Double check that warranty, the Ford 200k warranty  can only be bought if the truck is less than 5 years old and under 100k miles.

The transmission is good, but the engine is Ford's soft spot. 2003 was the first year for the 6.0L and many had major problems. My 2006 F250 with 6.0L has just over 100k and it's been in Ford shops in 4 states.

On the other hand, you can take the VIN # to a Ford service center and have them look the truck up on their Oasis computer program and you can see what service work has been done. If it's one of the few trucks that hasn't had problems, it may not since it survived 80K.

My 08 F450 had spent 22 days at the Ford place with 11 trips in but the Ford Oasis computer only shows 2 problems and they were both different. The can not duplicate or no problems found never make it to the Oasis program. That stays at the local level.

(On the other hand, you can take the VIN # to a Ford service center and have them look the truck up on their Oasis computer program and you can see what service work has been done.  written by Mr Truck)

I'd look at this site before I bought a power stroke.

I have a 2005 and it was terrible at first.  I thought it was good now, until I read this site.  There have been two lingering things that have never been acknowledged by Ford Dealers (well, one was by one good dealer but that is so far away and didn't know how to fix it.)

When he talks of the almost overheating - mine does that and I had mentioned it to the dealer I use now for work.  He ignored it - nicely, at least, but still ignored it. This website addresses it.

The other is that it gets 3 or 4 mpg more and runs like a Swiss watch for the first couple of days after it is connected to the Ford computer.  It runs well anyway, but it is amazing for that first two days after connection even if no work is done. 

I'll get the almost-overheating thing addressed now that I know how to address it.

http://www.powerstrokehelp.com/

The Oasis Ford computer program is linked nationally from all Ford service centers. But some dealers don't enter problems of vehiciles into it if they think they'll have a continual problem on some trucks and get dragged into arbitration. Thats not how the system is suppose to work, but with so many problems on the PS 6.0L, I know some dealers that did that. It's good to log the problems that were fixed at a dealerships incase that happens to you.

Ford has been good about fixing all the problems my 6.0L had under warranty. Had thousands of dollars in parts fixed just 3000 miles before the 100k engine warranty expired. I bought the extended 200k engine warranty but it's a crap shoot whether it will pay off.

I am a 2005 6.0L F350 DWL crew cab owner.

Ford gave me the 7yr/200K warranty after I screamed lost confidence.

I cannot stress enough that you should not buy that truck.  It was the first and the worst year of the 6.0L

But, if you’re stuck on the truck do yourself a favor and look for modifications that may have been removed.  This will be a tell tale sign that the truck has been pushed beyond its expected limits. Some may disagree but it is my opinion that an improperly tuned 6.0L does not help with its already hidden issues.

Crawl under the truck driver’s side and see if an EGR temp probe has been inserted into to header pipe right above the axel.  Look for clipped or capped wires on the driver’s fender next to the battery (this is where a tuner would have been plugged in).  Look for white residue around the coolant bottle cap.  Look on the hood above it and the frame below.  White residue indicates blown head gaskets.

If you’re still stuck, send 5.67 to this company and get 4 coolant test strips to test the coolant condition. This is a smart investment. 3 days to arrive and you can test it on the dealer’s lot.  http://www.acustrip.com/CTS-3_Retail_Order_Form.pdf a failed test will result in extreme flushing process to replace the specific Nitrite levels required.

Look to see if you have a small drip of oil hanging off the rear of the oil pan.  This may indicate a chance the bedplate is leaking (full engine and cab removal to repair)  or bad aging CAC tubes (blue tubes on turbo)  or sensor, oil rail, glow plug harness.  You name it.

How does it start?  If it starts rough or the fuel gauge does not snap up to level and or chugs the FICM could be failing. EGR valve may need replacing. Test the 4x4 there were many issues with the shift on the fly engaging. 

The right rear brake caliper may be dragging.  Ford had issues with the guide pins on their calipers and didn’t correct them until 2005.

Now for my favorite check. Look on the driver’s side towards the rear of engine along the valve cover, look to see if the exposed head bolt is a standard bolt top or a hex top with a nut spun down almost star like looking.  If you see this then the head has been worked and has been studded.  Not a bad thing. ARP studs are the best answers to the poor Ford head bolts.

Last but not least spend a few hours reading on this link. http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f23/

I had a 2003 6.0L  that I put 80,000+ miles on with a few minor problems that Ford took care.

I now have a 2006 6.0L that just turned over 100,000 miles. The last 2000-3000 miles before my warranty expired at 100,000, I had two problems. Replaced several glow plugs, and had a High Pressure Oil Leak.  These couple of repairs were covered under warranty, but would have cost around $2000 if I had to pay.

In general my truck has been a great truck. It has never left me stranded.

Good advice to check on the Oasis report. If the truck has had lots of warranty work done. I'd avoid it.  If it has pretty clean Oasis, Then consider it.

As mentioned the 2005 and newer have bigger brakes, a different front suspension that turns sharper, and seem to have few problems with their injectors than the 2003-2004 models.

Good luck in your search

Even getting the dealer to admit that the truck that was TOWED in after two weeks of ownership had a problem was a nightmare.  When an injector was bad the dealer said their was nothing wrong with it.  When it broke down with me *again* out of town, I took it to a different dealer and they changed the injector.

Ford let me down at every possible point and in every possible way.  My real recourse was just to sue them, and ultimately I decided not to.

I will never buy another new Ford vehicle ever, ever, ever.

So, I think you can get a decent 6.0 - mine seems fine now - except the almost overheating thing which the dealers will deny forever - and have recently dismissed.  But now that I know what that is, I can get it addressed.  I wouldn't give two cents for a Ford warranty actually so the ability to buy one isn't something i consider a good thing.  Yeah, they now have the money from their International lawsuit to fix this truck as I understand it so maybe they'll fix something and not stand there and tell you a truck that sounds like an out of balance washing machin is just perfet. 

I think I'm a bit hostile to Ford :)

1st with the truck cold remove the radiator cap and smell the coolant.  What you are looking for is any signs of oil or fuel in the coolant, then look at the cooler of the coolant.  It should be a red or pink color.

2nd after the engine is started remove the oil cap and pull out the dip stick.  You are checking for "blow by" smoke coming from either location.  With 80-k miles there should be no smoke coming from either location.  The engine should start right up and run SMOOTH, if the truck runs a little rough this could be an injector module (most of the time Ford will reflash the computer for free to fix this problem.

3rd test drive the truck and try to watch the tail pipe and see if there is any smoke.  A small amount of black/gray smoke is normal for these truck.  Blue or white color is a problem smoke.  Try and let the truck idle for about 10 to 15 mins after you text drive it and the temp. is up to normal.  (if these are going to be or has been problem truck they will smoke white smoke)  While the truck is at idle remove the oil cap and dip stick again.  This time you might see a light haze (nothing more and not pumping) out of the oil cap, but still should not see any out of the dip stick tube.  If this has passed so far before you turn it off idle the truck up to around 1700 to 2000 rpms for a few secs. while watching th tail pipe looking for smoke.  If you see a cloud of white looking smoke you have a egr cooler problem (about a $800 fix).

4th look for leaks around the back side of the engine and under the engine.  If there is leaks on the back side, this is just a sensor for either the oil of fuel (there is 2 back there)

5th if this has the 5 speed automatic, this is the best part of the truck.  If it has the 6 speed man. just make sure the gears are smooth while shifting.

Ask the owner for any records and fask if the egr cooler or oil cooler had been replace or not.  Find out if they ever had a chip or programmer on the truck or not.  If the truck has a custom exhaust system or aftermarket air intake there is a good chance a chip or proagrammer was added sometime or another.  Double check the 200-k warranty deal, never heard of that before.

Do not let the bad talks about these trucks get you down.  The 2005 I see post about on here was the worst of the 6.0 truck, most with weak turbos.  The 2003 was actaully one of the best 6.0s out, had the better egr cooler of the early models.  The post of the 2008 up models was a totally different engine all together and will have nothing to do with these trucks.

Sorry so long.  If you are located around North Texas, I would come check it out for you in person.  I have bought and sold MANY of these truck and most with well over 150-k miles and have very few with problems.

HTB

HP - The 6.0 does not have any problematic issues of leaking fuel or oil into the coolant.

The coolant should appear clear at first view, Ford gold coolant is required it should never be pink, red or green.   That is the reason I suggested the test strips.  If the wrong coolant is in there it can be a disaster.

I gotta take your side on the 2005 I have one and Oh man!  But I have read every article I can on the diesel sites and I can not label any one specific year except for the 2003 which brought on massive class action law suits against Ford.  Many fleets went down companies lost revenue and Ford had no idea what was happening.  IMO every modified  or every heavy hauler 6.0 seems to come up with major issues.  The go to market trucks are generally spared as the owner never heats up the truck to the range that will push the gasses out from under the HG thru the coolant system.

There was one issue on mine that went undiagnosed but has not happened again.  About five years ago, when it was brand new, the computer system related to the climate control, the lights, all of that simply would not work.  It didn't come on.  Several hours later, it just started working. 

Any ideas what was going on with that one?