Is the Chevy 6.0 a good engine?
Overall, the 6.0 Vortec is a highly reliable and efficient engine. Such engines also last than 300,000 miles with little problems beyond routine maintenance. However, it will be likely specific non-engine maintenance and repairs, such as suspension parts, to make it to 300,000 miles. It is understood that the Vortec 6.0L engines outlast the rest of the truck by miles.
The 6.0L engine often gets dogged on for lacking strength, and it gets excellent marks all around. By merely comparing with the Duramax engines that were also available in the Sierra and Silverado 3500 & 2500 versions, now the Vortec 6000 is not the un-powerful engine.
While horsepower of the engine is comparable at 353hp to 360 hp & 365hp to 397hp, on 6.6L Duramax, the torque almost doubles that Vortec. The Vortec has a lot of acceleration capacity and towing potential with 373tq to 380 tq, & 660tq to 765tq.
A few bolt-on mods will give your stock 6.0L Vortec a good pick-up in power despite a lack of power.
Finally, gas mileage appears to be the only concern about these engines. These engines tend to get 10 to 12mpg, although some owners claim that it is up to 16mpg. However, this is considerably worse than its little brother, the Vortec 5300.
Chevy 6.0 engine problems:
The most common problem of the Chevy, 6.0-litre engine, is the failure of throttle body sensor. As a result, the sensor provides wrong airflow readings in the ECU. This sensor fails commonly and makes issues on the Vortec 6.0 engine.
It occurs irregularity in shifting, misfires of the engine, acceleration, lack of power, stalls in idle, jumping of RPM’s, rough idling. In the time of the failures of the sensor entirely, it is more common for the sensor to get gunked, or placed incorrectly, or clogged up.
Oil pressure, Oil consumption, and Active Fuel Management (AFM) problem affect all Vortec engines. The AFM occurs low oil pressure lights, and it also burns through the oil at the excessive rates.
AFM is a fuel feature, and it shuts off the 50 the engine cylinders for increasing gas economy in different driving conditions.
The knock sensor failure is a problem of the Chevy 6.0 engine. In the engine, it locates in the lifter segment under the intake manifold. A bad knock sensor provides poor drivability, acceleration, performance, rough idling, knocking noises, vibration and misfires.
The knock sensor has a pretty lousy sealant on it on the 6.0-litre engine that can allow water to penetrate the sensor. It corrodes the wires when water enters the sensor and causes the entire sensor to fail.
Though water pump failure is the common problem of Chevy 6.0 engine while at low mileage, it is an important issue; however, water pump problems become more common once you have reached the 150,000 miles.
You will almost definitely go through one or two replace if you are heading for the 300k miles mark. It occurs overheating in the engine that operates very high pressure, around the engine leaks.
As a result of water pump failure, the radiator of the engine produces steam, the water pump pulley is loose and making noises. Over time, the heat and high pressure on the inner parts will begin to cause normal wear and tear, causing them to fail.
Besides, the high pressure will cause the gasket to wither away, causing leaks from the water pump. You can get away the simple leak by only removing the gasket. But in case of, completely fail you have to replace the whole unit and gasket for preventing engine damage from overheating.
Another problem is exhaust manifold leaks that cause due to the complete breaking off exhaust manifold bolts. Air holes will open up because of the bolts break off, allowing exhaust gases to escape.
At startup, you will possibly note exhaust noises and some additional vibration coming from the engine.
If you have a small leak, as the engine warms up, it usually goes out, since this would allow the mental for expanding and plug the leak. If you have several broken bolts and a massive leak, however, you need to look at either using a several clamp repair or fixing the bolts.
After the breakings of the bolt, they become incredibly difficult to remove. So, because of this, using a manifold clamp is one of the most common ways to fix this problem.
