Ford diesel 6.0 L

[racechaser]

Any Ford F-250 6.0 L diesel owners out there? What kind of MPG are you getting when you are towing??

[cruzr4-2]

11-12 towing
17-18 empty
Just got home from a 10,000 mi trip to the east coast. Overall average 11.3
Dennis

[azcamper]

9-10 towing flat land
not good going up to northern az
really good coming back down the hill !

empty (never have checked)

[cowboy_71]

11-12 towing and 15-17 not...

[100ton]

Originally Posted by cruzr4-2

11-12 towing
17-18 empty
Just got home from a 10,000 mi trip to the east coast. Overall average 11.3
Dennis

About the same as above. 13 plus in town when not towing

I need to keep the speeds under 60 mph to get the 12 mpg when towing.

2005 F250 6.0 4wd, crew cab, short bed
29' Crossroads Cruiser

Robert
Huntington Beach, California

[geondebi]

I am with all the above 10 maybe a little more towing and 18 freeway not. Love the power in the mountains and a little bit of mpg. However, cost of buying and maintenance is a little higher. So it is a trade off one way or the other.

[hbrand]

Have 2008 F250, with 30 foot 5th wheel, driving 55-60 mph I am getting about 14 MPG.
Without 5th wheel up to 20mpg.

[cruzr4-2]

Robert, looks like we have like outfits. Other than a couple offrustrating failures andexperiences with the engine I am very happy with the performance and comfort of the truck. 133K so far.
Dennis

[r2millers]

I too get about 19 unloaded on the road, 15 pulling my 25' boat, and 10 pulling our 32' TT.

The rule of thumb seems to be keeping the rpm's under 2k or under 68 mph for best mileage.

Always good to "drive it like you stole it" once in a while to ensure the VGT unison ring in the turbo stays free. Need to see around 26 lbs of boost.

No question about more maintenance costs but the peace of mind when driving makes it well worth it.

[concreteman]

I have owned the same year of truck as the rest of you folks and was wondering what kind of engine problems you have had? Injectors and head gaskets?

[r2millers]

Originally Posted by concreteman

I have owned the same year of truck as the rest of you folks and was wondering what kind of engine problems you have had? Injectors and head gaskets?

I had my VGT unison ring stick on my turbo at 80k. Showed up as an up boost condition. These stick quite often and You tube has several videos about them.
No other issues, just change fluids and filters regularly.

[carl]

I previously owned an 04 F350 DRW 4x4 with the 6,0l also. Towing my 36' fiver mileage was the same as others have reported. After two blown turbos and engine pull for oil leak repair in 60k, I parted ways with it. All covered by warranty thankfully! Now have 08 with 6.4l & mileage is a little less, but only have 20k on it as don't tow anymore.

[gone camping]

I to a previous owner of a 04 stroker went through 5 turbos and ford made it right for me.

[fhenn]

Being in the wholesale business I will not buy the first three years of production of the 6.0 but will buy the last several years of the 6.0. In my own Dodge I will add Diesel Kleen on every third tank of fuel and than add sea foam a couple time a year have had yet to have any injector problems turbo problems on any of the last three trucks

[avvidclif]

What you are saying goes along with what the salesman told me when I bought mine. I asked about the 6.0 and he said that Ford actually learned and the failure rate on the last 2 years of production was lower than the gas engines (5.4 etc). It was a moot point to me as mine is a 6.4 but still interesting.

[r2millers]

Originally Posted by avvidclif

What you are saying goes along with what the salesman told me when I bought mine. I asked about the 6.0 and he said that Ford actually learned and the failure rate on the last 2 years of production was lower than the gas engines (5.4 etc). It was a moot point to me as mine is a 6.4 but still interesting.

The early production 6.0's, 2003-4 replaced the 7.3 because of new federal emissions standards that the 7.3 couldn't meet.

Ford used the basic International engine but made "improvements" to lower production costs, like the cheaper high pressure oil pump (HPOP). The growing pains of the first two years caused Ford to include improvements in 05-07 which have reduced many of these problems.

Some things like the oil cooler, turbo design, and reduced head bolts, 4 per cyl vs 6 on the 7.3, also create issues such as blown head gaskets.

The biggest thing you can do to help the 6.0 is not add a tuner. These engines have plenty of torque for towing most anything, but many owners want MORE. Hence the head gasket issue.

With good maintenance and a little luck, these guys can go a long time. I have a Dashboss which helps me monitor engine data via the OBD port. I can see engine oil temps vs coolant temps which help to determine oil cooler problems, etc.

[greyeagle]

Trying to answer this question is liken to Peyton Manning answering to "what does Omaha mean".

10-12 towing - 15 to 19 - city or not, two lane blacktop or Interstate

Depends of whether you're on the east coast or west coast.
Up hill or down hill, in the upper mid west or south TX coast.
Wind direction 45* from the right or 45* left - direct head wind or blowing like you know what from the rear.

But, the most noticeable is whether the dome is highly polished or dull with bugs. The bugs really slow you down especially when the wind from the right at 45*