6.0 purchase considerations

[beaker]

I went to look at a 2005 SMB this morning. It is equipped with a 6.0L. The service records indicate usual 6.0 stuff like new FICMs, and an EGR valve cleaning. Turbo vanes cleaned once and inspected recently...reported moved freely. I ran KOEO and KOER tests in Autoenginuity, and it passed both tests. Injector contribution also passed. No oil in the degas bottle. It started well, ran well, and shifted well.

Here is what I didn't like:
The bed plate is weeping all the way around. My gut says to leave it, as I know it is an engine-out job. Bad decision?

I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about oil and fuel filter changes. They may have been done, but red flags are out there. There are some documented oil changes, but not every 5,000 miles. Based on some spans, I have to assume that changes were done an not documented, but....

The engine has an Amsoil dual-bypass oil filter on it. I've heard some negative things about this design returning a lot of oil to the pan, and starving the galleys for oil, with a good number of UOAs showing high wear. Is the dual bypass system problematic? Is it a disqualifier?

Knowing that there is an Amsoil system in there, and knowing that Amsoil has a history of promoting ridiculously long oil change intervals, would it concern you if the engine had extended drain intervals using Amsoil oil/filtration? There are a couple records of oil analyses having been performed by the first owner (no results were posted, though), so I suspect extended drains may have been the strategy.

The current owner does not know anything about Amsoil, dual filtration, or anything of that nature. I did note that the next recommended oil change, per the windshield sticker, is 10,000 miles in the future. Oil was low on the dipstick by the way.

Had this been a pickup, I would probably walk as they are common enough. SMBs are harder to come by and therefore I am wondering if I need to be less selective. The rest of the vehicle is in really good condition, and it is priced about $10k less than I would pay for the same vehicle with impeccable service records. I'm not sure that is enough to cover potential repair work though.

I'm saving the fuel tank concern for a separate post, but I'm curious on thoughts regarding engine. Is a $10k discount enough to mitigate proper maintenance concerns, or should I move on?

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by beaker

My gut says to leave it

Originally Posted by beaker

I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling

Originally Posted by beaker

but red flags are out there.

Originally Posted by beaker

Had this been a pickup, I would probably walk

Seems like you've answered your own question..

[Flux]

You're pretty knowledgeable on the 6.0l issues, so it becomes a question of your willingness to take a portion or all of the 10k and bulletproof it yourself. Even a well serviced 6.0l probably should probably be bulletproofed for the long haul in a camper like this.

The good side of this is you can have all the work done to your specifications and tune the engine and have a diesel monster. You might end up with a good deal still.

But if you are looking for the best deal and don't want to put any cash in it, then that is just a coin you gotta flip.

[winmag4582001]

Everybody has an opinion...
Mine, the 6.0 is one of the biggest POS motors ever built, even if you rework it. For what you will spend in time and money on the 6, it will make everything else you look at seem like a good deal.

[carringb]

I would take a 6.0 with the Amsoil system and extended intervals over any 6.0 with cheap aftermarket filters, regardless of interval.

That said, don't kid yourself into thinking that just because big money parts have been swapped once, doesn't mean you won't be doing it again.

"Proper" bulletproofing will definitely reduce the frequency of problems, but at the end of the day, its still a sensitive motor can can be taken out of service by single sensor.

[TheCarpenter]

Hell of an assumption but I would hope the first owner mantained it like he paid 75k for it, not sure how many have touched it after that? I've owned a 00' 7.3 that was the biggest POS that I have ever owned out of 20 vehicles and 4 diesels contrary to the cult following, friends with V10's have had mixed luck. I bought a 1 owner 06' SMB with a 6.0 w/70k and has been a pleasure so far, it will definitely get full bullet proofing as soon as my play money affords.

[beaker]

Thanks very much for the opinions; they are quite helpful. I have no illusions that anything repaired won't fail again, as my impression is that they were not upgraded components, but it buys time.

There is no question that it is a sensitive motor, but for a variety of reasons that are specific to my particular location and driving patterns, range is extremely important to me. We also maintain several hundred gallons of road fuel at home due to the inconvenience of refueling; I'm really not big on setting up a gasoline storage tank along side it; plus gasoline just doesn't store/age very well, in my experience

As troublesome as the 6.0 is, I can fix it myself...important since I am 135 miles from any sort of dealer. A Sprinter is appealing, but they develop their share of problems and the dealer-only diagnostics with only one Sprinter dealer in the state (230 miles away to boot) scares me far more than the 6.0.

I've decided that I will go to the Ford dealer that did most of the warranty work and ask them if they would give me an OASIS report; I'll make a decision from there, provided that they give one to me. My "local" dealer said they could not give me an OASIS.

[BVerhulst]

The 6.0 PSD is a leaky engine. The incredibly high pressure, plethora of gaskets (oil pan, bed plate, etc.), the HPOP, the notorious head gasket issues... the list of problem spots in this engine is long. And expensive to fix.

That said, every Ford I've ever had has irritated me to no end with leaks... but then, so have my Jeeps. And as much as I like my Duramax, it has a few weeps, too. Something I've come to accept; just the way it goes.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by beaker

...I've decided that I will go to the Ford dealer that did most of the warranty work and ask them if they would give me an OASIS report; I'll make a decision from there, provided that they give one to me. My "local" dealer said they could not give me an OASIS.

Years ago, I had some luck on Ford-specific forums (maybe it was Ford-Trucks, maybe it was one of the PowerStroke forums) about Ford techs on the site running an Oasis report or two for me. The potential downside though, is that an Oasis will only show work done at a Ford dealer and not independent shops.


Herb

[Tapatio]

Send in a sample to Blackstone to have the oil tested if you are concerned with abnormal engine wear.