# 2003 Ford 250 6.0 diesel, how to tell?



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

so they had a lot of problems right? witht that engine introduced in 2003.5, but VIN lookups do NOT say .5 or not so how do I know if this truck is suspect to have big problems down the road?


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

A lot of the vehicles I've looked at over the years usually have stickers on the radiator frame, sometimes on the underside of the hood or tags on the valve cover bolts, sometimes the stickers are on the valve covers, that being said, I've not been all that interested in newer vehicles, too much electronic nightmare stuff on them compared to our 98 F-250 7.3 diesel. All I know is that from what I've heard about the 6 liter diesel is to avoid it like the plague. You could call a Ford service department and tell them the VIN #, they should be able to tell you what engine it has. Good luck.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

6 litres were designed to fail, a common manufacturer theme over the years. 
head bolts are almost always an issue with a 6.0 that and having to take the cab off to remove the 6&8 injectors make them an engine that somebody else should own.
A used up worn diesel pickup can turn into a money pit and the repair cost very often exceed the value of the truck. :brickwall:


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## WSSps (Sep 30, 2016)

6.0's have a bad rap for sure. They can be "bulletproofed" though. The cab does not need to be pulled to change injectors. Head bolts are usually a problem on trucks that have been "chipped" or modified. If you put a "de-tuned" FICM in, you will probably never lose a head gasket. The main problem facing the 6.0 is the way the exhaust to the turbo is cooled using engine coolant from the radiator. Remove or block the egr cooler and all is well. The hi pressure oil pump is a tough one, usually about 125-150k they need to be replaced. While your in ther on the first HPOP, do a remote oil cooler. That will save time down the road The early 6.0's (03-05ish) had problems with sand still in the water ports from casting, this would plug the oil cooler in short oder over and over again. If you have that problem, youtube is your friend, they have flush vids showing how to get most of the sand out.

WSS


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

The "head bolt problem" on the 6.0's turned out to be improperly calibrated robots. Not ALL trucks faced this problem. if the head gaskets have ever been replaced, if done right (torqued properly) it will never be a problem again.

The 6.4 is far worse..... too many emissions stuff that fails.

It's pretty easy to make a 6.0 bullet-proof and then it's a 600,000 mile engine. There are definitely some maintenance items that get over looked often, and then the engine is blamed ... not the loose nut behind the steering wheel that doesn't take care of their truck properly.


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

LincTex said:


> The "head bolt problem" on the 6.0's turned out to be improperly calibrated robots. Not ALL trucks faced this problem. if the head gaskets have ever been replaced, if done right (torqued properly) it will never be a problem again.
> 
> The 6.4 is far worse..... too many emissions stuff that fails.
> 
> It's pretty easy to make a 6.0 bullet-proof and then it's a 600,000 mile engine. There are definitely some maintenance items that get over looked often, and then the engine is blamed ... not the loose nut behind the steering wheel that doesn't take care of their truck properly.


I couldn't agree more, good preventive maint. . like regular oil/filter changes using Shell Rotel 15w40, coolant system flush at around 50k, fuel filter replacement at around 25k, and like you said you should have a motor that will last for several hundred thousand miles. I have an 2003 F-250 6.0 turbo and (knock on wood) I haven't had any problems with the motor or really anything else for that matter. Oh yeah, it's a red crew cab so my Son named it "Clifford the big red truck".


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## BudMan (Sep 29, 2013)

After I retired for the third time, my wife decided she didn't like me hanging around the house to much, So i bought a 2006 Ford F350 lomg bed dually with a 6.0L turbo diesel and became an RV transporter for the RV manufacturers in northern Indiana. I put 200,000 miles on that truck until that 6.0L engine almost caused me to file bankruptcy. If it was blowing injectors, it was blowing the high pressure oil pump . I replaced every one of the injectors at least once and several of them twice. I had the extended 200,000 mile warranty and still spent $11,000 in repairs in 2008. Ford just recently finished paying off the $1.5 billion in settlement of the class action suit filed by the owners of all the failed 6.0L engines.

Sure, some of them can be made to run just fine but they aren't marked as such. Buy one and you're taking your chances.

Buy one with the 7.3L diesel. Totally trustworthy and virtually bullet proof.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Or if you just have to have a (Cough, Hack) four letter word buy one with a decent body and transplant a Cummins that the crappy wrapper fell off of


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

In 2006 I bought a new F 550 4x4 for my welding/tool truck. It was a screaming pos! I sold it when it 50k just because I didn't need the expense or the headache. I had bought a GMC 1 ton 4x4 with the dura-max which I beat the hell out of for 10 years with very few problems. The GMC had a hell of a lot more power and was a great work truck. I would never consider a buying another 6.0 !


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Ford stands for Found on road dead! The only decent engine they made was the first power stroke the 7.3, the followups are disasters. GM finally figured out how to make a decent transmission and bought the Allison. The dodge engines and transmission are awesome....... it's every other part that stinks! But if anyone here has a new diesel color me jealous cause I can't afford the 50 grand starting price for one! I will stick with my 120k mile yukon xl with the 6.0 gas. I just get to play with the new trucks at work occasionally!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Tirediron said:


> Or if you just have to have a (Cough, Hack) four letter word buy one with a decent body and transplant a Cummins that the crappy wrapper fell off of


I love the older 12 valve Cummins engines, and the newer ones seem to be OK.... But Cummins also had a bout with fuel injector problems in their "common rail", it wasn't just Ford.

The difference was if a Navistar injector failed, it wouldn't open.
If a Cummins injector failed - it failed OPEN - usually destroying the piston.

It took Dodge a long, long, long time to build a transmission that could handle the torque. I hear the problem never truly went away. I have seen some SPECTACULAR transmission parts failures from Cummins torque! There are aftermarket parts upgrades, but they're always expensive.


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