When you’ve got a truck with a powerful diesel engine, you know how important it is to protect it. All that power creates a whole lot of heat. Outfitting your engine with higher quality parts could help combat excessive wear and tear when you put your engine through a hard day’s work. If you’re not sure what it means to “bulletproof” your diesel engine, you’ve stumbled upon the right article.
Take a few minutes to expand your knowledge about bulletproofing a diesel engine.
Table of Contents
- What Does It Mean to Bulletproof a Diesel?
- How Much Does It Cost to Bulletproof a Diesel?
- Do You Need to Bulletproof Your Diesel Engine?
- Can I Bulletproof Any Diesel Engine?
- Do All 6.0 Powerstrokes Need to Be Bulletproofed?
- How Can You Tell If a 6.0 Has Been Bulletproofed?
- Is It Worth Having a Bulletproof Diesel?
What Does It Mean to Bulletproof a Diesel?
What does it even mean to “bulletproof” your engine? Well it can mean different things to different people but generally the term “bulletproof” when referring to a product means that it is indestructible. When it comes to engines this means that common problem areas have been addressed and the engine is less likely to experience problems.
To officially bulletproof your engine, you have to use parts made by a company called Bulletproof Diesel. It makes a series of parts to enhance your diesel engine’s performance, safety, and durability.
Bulletproof Diesel is known for quality parts that address problem areas of specific engines, particularly around the EGR. The term is tossed around somewhat loosely in the industry, but a truly bulletproofed diesel engine has parts from this specific company installed under the hood.
Specifically, the process consists of replacing the water pump, EGR cooler, external oil cooler, and the fuel injection control module (FICM) with certified Bulletproof Diesel parts. These specific parts help the engine remain cooler and circulate more effectively. When you’re hauling heavy loads, you won’t have an issue with overheating your engine.
How Much Does It Cost to Bulletproof a Diesel?
If you have the work done professionally with bulletproofed parts, you’re going to pay in the range of $3,000 to $4,000 for parts and installation. It’s really a small price to pay for what those particular parts will do to protect your engine’s longevity. Upgrading your engine by bulletproofing it should stave off the chance of premature EGR or injection failure due to high temperatures inside your engine.
Do You Need to Bulletproof Your Diesel Engine?
Bulletproof Diesel focuses primarily on the Ford 6.0L, 6.4L, and 6.7L Power Stroke engines. These engines facilitate heavy-duty work. Unfortunately, they sometimes come with a few common malfunctions. Bulletproof Diesel set out to create parts that would “fix” what Ford had broken in the engine’s design.
The bottom line is that you don’t “need” to bulletproof your diesel engine for it to remain functional. However, bulletproofing your diesel engine will ensure the vehicle is in good shape for much longer. You’ll get more out of your engine if you take the time and spend the money to properly bulletproof the build.
If you plan to run any diesel vehicle for a long time or under strenuous conditions its always a good idea to understand what the common failure points are and improve them.
Join The Debate: We compared diesel versus gas trucks to determine Which Is Better for Towing?
Can I Bulletproof Any Diesel Engine?
You can’t really bulletproof just any old diesel engine. The company specializes in Ford diesel powerstrokes, but they do make parts for many other engine builds. However, they don’t make parts for every diesel engine out there.
You could do your own bulletproofing by investigating problem areas of the engine and improving parts. This is commonly done with the water pump, EGR cooler, external oil cooler, and the FICM with higher quality parts. However, true bulletproofing uses parts specifically manufactured by Bulletproof Diesel.
Do All 6.0 Powerstrokes Need to Be Bulletproofed?
Again, “need” is a strong word. If the vehicle wasn’t functioning properly, then no one would buy it. You can run your Ford engine just fine without bulletproofing it its just more likely to experience a failure. Bulletproofing the engine just provides a lot more confidence that the engine will run without critical failure for longer. Bulletproofing ensures that the heat of your engine won’t be its worst enemy.
Pro Tip: The downside to diesel is it can get stinky! Use these tips on 5 Ways to Get Diesel Smell Out of Clothes.
How Can You Tell If a 6.0 Has Been Bulletproofed?
The best way to know whether or not your diesel engine is bulletproof is to educate yourself. If you know what parts to look for under the hood, it’s as simple as popping the latch and taking a look. There’s a lot of information on the Bulletproof Diesel website that will help guide you through the process of identifying the specific parts needed.
Once you know what they look like, you won’t have a problem answering the question. If you don’t want to put in that much effort to find out, just take your truck to a local mechanic knowledgeable in the art of bulletproofing. They’ll be able to tell you whether or not your engine is bulletproof in just a few minutes.
Is It Worth Having a Bulletproof Diesel?
Perspective is a good way to decide whether or not bulletproofing is “worth” having done on your diesel engine. If you pay $4,000 for an engine upgrade and fortification, you may get several more years of use out of the vehicle.
If you think $4,000 is worth keeping that vehicle on the road well past its expiration date, then it’s worth it. You’ll likely save money in the long run. Do some calculations of your own, and decide whether or not bulletproofing is the right investment for you.
Do you have a bulletproof engine? If not, will you consider it? Tell us in the comments!
Become A Mortons On The Move Insider
Join 10,000+ other adventurers to receive educating, entertaining, and inspiring articles about RV Travel Destinations, RV Gear, and Off-Grid Living to jump-start your adventures today!
Read More From The Mortons: