How to make a Ford 6.0 Powerstroke Reliable.

[sawtooth4x4]

What are the best mods to do to the motor?

I've been doing some research, but want to know from actual owners. Mine seems to be running well. But I like to tinker, and I plan on using mine as a back country explorer.

Some of the weak points seem to be the EGR cooler and Oil Cooler? There seems to be varying degrees of opinions as to what to do to fix these issues. Mine is a 2006 and has been worked on in its lifetime. Overall its in good condition or else I would not have purchased it.

My questions are: Should I do an EGR delete, will an emissions test show it is missing? Do they do a visual check for it? Its pretty hard to see down in there anyway. What does it do for emissions? Does it really clean up emissions that much?

I plan on switching the oil out to Rotella T 5w40 synthetic. What kind of oil change intervals can I go to if I use synthetic?

I've worked on Diesels. But most of them were built in the 90's and in Semis when I worked in oil field work back in college. Nothing back then had all this EGR and Catalytic converter crap.

My truck is stock. I removed and sold the Edge CTS tuner that was in mine. I plan on buying a SCT Tuner in the next week or so. Then I want to get some 17 inch wheels and 35" tall tires.

 

[Cherokeester]

My truck is an 04. I have done the EGR delete because my oil cooler went as a direct result of the egr system. That was a major change on how the truck runs. EGT's are cooler now and I get better mgp. Your truck will not pass an emissions inspection with the egr delete kit however. Most emissions places do a visual inspection on the engine. After market exhausts are usually a reject too. I have had a head stud kit put in the engine which I don't think you need to worry about being an 06. The only other thing is the FICM or fuel injection control module. It sits on the left bank on top of the engine. Bad placement, the vibration kills solder joints and the ficm will go bad. Cold starts will not happen when the ficm has gone. If you need a pdf on how to fix those I can email it to you. I did fix my own because I am ok with a soldering gun. It saved my about $400.00. I'll post more when I think on it a bit.

 

[glockman]

I've had a few 6.0. I run Rotella T6 and change it every 5000 miles with Only Motorcraft filters.
I have had varying degrees of oil cooler pluggage, in fact my 06 currently needs an oil cooler.
Get a gauge, either a scan gauge or other electronic monitor. Watch oil vs coolant Temps. All my healthy coolers could maintain 10 degrees or less pulling 6k lbs.
Don't flush your coolant unless you plan to replace the oil cooler soon because it Will plug the cooler. Makes no sense but I've seen it several times now.
I've never done an egr delete but i have friends that have. If you do it, just pull the stock EGR and have plugs welded into the exhaust ports then reinstall it. This looks factory and keeps you from breaking your exhaust at the back of the block which is pretty common after deletes.
I run an SC on the 65 HP tow mode all the time. If I don't plan to pull anything I run the street tune but never run it hard. It gets the best fuel mileage.

I also run Walmart super tech 2 strike oil in the fuel and notice a big improvement in how smooth the motor runs. I run 1 Oz per gallon of fuel roughly. It really lubricates the injectors in my opinion which is good insurance. Oil and egr coolers are not too difficult to replace and can both be done for under a grand. Injectors are $.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[SLC97SR5]

Have you had the pleasure of dealing with the Davis County emission testing center?

I don't know how thorough they are with the visual but they do pop the hood and look at the engine. I'm running an IDI, so there is not much to see but it would suck to be rejected and have to reinstall the factory equipment.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Luckily I can register it in Wyoming if it comes to that. I have an address and drivers license there.

 

[SLC97SR5]

Luckily I can register it in Wyoming if it comes to that. I have an address and drivers license there.

With that said, delete away!

As mentioned, dump the egr cooler, upgrade the oil cooler and monitor your temps. If you are using larger injectors and pushing additional boost it is time for head gaskets and studs.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

i'll just keep it stock with a light tune. I'm not to interested in going crazy with it. i just want to make it more reliable. I haven't had any issues in the last week. I even drove it to Wyoming this weekend on a mini vacation. I got 20 mpg from Lander to Cody going 70 mph.

Although Diesel up here is between 3.95 and 4.19 a gallon. ouch. Thanks to Matt Mead and his stupid fuel tax hike of $0.10 / gallon

 

[KWight]

Mine is a 2007 and only had one owner, a 63 year old man, prior to me. It only has 115k miles on it and is bone stock. There has been no history of any of the 6.0 problems in the maintenance records of my truck. I have friends with the 2005-2007 models and only one had the EGR problem which was found to have been caused by the coolant not being flushed on time. The biggest thing I have seen is these need strict maintenance. I would like to hear how others have gotten higher MPG out of theirs as mine only gets 15mpg on the highway towing or not.

Kevin

 

[LT.]

There is another option to doing any deletes on your 6.0. Check out Bulletproof Diesel out of Arizona. They got their start by addressing all issues asociated with the 6.0. That way you can register your truck where you want and still improve your performance and not have to worry about the environmental police.

LT.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

i use cruise control a lot. and a light foot on the throttle. Its a lot easier to get good mileage when you can cruise in very light traffic.

 

[choptopbII]

swap a 12v in...