Hello,i just sold my 05 cummins and im in the market for. New truck,i was looking to get into a 7.3 with a 6spd.strictly because of the simplicity and reliability,but i found a 08 f250 lahareit with 118k for 23,500.it seems like a good deal but im worried about reliability.thats why i moved away from the common rail cummins there way to finiky and there hard on injectors.so i dont want to get into another head ach,i will want to tune it up and delete the emissions junk.if i.do those things will i open a can of worms? thanks

 

There is no comparison between the 7.3 and the 6.4. Those older trucks are just plain gutless compared to the 6.4L. Take a test drive in an old 7.3L and then test drive one of ours and you will see the difference, especially in the turning radius which we all have probably forgotten about. When you read these forums, it's going to be focused on the problems with the trucks but when you realize just how many trucks are out there,,, the stats speak for themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are issues with the engines on these trucks but,, alot of the problems stem from maintenance or lack there of. These are just my thoughts as my truck is one of the earliest builds in 07. As far as mods go, it depends on the state and their regs I guess, up here I don't have to inspect anything so I'm deleting everything next month.
Sorry for the long post but even with the issues, I've had, I would not trade up or down.

 

These newer motors are nothing like the old 5.9 cummins or 7.3 powerstroke, the newer diesels from dodge, ford, and gm all have issues not so common on the older engines.
They need really clean fuel, good maintenance, and even then a failure might be more catastrophic than an older engine.
This is not unique to any brand, it's just the nature of the technology used on these newer diesels.

As far as tuning, I believe the 6.4 will put out more power than any other pickup with just an air intake, exhaust, and a tuner.

 

I moved out from my common rail 5.9 because they have serious injector problems.i put a 2mic fuel filter on my truck to prevent this prblem and i still had to replace them.luckaly i didnt burn a piston down. so ive been wanting to get into a 7.3 or a older 5.9 to avoid these very exspensive issues.i know there down on power in stock form but with a little work they can run very good. today i went and test drove a 08f250 xlt package with a 6spd! clean truck no rust decent interior.oil levle was a little high but not much.it didnt smell like fuel nor was it milky.the coolent was clean w no oil in it.started right up with no smoke what so ever.but i was dissapointed with the power,all my cummins had was a programer and i know it would out pull this truck in every situation.it just didnt have the torque or pull i thought it would.it ran nice and smooth,but it did have injector rattle above 2000rpm sounded like my old truck with the programer turned up.is that normall for these trucks? ohh the truck has 118k and there asking 23g for it..seems like a great deal im just very gun shy about these new trucks after having the issues i had with my old one

 

Ya the injectors can sound a little different during throttle changes.
What year was you're truck? All the 2008 + have exhaust filters on them, can feel boggy and sluggish.
Don't kid yourself, with a spartan tuner on it, it will put out around 600 hp and 1100 ft lbs of tq to the rear wheels. With the tuner, mileage also goes way up.

Are you planning to leave it stock, or mod it a touch?
Does it come with any warranty?

I got mine with 60,000 km on it for 33k canadian, 2 years ago. Very happy with it, no plans of trading it in or selling it.

As far as issues, its sort of like russian roulette. Ford guys love their fords, dodge guys love their brands.. etc..... but at the end of the day, any brand has good and bad days, and theres a lot of luck involved also.

IMHO the ford is the nicest truck as a whole, I've driven other brands and always felt like something was missing?

Is this sale from dealership or private?

 

I have an 08 as well with a dpf delete and Spartan tuner. Love i, and have not had any major problems. The common rail 5.9 in my tool truck has caused me more grief than anything I ever owned. Buy it!

 

The 08 will out pull the 5.9. When you hook up and tow with it you will see.

The 6.4 uses piezo injectors and they have a few low failure rate. They are not your concern.

Fuel quality it..as said before. With High pressure common rail fuel systems any water is not good.

But...buying from high volume stations and fuel filter changes every 10K miles and draining the fuel water separator frequently will help.

BTW the fuel system pulses up to 5 shots of fuel during the power stroke that is some of the reason for the strange noises you may hear.

 

Its from a dealership.but i would have to buy the warrenty.im very good with maintince n i still had issues with my dodge.thats why im scared to go even newer

 

To be honest the truck wont be worked.it will be a play toy.and i want to just do a tuner ehaust dpf delete and intake.and possibly egr delete.

 

it'll be an expensive toy.just be prepared. the fuel economy will not resemble anything close to what you were used to with your cummins. this may not be so important to someone looking for a toy like yourself,but for other 6.4l researchers,they need to know these diesels are thirsty like no other offered in the f-series.

 

My 05 cummins got 20mpg on the highway.these trucks with all the deletes wont pull that?

 

imho,you should plan and budget in for half that,at 10 mpg.
i personally wouldn't buy a 6.4l truck without budgeting for 10 mpg FE.
if i got more,fine (doubtful)
good luck.

 

I had my cummins for two yrs and i only put 40k on it.just want to put that in perspective

 

so you just need (really want imho) plan on $4.40 current fuel prices in NY is about the same for Maine right? it's going up a bit more i hear too.
so just plan on $4.40 @ 10 MPG @ 20k miles per year = $8,800 per year in fuel on top of the price of your truck,insurance,any mods,and maintenance.(so may get a more realistic 14 avg mpg per yr on the hwy.but that's still over 6 grand per yr.)
add it all up,figure out your realistic monthly price and you'll know if you can afford or want to pay for having a 6.4l truck for a toy.so out on the hwy your going to likely get better than 10 mpg,but budget for this and you wont strap yourself.
other 6.4l owners don't warn enough about how expensive it is to drive these trucks,because they don't like to realize the issue themselves,so by not bringing it up often enough here (i dont think) it helps them cope with their largest issue with these trucks.the problem with that is,other potential buyers are not getting warned ahead of time and caught off guard.they are expensive trucks to own and operate.

 

My life average is 11.5. But I tow alot and heavy as well.