Powerstroke 6.0 liter prevention measures

[JsJs24]

TweetJamescb77, you may want to check into these things for your truck too. I have been doing a lot of research on the 6.0 liter since I have one. Also, because I don't like any of the new diesel engines and it is evident that the true diesel days are over. Therefore, I will be driving 6.0 liters for the next several years unless I they find a way to get the diesel sound out of the new ones some day.

For those who are interested, I found what I believe to be the most knowledgeable mechanic for Ford Powerstroke engines at www.powerstrokehelp.com. He has plenty of videos covering virtually everything about the 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 liter engines. He addresses all of the major problems with the 6.0 liter and says that it is a great engine if taken care of and even better if you do the mods to prevent some of the more serious problems from occurring. One thing he mentions of course is the aftermarket head studs. Now, most people out there recommend ARP studs, but he recommends H11 A1, however from my research either would be a great choice but H11 is one step up in strength from A1.

I called a diesel mech today who owns his own shop and used to work for Ford as an instructor for Diesel mechanics, thus I believe he would do quality work. He said he would lift my cab to do the work and does not recommend pulling the engine since it risks banging up your truck getting it in and out. His price quote was $2,200 total including parts, labor, and tax and also to replace the fuel injection control module, which is also a problem child. I wanted to get a quote because people say it costs $4,000 to 5,000 which is ridiculous. Well, if you go to Ford they may charge that much, so I decided to find another place to do it. The good news is that he did not recommend I have it done until there is a problem with my gaskets. He said almost every single truck he has done the heads on was tuned to extremely high HP and Torque settings, which stretches the head bolts. I just feel better now knowing that I can have it done for a somewhat affordable price.

Another thing the guy on powerstrolehelp talked about is tuners and he recommended Jody from DP-Tuners. Well, today I actually talked to Jody on the phone. This guy is famous in the powerstroke community and is the only guy the powerstrokehelp.com owner uses for his personal tunes. Jody recommended that I go with a light tune for economy driving which will yield 80 HP to the wheels and will not affect my heads as long as I install the EGT and Boost gauges to keep temps in check. He doesn't think I should get the tuner with the 3 different stages on it for fear that I will want to try the race stage and end up blowing my heads. He said if I do the head stud replacement then I could opt for the stronger tunes and add them to my tuner. Thus, the 1 stage tuner he recommended for me is only $379.00. He will send me a blank tuner so that I can plug it into my truck and get the factory setting I currently have. Then, I send it back to him and he takes it and uses my style of driving and matches me up with a tuner setting that he has already used for similar drivers or in other cases of extreme driving habits he will customize a new tune. The 3 stage tuners he offers cost around $525, so the $379 is a nice price.

I also asked the diesel mechanic about my gears since I am having a lift kit installed. He said no way should I change my gears and that Ford's gears are among the best out there and virtually indestructible. The 4 inch lift is not nearly enough to require changing the gears according to him, and he also does gears and transmissions so I figure he was a good source. The only concern he had with a lift was doing the work on my engine, but 4 inches is fine he said. It sounded like he would have charged more if I had a huge lift because it would have been a pain to work on.

Hope this is helpful for anyone with a powerstroke. I was worried that I never could get a tune for fear of ruining my engine, but powerstokehelp.com actually recommends a good tune, but from someone like Jody that makes custom tunes. The 80 HP tune will increase my fuel mileage by about 3 mpg, which is awesome to me. He said most of the power will be at mid to high range, but some low range power too. I'm really looking forward to the tuner and will keep you posted with the results.

[jamescb77]

Tweetsounds good man keep us updated. You may also want to look into a full EGR delete. It helps save the motor as you are no longer send exhaust gasses back into it. If you dont' want to do the delete right now you can do what im going to do and with the motor off you can unplug the valve. This will make a CEL come on but with your tuner it will turn it off. Talk to your tuner about doing this so he can make it part of the tune. Looks like you have a great plan let me know how that tune works for you man.

[rc10j1]

TweetI had my 6.0 with straight exhaust no muffler no cat, aftermarket intercooler and air breather, and a race tuned programmer. I could smoke my 38's off the line. I never had a problem with my headstuds. You either get good ones or bad ones. He was right about not changing them until you blow a head gasket. I've seen just as many stock 6.0's headstuds fail as modded ones.

[rc10j1]

TweetI also had a hydraulic steering ram, you could turn the 38's with one finger sittin in the driveway idling. Man I miss it, I totaled it in a wreck.

[deepsouth]

Tweet

Jamescb77, you may want to check into these things for your truck too. I have been doing a lot of research on the 6.0 liter since I have one. Also, because I don't like any of the new diesel engines and it is evident that the true diesel days are over. Therefore, I will be driving 6.0 liters for the next several years unless I they find a way to get the diesel sound out of the new ones some day.

For those who are interested, I found what I believe to be the most knowledgeable mechanic for Ford Powerstroke engines at www.powerstrokehelp.com. He has plenty of videos covering virtually everything about the 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 liter engines. He addresses all of the major problems with the 6.0 liter and says that it is a great engine if taken care of and even better if you do the mods to prevent some of the more serious problems from occurring. One thing he mentions of course is the aftermarket head studs. Now, most people out there recommend ARP studs, but he recommends H11 A1, however from my research either would be a great choice but H11 is one step up in strength from A1.

I called a diesel mech today who owns his own shop and used to work for Ford as an instructor for Diesel mechanics, thus I believe he would do quality work. He said he would lift my cab to do the work and does not recommend pulling the engine since it risks banging up your truck getting it in and out. His price quote was $2,200 total including parts, labor, and tax and also to replace the fuel injection control module, which is also a problem child. I wanted to get a quote because people say it costs $4,000 to 5,000 which is ridiculous. Well, if you go to Ford they may charge that much, so I decided to find another place to do it. The good news is that he did not recommend I have it done until there is a problem with my gaskets. He said almost every single truck he has done the heads on was tuned to extremely high HP and Torque settings, which stretches the head bolts. I just feel better now knowing that I can have it done for a somewhat affordable price.

Another thing the guy on powerstrolehelp talked about is tuners and he recommended Jody from DP-Tuners. Well, today I actually talked to Jody on the phone. This guy is famous in the powerstroke community and is the only guy the powerstrokehelp.com owner uses for his personal tunes. Jody recommended that I go with a light tune for economy driving which will yield 80 HP to the wheels and will not affect my heads as long as I install the EGT and Boost gauges to keep temps in check. He doesn't think I should get the tuner with the 3 different stages on it for fear that I will want to try the race stage and end up blowing my heads. He said if I do the head stud replacement then I could opt for the stronger tunes and add them to my tuner. Thus, the 1 stage tuner he recommended for me is only $379.00. He will send me a blank tuner so that I can plug it into my truck and get the factory setting I currently have. Then, I send it back to him and he takes it and uses my style of driving and matches me up with a tuner setting that he has already used for similar drivers or in other cases of extreme driving habits he will customize a new tune. The 3 stage tuners he offers cost around $525, so the $379 is a nice price.

I also asked the diesel mechanic about my gears since I am having a lift kit installed. He said no way should I change my gears and that Ford's gears are among the best out there and virtually indestructible. The 4 inch lift is not nearly enough to require changing the gears according to him, and he also does gears and transmissions so I figure he was a good source. The only concern he had with a lift was doing the work on my engine, but 4 inches is fine he said. It sounded like he would have charged more if I had a huge lift because it would have been a pain to work on.

Hope this is helpful for anyone with a powerstroke. I was worried that I never could get a tune for fear of ruining my engine, but powerstokehelp.com actually recommends a good tune, but from someone like Jody that makes custom tunes. The 80 HP tune will increase my fuel mileage by about 3 mpg, which is awesome to me. He said most of the power will be at mid to high range, but some low range power too. I'm really looking forward to the tuner and will keep you posted with the results.

Excellent post! I ran the Edge Evolution in my last Powerstroke and when I did the rersearch and told them I want safe reliable programmer that wouldn't tear up my truck- thats what several recomended. I hear ya on the Head bolts, when your running 20-22:1 compression ratios, it puts a ton of stress on them. If you rememebr back in the mid-80's when GM tried their first gas conversions to diesel, that was the problem they ran into(blowing the heads off the block).

[JsJs24]

Tweet

sounds good man keep us updated. You may also want to look into a full EGR delete. It helps save the motor as you are no longer send exhaust gasses back into it. If you dont' want to do the delete right now you can do what im going to do and with the motor off you can unplug the valve. This will make a CEL come on but with your tuner it will turn it off. Talk to your tuner about doing this so he can make it part of the tune. Looks like you have a great plan let me know how that tune works for you man.

Been considering deleting it. Will it still pass emissions with it deleted?

[jamescb77]

Tweetit should still pass all emisions as long as they don't do an obdII port test. If they do an obdII port test i would recomend just unplugging it that way you can plug it back in and you will also have to detune for emissions. Im going to just unplug for now since mine is still under warranty.

[JsJs24]

Tweet

it should still pass all emisions as long as they don't do an obdII port test. If they do an obdII port test i would recomend just unplugging it that way you can plug it back in and you will also have to detune for emissions. Im going to just unplug for now since mine is still under warranty.

Unplugging it sounds good. Then, I assume it will no longer recycle exhaust gases into the turbo? Are you saying I need to tell Jody to detune it on the SCT? Also, where do you unplug the EGR at?

Thanks

[pigmeat]

Tweet

Unplugging it sounds good. Then, I assume it will no longer recycle exhaust gases into the turbo? Are you saying I need to tell Jody to detune it on the SCT? Also, where do you unplug the EGR at?

Thanks

hope your not talking about disabiling the wastegate...good way to burn something up if not careful

[jamescb77]

Tweet

hope your not talking about disabiling the wastegate...good way to burn something up if not careful

NO no no definitely not the waste gate and the egr are 2 very very different things.

It's on the front of the motor i will get you a link to it Js

[JsJs24]

Tweet

NO no no definitely not the waste gate and the egr are 2 very very different things.

It's on the front of the motor i will get you a link to it Js

Thanks. I just talked to Jody at DP-Tuners and he recommended I do the entire delete. He said I should be able to do it myself so I'm gonna look into it.

[daved150]

Tweetgreat thread....thanks for the info guys

[JsJs24]

TweetWell, I just ordered the SCT Livewire tuner/gauges, pod, and egt thermocouple. I had the tuner overnight shipped so I will install it on Saturday. I will be doing a custom tune through Jody at DP-Tuner but may hold off until I get delete the EGR. In the mean time I am going to run the econ tune that comes preloaded. I have heard nothing but good things about the SCT so I am not concerned. The SCT tunes include one custom and 3 preloads all of which do include shift points. The sales rep who by the way has a 6.0 powerstroke and sells all of the products told me that SCT is the ONLY tuner company that will actually do a custom tune for you if you call them, and the only company that allows custom tunes on their tuners. I wasn't aware of that, but I never looked into tuners much previously.