Greetings and welcome Belize,
I will offer you what I tell folks that ask me about a "great truck that has a 6.0" and should they buy it. Since I'm the guy in my circle of family and friends that has a 6.0 I get asked kind of regularly about a truck they found for sale.
First, I will take a step farther than Arctic Traveler and say, completely forget about the term Bulletproof. Unless someone is referring to the aftermarket parts company Bullet Proof Diesel in Mesa Arizona, the term Bullet Proof is a marketing term like "All Natural". It will be unnecessary with my recommendation anyway.
I say buy the van/truck with the PSD 6.0 only if
you and the vehicle meet either of these two options.
Option One :
The seller provides a complete list of receipts and documents laying out all of the reliability improvements done to the motor. This will probably be a binder or small file cabinet. Make a list all the shops that did the work and verify on the internet
by 6.0 owners that they are widely known to be good at 6.0's. This can be done with no mechanical knowledge and through forums like this one and ford truck forums. Then take that file to someone educated (which can be you if you invest the time) in
All of the parts and work necessary to make a 6.0 reliable and verify that
All improvement were
completed. Add up the costs the seller/previous owners paid. It should equal at least 8k$ up to 14$ to further confirm
All improvements were
completed. If all that can be verified on that vehicle then go ahead and consider buying it. However, and heads up, a seller that can verify all this knows they can, and will probably charge more for the van/truck than other 6.0 PSD "like vehicles".
Option Two :
And, the probable, more likely found vehicle out there for sale. Completely forget about any maintenance history on the motor. Assume nothing has been done, or if it has, it wasn't done correctly or done with inferior parts, regardless of paperwork.
Here is the big part of this option. Budget 12 -14k$ above the purchase price to have the motor work completed buy a 6.0 competent shop so your "new to you" van/truck meets the requirements of Option 1. This would mean either you have deep pockets (which is cool if you do, right on
) or your getting a screaming deal on the vehicle to start with. My van would be in this category although back in 2010 when I bought it, it was completely untouched any mechanic. Which is my preference as a novice mechanic for any vehicle. I have spent the money to make it an option 1 vehicle.
If either of these options don't suit you than I would recommend searching for one of the gas options. A final thought, if you choose for option two and decide not to spend all the money to complete all the improvements, your 6.0 will decide where and when you will be spending all the money for you.
- Eric