6.0 Life Expectancy

TraceyAZ · 01-19-2012, 12:20 PM

Just curious as to what someone could expect for milage numbers out of a 6.0?
More exact a 2007 6.0.
There has always been a unwritten loar of diesal engines making 300,000. miles and Im sure its true of some makes and models but what about the 6.0 Ford diesals.
My appoligies if this subject has been beaten to death.

Ford_6L_E350 · 01-19-2012, 12:29 PM

A lot depends on the maintenance the engine gets. This engine needs clean oil and good filters. Some of the aftermarket filters can damage the engine. And short trips (<20 miles) are hard on any engine. Drive it till it is fully warmed up, then shut it off. Monitor coolant and oil temps.

Properly maintained, 300,000 miles is reasonable.

Mike

IheartDieselVans · 01-19-2012, 12:33 PM

There are certainly some exceptions, but my observation is that since Sportsmobiles are mostly recreational vehicles, they don't accumulate the milage that other daily use vehicles do.

I'd recommend calling in sick to work for a few days, and spend the hours reading some of the diesel forms that are inhabited by the 6.0 truck users. It's the same engine, and for every 6.0 van out there there are a hundred F350s. From what I've read, they seem to go 300,000 easily, but not without good maintenance.

http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/genera ... iscussion/
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum107/
http://powerstrokenation.com/forums/for ... y.php?f=10
http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f23/

Ford_6L_E350 · 01-19-2012, 12:44 PM

It maybe the same engine as the F-Series, but the state of tune is different. F-Series 325HP, E-Series 235 HP. As a consequence, the F-Series have a lot more problems with head gaskets, warped heads, plugged EGR coolers and oil cooler issues.

Remember, International made the engine, and it has 235HP in IH trucks. Ford upped the power in the pickups and has had many reliability issues because of that. Engines in vans have less HP and less stress and have had many fewer issues.

I guess that is another point - leave it stock for best reliability.

Mike

IheartDieselVans · 01-19-2012, 03:48 PM

That's a fantastic point, and I'm sorry I didn't remember it myself!

What's more, it seems the majority of the people posting on those diesel forums are tuning their 6.0s, pushing for even more HP. It doesn't entirely surprise me that they encounter problems.

To the OP, you have a 2007, and several 6.0 issues were addressed by Ford at that point. Here's an interesting article that describes some of them.

http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/0907 ... ewall.html

As Ford_6L_E350 states, some of the problems are more truck specific, such as ARP head studs and the like.

TraceyAZ · 01-19-2012, 04:58 PM

I should state that I don't officialy have any engine right now. Ive been looking for an SMB for some time and I might be getting closer. Ive been offered a few different ones and it seems that they are all 2006 or 2007. I just have not found anything newer than 2007 for sale anywhere in the floor plan and top that Im looking for. Some of these have some good amount of milage on them and I just don't want to be re-building an engine right after a purchace so that is why Im asking about the life expectancy of these engines.
Thanks for the help guys.
TraceyAZ

EMrider · 01-19-2012, 08:28 PM

My working assumption is that the motor will be one of, if not the, last thing to wear out on my SMB.

I can only imagine what the seats are going to look like when I hit 300k miles.

R

webbmac · 01-19-2012, 08:59 PM

You should get a ton of miles out of the engine without a rebuild. The PO of my '04 6.0 SMB got tagged for $20k by Ford to replace the engine at 140k miles (I bought with 48k miles new engine, so I have a lot of time before rebuilding). I really can't imagine what would have caused that other than a hungry dealer. I have the receipt and the diagnosis says, I kid you not, "Internal problem, recommend replace engine." I think the early problems were exacerbated by this kind of bumbling by ignorant/dishonest dealers. I have another $15k in receipts to back that up.

Yes, there can be ticky tack problems with the engine that seem ridiculous in this day and age (bed plate and HPOP leaks), but a rebuild/replace should be out of the question for effectively forever.

Design is way too complicated for what it is, but extremely heavy duty engine at the van's tune.

UJOINT · 01-25-2012, 07:46 PM

Just hit 100K on mine today, no issues so far. I don't know about 300K..... would be nice!

carringb · 01-26-2012, 12:46 AM

For 2011 M.Y. diesels, the Dodge-Cummins is rated for 350,000 miles. The Ford comes in 2nd at 275,000 and the Duramax at 200,000. The last gen DuraMax was rated for 250,000 so it's clear the extra power came at the expense of the longevity. I believe the pickup 6.0 was actually for 250k, so the new Ford diesel is an improvement. Since the vans got less HP, they no doubt have a longer expected lifespan, but I have no idea what it is.

But as we've seen with the newer diesels.... It's not the motor itself that wears out first.... Some of the external components cause catastrophic engine failure when those external components misbehave. And usually the damage is done when the driver tries to keep going long after the symptoms start.