Long Dong Silvers

2004 F-250 XLT 6.0L Powerstroke Crew Cab Long Bed

• ARP head studs
• bullet proof EGR cooler
• Blue spring fuel pressure regulator
• 285/75R16 Ironman All Country A/T tires
• BW turn over goose neck
• All aluminum radiator
• Rudy's aluminum CAC pipe

picked this one up right before Christmas. Goal is to have a long-term reliable truck that I can drive through winter and use to tow my Tacoma to/from the trails.

I bought the truck in December 2018 with only about 1000 mi on injectors, turbo, high pressure oil pump, oil cooler blah blah blah. We've all heard the story from previous owners I bought the truck for a deal expecting to have to make up the price (1/3 of one in mint condition) in parts and labor and I am definitely doing that as I discover how full of shit the PO was.

Her'es what it looked like when I picked it up





Of course I only made it a couple hundred miles before it started having issues where it was struggling to boost and not revving past 2000rpm. I pulled the variable geometry turbo off to clean it and discovered that it was very sooted and definitely more than 1200 miles old.




blah blah I ended up replacing the turbo with a new one after discovering that it also had shaft play and needed a full rebuild anyways





oh yeah, the y pipe was cracked and starting to leak and had some mystery damage on the flange from the previous owner so I replaced that too.





eBay all aluminum radiator



One of the mirrors was broken and another wasn't in the best shape so I upgraded to some 08-10 mirrors




I added an aux input FM modulator that I picked up from @JasonLee so I could play some tunes



Had a rear door apart to fidget with the lock so I added some sound deadener. Eventually I'll have all of the doors and firewall done



Front shock bolt was seized to the sleeve. Had to cut the shock and then the bolt on both sides to get it out. After replacing both front shocks and the sway bar bushings the truck rides and handles MUCH better.





How the truck sits today 4/3/19 with a brand new set of 285/75R16s. When I bought it it had a set of very dry rotted but new tread BFG rugged trails and I decided I didn't want to roll around on 16 year old tires at 80MPH

 

I'm in

 

What's next?


The most urgent problem is that the truck is leaking oil somewhere in the valley. I think the oil cooler or HPOP cover is leaking but I haven't torn into it. I blew out my knee so I have been keeping the oil topped off and driving it despite the leak.

I have sway bar end links, rear shocks, and a coolant filter that need to be installed.

I want to get the front windows tinted and am thinking I can bribe @Sub-Zero to teach me how to do it

 

shout out to @Mojlnir to giving me tons of info on the Ford 6.0L while I was searching and continuing to be a valuable resource as I work on it

 

aren't you supposed to ridicule me for owning a Ford?

 

Eh not really, I don't mind fords. Had an exploder for a bit. I can ridicule you for have a 6.0 tho if that helps

 

That's more like it!


I learned a lot about the common 6.0L problems and decided to go ahead and buy one because I still love the platform. Plus I didn't want to spend 10-15K for a 20 year old truck with the 7.3l

 

I ordered a muffler replacement off of eBay that was supposed to come with clamps but didn't. The seller has not messaged me back either. Since I'm not in a rush I'll give it a few more days before I initiate a claim with eBay/PayPal

 

Bobbed 4runner in the first pic?? I got rid of my 6.0. I loved it but it was due for all the soon needed work you are doing now.

 

Good eye, it was a bobbed 85 so it had the factory FI and solid front axle. I picked it up last fall thinking I would make a street legal side by side or something. If I'm being honest with myself it will be years before I get to it because of everything I want to do on the Tacoma so I actually just sold it about 2 weeks ago.

I have a love hate relationship with these trucks. They sound awesome and make a ton of power when the run right but are really mechanically finicky and intensive. An older 12v Cummins or 7.3L would have been nice but they aren't worth the prices they command here

 

I too have been looking for a truck to tow and haul heavy farm equipment. My father in-law has 600k miles on his F350 6.0L so naturally i did research on them and it lead to me this mechanic in Atlanta who knows EVERYTHING about the 6.0. Now just taking my time to find a reasonably priced 6.0

https://www.youtube.com/user/powerstrokehelp

 

Damn that sucks. I love my 4runner. I bought it 10 years ago and finally getting around to doing a SAS. Its an 88 22re. Got some 37s and working on the axle

Yeah everyone wants more than what they are worth for anything diesel.

 

That is a clean runner! what tires and gears are you going to go with?

My buddy has a clean 85 that I was thinking about buying because I have a 92 1UZ V8 donor sitting in my driveway but I decided to punt on that project for now.

 

hahaha I have watched a lot of his videos and I am not sure I believe everything he says but he wouldn't be so successful if he wasn't on the right track. Diesel Tech Ron has a TON of helpful videos about 6.0l tips and fixes so I would check out his channel if you haven't already. Unfortunately he passed away so he won't be releasing any new videos.

Good luck in your 6.0L search! These trucks are a ton of fun when they are running right

 

Thanks! I try my best to take care of her.

Do it!!! That would be so nice having all that power and not relying on momentum lol. I have Cooper STT Pros 37x13.5r17s that I just got from discount tire. I have 5.29s ready to drop once I start the SAS

 

Yes! I needed more videos to watch and learn. I love being able to work on my own trucks and equipment. YouTube is my go-to!

 

5.29s will be real nice, what lockers are you gonna go with?

I know what you mean, plus the shop rate for a lot of the work done on these trucks is insane.


New muffler setup hath arrived

 

Found the source of the oil leak, the oil cooler failed and was pushing oil out into the engine valley.

It looks like it was the original one, the
updated OEM cooler does not have the small indentations on the top. Usually when the oil cooler fails it lets oil into the coolant or vice versa so I guess I'm lucky there.

 

Different kind of front end Friday... New ball joints, tie rod ends, u joints, sway bar links etc for the front end.

Didn't make it too far in the teardown today

 

Just 3link with pan hard and bags and be done