any of yall have any experience or input on the an 04 or 05 F250? I'm lookin at two right now but have heard negative things about the motors in them...any 04-05 F250 owners here that can give me some input, good or bad.

thanks

Personally, I love the 7.3 and dread the day I have to part with mine. As far as the 6.0 goes, the 04 and early 05 models were the better ones. Just be real careful if you're gonna put a programmer on it.

i love mine, but i scares the hell out of me.
head bolts/ gaskets
egr cooler
oil cooler
fuel injecters

arp head studs fix the head problem
egr delete fixes the egr problem
told to do the oil cooler when you do the egr delete one has something to do with the other going bad
the design of the injection system causes the injecters to self destruct. the fuel side of the injecters is rebuildable but the high pressure oil side is the problem. it cant be rebuilt. if you get injecters but new not rebuilt ones

from what i gather tunes and hipo parts cause most of the problems, along with lots of weight

if you leave it stock and do the pm'S on time they hold up well

X2 on the ARP head studs are a must. Heck even both of my local dealers install them now (if you supply them) while doing warranty head gaskets.

X2 on the EGR delete. Anyone with some mechanical ability can do it.

One often overlooked problem with the ford diesels is the lack of regular oil changes. The injectors are operated by pressurized engine oil at 3K psi. Oil changes are a must for longer injector life.

Pretty good motor if you keep up with those most common problems. No notable difference between the 04-07 6.0L.

thanks guys this is exactly what i'm lookin for....keep it comin

fuel filters are a big one. low fuel presure to the injecters and running out of fuel are a big part of the injecter problem

Hunt4Deer got it covered.... SOme of the 6.0's you will not have an issue, some you may.... get an extended powertrain warranty if you can, because you gotta pretty much pull the cab off to work on the 6.0's

My old man has an 05 and once he had the EGR problems fixed under warranty he is up to 180,000 miles without any problems. This truck is used for daily/highway driving and a couple times a week does light towing (under 8,000 lbs). Completely stock except for tires.

I had the egr cooler go out after about 30,000 and then went out again about a month later found out it was the oil cooler that caused it. Im glad it was under warranty would have costed a pretty penny otherwise. I had deleted the egr cooler never had a problem since and I was pullin 32 foot goose neck horse trailers. I got 78,000 on it now and it runs great It scared me to buy one at first also I have a early 05 never had any other issues. I would deffinetly get rid of the Egr cooler.

Only buy a 7.3 dont do the 6.0.

03 F250 98k miles no problems. 5.4 gasser with the 6 spd manual. Drag a house.

I wouldnt buy a 6.0

Ive known too many people that have had nothing but problems with them.

Like others have stated, head gaskets, head bolts, egr problems and injector problems.

gonna hold out and find an 02 or 03 7.3....

was told by a guy at a hipo deisel shop that it cost about 4 grand to get 450 hp out of a 7.3. it only cost about 1200 to get that from a 6.0 . if it was as cheap to get the hp from a 7.3 as a 6.0 you would see more problems with a 7.3. not that the 6.0 doesnt have issues but they are not that bad and they can be fixed.

Got an 05 6.0. I have 68,000 on it and just had it in the shop for a minor oil leak at the turbo. Under warranty, cost me $100 bucks (deductible). I have a programmer (superchips) that I run with the fuel economy setting. I really don't see that big of a difference in mpg with it or without it and have been meaning to return it to stock for the last 6 months, just keep forgetting. I will say that it will friggin' carry the mail in the performance setting. I've heard tons of horror stories about the 04 6.0's but seems like they worked a lot of the bugs out of the 05 and newer 6.0's. Probably more dudes on here that can speak more knowledgable about it than I can. But, I haven't had any issues (other than the oil leak) since I bought it new in May 05.

Talked to the service guy at the dealer the other day (who owns a 7.3 with 275K on it) and he said he wouldn't own an 04-08 or any 6.0 for that fact. He said the 09 and 10's (specifically the 6.4L) SHOULD be ok but he's seen some of them with problems. He seemed pretty surprised when I told him that I hadn't had one issue with my other than this oil leak.

I know you weren't asking about anything newer than an 05 BUT...

he also mentioned that the 08-10's are getting awful mpg. Too the point that they had tons of customers across the country bringing them in asking them to fix them (most were getting less than 10 mpg's with the a few getting 12 at best that he'd seen). He said if you were considering a new one, hold out for the 11-12's in the 6.8L (I think...could have said 6.7L...new motor built by Ford...the 6.4 was contracted out (don't know by who). "Estimated" mpg of 19-21 on the hwy. I would have to see it to believe it.

There is also a new additive that will be required on all 10's rolling off the line this year. It is (I think) an 8 gal reservoir that holds some type of liquid friggin' gold that costs $8/gal. It is a new emission additive that is required by a new federal law on all diesels built after May 2010. Will require a change with every regularly scheduled oil change. Do the math on that one...

Hold on to your old diesels boys, they're appreciating as we type...

And concur with you Owen. Hold out and find you a good ole 7.3 or a 05 or later 6.0 that hasn't had one issue and has more than 75K on it. Going to be tough to find though. Folks just ain't getting rid of them.

Owen- Pick up a 6.4, ive got a buddy that has an '08 and with 70k miles, he hasnt had a lick of problems.

He pulled the DPF, and added a Spartan programmer, and he gets around 20-22. Coming back from North Dakota in December, he was getting 26 MPG!!!

http://powerstrokehelp.com/

Check this guy out, he is very knowledgable with the powerstrokes.
I have a 7.3 that I love.

Regardless of what you get... you will like the diesel. I just sold my black Chevy yall seen at Fausse point and got a Duramax. What a forkin difference. Took it out on the Hwy to and the DIC was showing 20 ish MPG.. I know the Bully dog tuner has the DIC innaccurate, But still 17-18 actual MPG is great IMO for a heavy ass 3/4 ton diesel truck.

I have an 08 F250 with a Spartan tuner. Running the 210 hp tune, I get 23-25 mpg hwy. And it's got incredible power.

I have a 7.3 diesel with intake and 4inch strait exhaust. Pulls really good. I used a friends new 09 powerstroke the other day on a job. Lets just say the truck was pimp but it did not have the torque my truck has at all. I will stick with the 7.3 for now.