he means cetane booster not octane

 

Shaking my head at all the myths present in this thread.

Occasionally you hear of a 6.4L or 6.7L engine shutting down because of an EGT sensor failure. Other than preventing this specific failure exactly WHAT is made more reliable by tuning and deleting? The scary stuff involves cab off repairs, and there is NOTHING in this category that can be made better by tuning and deleting. Lots of folks like to justify their tuners by saying that though.

Fuel economy is another story, stock 6.4L trucks aren't very efficient. Those with tuners almost always see an improvement in fuel economy. I wouldn't run a hotshot with ANY modern pickup though; unless you will haul specialized freight that works better with a Super Duty you will wear out an expen$ive truck for very little pay in the long run. The cost of operating a medium or heavy duty truck is far less than that of a pickup when you consider commercial operation at or over 100,000 miles per year. Don't pass up the truck because it has a 6.4L engine; pass up the truck because a pickup truck isn't a good choice in this industry.

 

Tom, Advice noted and heeded. Thanks for the input, it's all appreciated.

Rande

 

I just bought an old IDI turbo, and after my research I think for me I bought the right work truck.

 

Well we can't always buy an old truck. eventually we're gonna have to move on with technology. Just like when i was a kid and they came out with the new emission laws and everyone in my class was saying i'll never have one with that smog junk, well they do and we do so life goes on. i'll end up with a 6.4 or a 6.7 the 7.3's are overpriced and past their prime. It's time to move on and embrace the new trucks and work
with what we have.

rande

 

Biggest problem on the 6.4's is that you will need to lift the cab to work on it. The regen-sootbag is another horror story.

 

I have a 2001 super cab w/7.3 with only 34,xxx on it I will sell. It just has a very large price tag. Just kidding I wouldn't sell it I know I have a rare find, but I do often what I could get for it.

 

Every single mechanic I have talked to has told me the new trucks are to complex meeting emissions. I mean they do make great power and they are nice but 50 or 60 grand for a work truck?

My brother inlaw bought a 6.0 and was not impressed. The beauty of a diesel is simplicity and they have completely wrecked that.

 

They never were simple; they simply use a very complex injection system rather than an ignition system. Guess which is more elaborate?

 

The newer ones electrically have allot to go wrong.

 

kicking on old thread for more input on the 6.4


I am driving a 2010 F250 6.4 (lariat) with 78000 on it. I bought it used in 2013 with 26K on it. Had warranty cooler work done and exhaust replaced at that time and no issues since. I had extended service contract which is now up so was thinking I might do a bit of tuning/deleting or something but now...


Looking at actually selling it and finding a 7.3 F350 and wondering if I am just getting "new truck" crazy...


It looks like I am going to start having to do a 700 mile round trip every weekend on top of my normally daily 15 mile hwy run, the truck is my daily driver. So instead of doing 10K miles a year looking like 3K miles a month. I don't haul heavy or often but occasionally pull a rented 26 foot toy hauler or car hauler. I don't need to drag race or get above 80 on the hwy. The wife requires leather and heated seats and I like a nice safe comfortable ride when I pack the family in the cab and the dogs and junk in the bed.


So any good info on cost of ownership and piece of mind (reliability)? I generally don't do my own maintenance if that matters...


Sell the 2010 before I start racking up the miles or hold what I got?

 

Do you need the truck for the weekly trip?

Econo-box will pay for itself at 2100-2800 miles a month with fuel savings. My '14 Focus get's 35+ on the highway while the truck gets 15, so I drive the car 80 miles a day the math works out for me. First Ford dealer I checked pulled up thee Foci for under 10k, 60k miles or less on them.

 

need is such a strong word. 90% of the time I don't really need the truck (like the normal 16 mile home to work with just the kids) but for that particular commute the dogs come with me and the two dogs together are 400lbs of fart making drool machines so they ride in the back...plus at my age (ok at my out of shape condition) the comfort factor of the 6 hour drive in the 250 vs 6 hours in car is worth a bit of extra money to me.

I really do rarely tow, maybe 4 times a year. Haul junk frequently. I suppose an F150 would really be the right answer.

I guess I should be asking...which is least silly of the two silly choices? Going out to find a nice 7.3 F350 or sticking with my current 6.4 F250.

Just to add confusion. I can get a 3 or 4 year 60,000 mile extended warranty for an additional 4000 which would basicly cover any of the major horror story repairs...

 

The true "cost" of repairs isn't just the service writer's quote.

It's the cost of downtime. The appointments missed. The credibility lost. The income not made. The disappointed family staring you down at dinner after that long looked forward to vacation was scrapped. The damage to other components done from the complete cab off, heads off, hold off for more backordered parts rebuild that was done by the one and only underpaid (warranty time), overtasked diesel tech in the dealership with a line of other newer diesel trucks waiting in the back lot to dismantle and rebuild for ticked off customers.

It's the cost of the tow. The cost of the rental car. The nights in the hotel. Or the flight home.

And the stress... stress from arguing with the service writer about what is covered. Stress from waiting for a so called "determination" from a higher up whose single sided vested interest is to deny, deny, deny. It's the time spent researching similarly situated people online who've had the same symptoms, the same problems, and what did they do about it. What was done for them? How much did it cost them? How much will this cost me? Will it happen again? Can I trust this thing to get me 700 miles and back again without a repeat of this. What is this? Stress. How much does that stress cost?

Yes. Everything breaks. But realistically, and in fact empirically, verified with nearly a decade of experience in this particular comparison... some things break more often, and harder, than others.

 

Thank you. That is good info to compare. Do you think that the age of the truck itself will cause other issues that out price the reliability of the engine in comparing the 7.3 to the 6.4s?