift the body
off the frame. it's faster that way than doing the bobbing for apples
thing over the body and fenders.
so, you pay your money, and you make your choice.... but if i was
gonna pull the manifold to fix these things on a truck, i'd do the
cylinder heads at the same time. friend of mine didn't do that, spent
the $4,400 at the dealer for the same sucky parts, and six months
later, lost the head gaskets. all the labor was wasted, as it all had
to come apart *again*.
he traded it in on a dodge.
useful links:
http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/
http://arp-bolts.com/
econoline in the last few days, than i ever wanted to know.....
here is the scoop for those of you driving with this engine doing the
pushing....
there are THREE major problems with this engine.
oil cooler
EGR cooler
head studs
they are all interrelated, as when the first one goes, it triggers
a cascade to create other problems.
the first and foremost thing you need to know, is that fixing this
stuff right is freaking EXPENSIVE.
enough so that i looked at trading in my vehicle on a new work
truck. i'm at 90,000 miles, and just paid the thing off, so you know
how bad it might be when i tell you i was looking at F-350's with
the new diesel, which, by the way, is hugely strong, and bulletproof.
and $65,000 the way it needs to be set up with a walk in service body.
that wasn't gonna happen in this economy. so now, comes the fix.
the van is worse than a truck, 'cause you have to completely remove
the engine from the vehicle to do the work necessary. doubles the
labor.
the root of almost all the problems is the oil cooler, under the manifold.
it's an oil to water intercooler, and plugs up with coolant sediment.
no way around it. sand from block casting is a huge culprit. you can
use coolant filters, but sooner or later, that thing is gonna get blocked.
this reduces heat transfer of the oil to the water, and reduces the water
flow to the EGR cooler, right next to it. that causes it to overheat, plug
with sediment as well, and pass on even less hotter water to cool other
things, like turbos, etc.
so, if you have over 40k miles on that motor, both those things need to be
replaced. if you are under warranty, ford will replace them with the same
parts, buying you enough time to get out of warranty. the repair of these
two things is $4,400 at the dealer. for a fix that doesn't solve anything.
mine lasted 90k miles, cause i'm fussy with service on the vehicle, but
moreover, cause i'm lucky. but not lucky enough, cause i'm out of
warranty when it went poop last wednesday.
there are a lot of people with fixes for this problem. the one i'm going
with, is from bullet proof diesel, of mesa, arizona. everything else is a
bandaid. this one solves the problem for good.
a remote oil/air cooler on the front of the radiator, with bypass oil filtering.
and a 316 stainless steel EGR cooler that can't plug up or blow out or rust.
now, the head gasket problem is not a head gasket problem, it's a cylinder
head bolt problem. the only solution that works is installing an ARP cylinder
head stud kit, which costs $500 for the stud kit. they also make an even
stronger head kit for competition motors, which is $1,300 for the kit, and
not needed.
there are aftermarket head gaskets claiming to solve the problem.
they blow out in a year, no matter what head bolts or studs you use.
use only OEM ford head gaskets.
if you fix those three things, the life of the engine should be well above
half a million miles.
so, what's it cost? for a van, right around $9,000.00 i'm waiting on the
exact estimate. probably about $7,300 for a truck, as you don't have to
remove the engine to pull the heads, but you do have to lift the body
off the frame. it's faster that way than doing the bobbing for apples
thing over the body and fenders.
so, you pay your money, and you make your choice.... but if i was
gonna pull the manifold to fix these things on a truck, i'd do the
cylinder heads at the same time. friend of mine didn't do that, spent
the $4,400 at the dealer for the same sucky parts, and six months
later, lost the head gaskets. all the labor was wasted, as it all had
to come apart *again*.
he traded it in on a dodge.
useful links:
http://www.bulletproofdiesel.com/
http://arp-bolts.com/
A diesel mechanic was telling me years ago that the 6.0 diesel engine was a lemon, which is sad considering the good history of Ford & diesels. (Unlike GM). If the upgrades fix the flaws though, it would be worth it compared to buying a new vehicle if everything else is good, but still a bitter pill to swallow. I sniveled about $800 for upper & lower ball joints on my Dodge, but after 202000 miles cannot complain....
