Ford truck engine
If you have felt the pain of owning a Ford truck with a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine, than it is comforting to know the built in problems have been eliminated at the factory or if you buy one of the reconditioned and upgraded 6.0 Liter engines that a competent company has refreshed. Finding the company that builds confidence in it's customers by only selling reconditioned and upgraded 6.0 Liter engines is not that hard. If you want to take my advise go to GotEngines.com.
Lots of folks have been bitten by the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine bug. The ones with built in problems that the factory knew well about, but would not admit or take care of until tons of complaints were levied on them (Ford Company). Only then did they admit to some built in problems that need to be taken care of for free by the dealer.
The factory would not admit to the problems for a long while. As the trucks with the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine option started to pile up at the dealers with a lot of angry customers demanding an explanation.
factory defects
The problems with the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine line ranged from spark plugs blowing right out of the heads to serious fuel injector problems. Some of the other built in problems had to do with weak internal support components like pistons, rods and crankshaft issues due to making more power with less cubic inches or liters.
Almost anytime you modify a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine to produce more power, the built in problems show up in abundance if the built in problems are not eliminated. this is because more stress is being put on certain critical parts and those parts can't handle the extra power without eliminating the built in problems.
One of the 5.4 liter Ford engines with the built in problems still in place blew a spark-plug out of its hole with so much force it dented the inner firewall. The problem is that the factory does not use a metal insert in the aluminum headed spark plug hole. Apparently there are not enough threads in the spark plug holes from the factory to stop a spark plug from blowing out periodically. They should metal insert the spark plug holes from the factory, thus eliminating these type of built in problems.
Another issue with spark-plug blow out is the factory recommended 100,000 mile tune ups. I would expect the plug threads to last longer if one removed and replaced them every 20,000 miles and used an anti seize compound and a torque wrench to re install the plugs.
Realistically speaking the factory should admit the problem and metal insert the spark plug threads. FYI, Harley Davidson figured this out many years ago when they had the problem, Harley figured it out fast and fixed it.
late factory used Ford engines
If it comes down to needing a replacement 6.o liter Ford diesel engine, I would do my research first. It would be like shooting yourself in the foot to buy another 6.o liter Ford diesel engine full of built in problems.
That being said there is probably not much cost difference either. The way GotEngines.com insures that a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine comes withot the built in problems is to do some homework. New and rebuilt engines have engine codes on them that represent when they were built. Some of the later models of these motors are updated from the factory. But finding reconditioned and upgraded 6.0 Liter engines is easier if you do business with a company that outperforms the competition by doing the homework first.
Realistically speaking, only a top notch-on the level company sells reconditioned and upgraded 6.0 Liter engines that you don't need to be concerned about. You will feel like you stayed in a Holiday Inn last nite. Much Smarter!!
Not to say the other manufacturers do not have problems with engines and transmissions that have built in problems. but the evidence and amount of complaints levied against Ford for the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine outnumbers the other manufacturers by quite a large figure.
The great thing is that modern technology and qualified engine remanufaturing company's have all but eliminated the built in problems, form the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine family. Therefore giving you the ability to purchase one of the reconditioned and upgraded 6.0 Liter engines and keeping your confidence level high in terms of your engine.