6.0L Ford Power Stroke Engine - Every 6.0L Problem Solved

The crew at Diesel Tech also noticed that '05-model high-pressure oil pumps seem to have the most issues (with the pumps themselves, anyway). This trouble can be anything from leaking seals to complete failures.

The branch connectors running from the high-pressure oil pump to the oil rails break on occasion in all model years.

According to Elite Diesel, early 6.0L injectors often experienced stuck or sticking spool valves, although it can occur on any model year engine. Depending on which position the spool valve gets stuck in, too much oil can be allowed to flow in from the high-pressure oil rail (stuck open), or not enough oil can flow in to activate the injector (stuck closed). Midway through the 6.0L's five-year production run, Ford phased in an FICM re-flash called "Inductive Heating Flash" that fixed sticking spool valves in the injectors.

The '03 model years seemed to have had the worst fuel injection control module (FICM) issues. Apparently a lot of '03 model trucks came back to the dealer for FICM reflashing when a pilot injection feature, which was intended to reduce engine noise and improve emissions, would create timing problems on hot start-ups. The result of this was a rough-running, loping idle. Later-model 6.0L FICM calibrations didn't have this pilot injection feature. Another issue, which can happen to any model year 6.0L, is that the internal circuit boards in the FICM burn up--and FICM's aren't cheap. Notice the designation written on the FICM in this photo (Bad).

Another problem common on all years of the 6.0L are wear and chafing of the injector harnesses and FICM harnesses. When the wear gets through the wiring cover, the harness is toast and needs replacing.

According to the guys at Diesel Tech, everything has a breaking point, be it a Power Stroke, Cummins, or Duramax. The owner of this 6.0L was obviously not easy on the truck. Poor tuning with extremely high cylinder pressures led to this catastrophe. The fact that the engine had already received ARP head studs couldn't keep a rod from coming through the block.

Here's a look at the valve slap that occurred on the top end of the engine above. According to Loren Taylor of Diesel Tech the engine was turned up courtesy of a poor tune from a programmer and spent much of its life in the 4,000-rpm range--a bad combo for any engine. The owner said he started feeling a high rpm vibration several hundred miles before the rod made an early exit. The point here is that no diesel engine is indestructible, because even when the proper measures are taken to ensure longevity, bad tuning can ruin anything.

This is another engine that was at the mercy of its operator. Left on its hottest tune, this 6.0L was given the task of towing and working and only lasted 5,000 miles after receiving an ARP head stud install. As a result of too much timing, the piston became the weak link, and cracked. It's important to run a tune that matches your driving habits--like not towing 10,000 pounds in a race tune. We should also note this in no way designates a 6.0L's pistons or rods as a known weak link, because everything has its limits. In fact, with spot-on tuning, we've seen one of Elite Diesel's 6.0L Power Strokes make more than 700 hp on stock pistons and rods.

We also discovered this failure while at Diesel Tech: several hairline cracks (black marker lines) along the exhaust valve ports on the driver-side cylinder head. Proof once again that improper maintenance and operating abuse can cripple any engine.