Looking at 2008 with 45800 miles on it. It was sold new in march of 2009 and then sold to owner 2 with13k 3 years later in march of 2012. He had it until august of th is year and traded it in to the dealer I am working with. Is there anything I need to check on this truck or be concerned about. A little gun shy with the 6.4 after my 6.0 expierences and leaning towards a 6.7 but that requires me to buy a higher mileage less optioned truck. Any thoughts?

 

I would check the following:
1. Engine Hours (if hours are in line with the miles should be around 1700-1900 hours)
2. Pull a car Car-fax
3. If the dealer is selling it ask to see a full copy of the OASIS report. Make sure the vin of the truck your looking at matches the oasis report.

Take a good look under the truck make sure there are no oil leaks, just a bedplate repair could hit the pockets deep 3,000-4,000 to repair better to catch it now and use it as leverage in the deal. Make sure the cat and DPF are there and that the tail pipe is clean. I have seen some of these trucks that where traded where the previous owner left the old tune in and never put the dpf or cat back thats about 2800.00 to replace these parts, again something to catch now not later.

The miles are very low(suspesiously low) this could be bad or this could be good for you. If the miles are correct and you can verify proper maintenance was done this could be a good deal providing the price is right. If the truck drives good no leaks or other issues i would have no issue doing a 6.4 again i love my truck.

I would strongly consider a ESP(extended service plan) maybe leverage in the deal as well.

If you start looking into it and find anything out of line that leads to milage not being accurate i would walk.

I little more work and evaluation at this point can save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Good luck and hope this helps.

 

Miles appear to be correct from my research so far, and I should have a oasis today. I will check bed plates, DPF and cat are there, and appears regen works as I drove it for a weekend and somewhere in the 300 miles I seen the cleaning exhaust filter message. I am going to get prices on a ESP today but if I delete the truck the warranty would be void and I am considering doing the deletes on it. What should typical mileage be if I don't delete it? The price is a little high with sales tax and everything I am looking at 33000, and can't get them to move off that as they claim to have 29800 into the truck and are marking it up 1000. Bought many vehicles from them and they have always been straight with me but unless they messed up I can't believe they have that much in it. I guess mostly I read of so many similarities to the 6.0 that it makes me nervous I am buying another money pit/ headache too. Probably over analyzing it.

 

If everything checks out as far as oasis report....that's a hell of a steal! I paid 32k last year 2008 lariat 4wd cc swb with 52,000 miles... mileage is a little weird...hard 2 see someone paying that much money for a truck then only driving it 9,000 miles a year...but who knows I've heard crazier! I bought the ext warranty too but after a few months canceled it...had the truck deleted and it's been almost 25k miles with no issues! As far as comparing these motors to a 6.ohhh I think the 6.4 is far superior...just my 2 cents! I've loved every minute of owning this truck....a truck with that kind of miles here in Florida would go for high 30's.

 

This ones an xlt, kinda optioned weird which is why I think it sat on the lot until March of 2009 before being sold new. Which also contributes to the low miles. The one thing I found weird was the original owner who only put 12000 miles on it in 3 years(not unusual for a farmer up here though I suppose). Second owner had it a little over 2 years and put 30000 miles on it so that seems to be average.

 

The 6.4 does not typically "self destruct", in many cases it is aided in destructing by operator who do not understand the requirements of the new emissions controlled diesels and use them for the wrong type of service, neglect maintenance, etc. Properly operated and maintained the 6.4 and other emissions controlled diesels do just fine.

Now if you are looking at a used one, you have to be concerned about it's useage and maintenance prior to your purchase. Unlike pre-emissions diesels the post-emissions diesels can go bad very quickly if they are neglected or are used for all short trips.

The problem with assessing a used post-emissions diesel is that much of what you want to inspect is not readily visible. On the 6.4 you would ideally want to inspect the following:

- Lower HFCM fuel filter and housing for signs of gunk buildup, and to ensure the filters have been changed.

- Upper fuel filter, looking in the bottom of the housing for signs of rust spots or metal flakes both of which can mean expensive fuel system repairs.

- The water pump back housing for signs of cavitation damage.

- Coolant nitrite test to see if the coolant has been maintained properly.

- Used oil analysis on a sample with ~5k miles on it.

- Check for signs of leaks at the radiator hose connections and the radiator itself.

Since a used vehicle at a dealer has probably recieved a basic service with new oil and filters, some of the information you want will not be available at all.
Clearly the water pump housing can not be inspected in any reasonable fashion. The lower HFCM filter and housing can't be inspected without draining a quart plus of fuel and making a mess so it's not easily inspected.
The upper fuel filter can be inspected fairly easily with a flashlight, wrench and a container to rest the filter in when removed. This is one inspection you should absolutely do since a high pressure fuel pump and injectors is a good $8k repair.
The coolant nitrite test is another quick and easy test you can do, clip a test strip on the end of a long hemostat and just dunk it in the coolant degas tank, wait the 45 seconds and compare the color chart. Most dealers probably won't change the coolant on a used truck so it your nitrite test shows under 300ppm nitrite, reject the truck for neglected maintenance.

My standard maintenance recommendations for the 6.4:

If you have not owned one of the newer emissions controlled diesels previously (any brand), be aware that they are far more dependent on proper maintenance than earlier diesels.

Key 6.4 maintenance items:

* Oil changes every 5,000 miles, with quality oil (synthetic recommended), used oil analysis (Blackstone) for every change. Use only Motorcraft oil filters or the Racor (OEM) equivalent.

* Fuel filter changes every 10,000 miles. Use only Motorcraft FD4617 or the Racor (OEM) equivalent filters.

* Coolant nitrite testing at least every 15,000 miles. I recommend every 5,000 miles at the same time you do the oil change for simplicity, the test strips are inexpensive. Do not be confused by the test directions warning not to sample from an overflow tank, the 6.4 does not have an overflow tank it has a degas bottle. The degas bottle is part of the coolant loop with constant circulation so it is a valid testing point. I do not bother "taking a sample", I simply clip the test strip on the end of a long hemostat and dunk it in the degas bottle to test. If the test is below 800ppm and above 300ppm add two bottles of VC-8 additive. If below 300ppm the entire coolant system must be flushed with VC-9 cleaner, rinsed well and refilled with new coolant.

* Cooling system flush with VC-9 and refill with Ford Gold coolant every 60,000 miles, sooner if you have neglected testing and the nitrite is under 300ppm.

* Use a quality fuel conditioner such as the Ford PM-22a/23a conditioners at every fueling. They add lubricity to the fuel, something that ULSD is lacking in which helps protect the high pressure (up to 26,000 PSI) fuel pump. They also help to reduce soot production which results in less frequent DPF regens and less fuel dilution in the engine oil.

* Drain the HFCM water separator monthly. The fuel drained can be poured back into the tank carefully leaving behind any water at the bottom of the collection jar (normally very little). If the water separator drain does not flow well or at all, it may be clogged with either parafin blobs or with bacterial growth. In either case at a minimum the drain valve cover needs to be removed and the clog cleared. If the clog is significant the HFCM cover needs to be removed for full cleaning. If the clog is white and waxy it's parafin and not a significant issue. If the clog is brown or similar and more slimy it is bacterial growth and the fuel tank should be "shocked" with a biocide such as Power Service Bio-Kleen which should not be confused with their Diesel-Kleen.

* The truck should not be used for all short trips and stop and go traffic. The 6.4 and other emissions controlled diesels need regular longer periods at highway speeds to allow proper DPF regeneration and to get to proper operating temperature to help reduce fuel contamination in the engine oil.

* The latest PCM flash (11B23) does not provide continuous indication of when a DPF regen is taking place, it does however add much improved engine monitoring for developing issues. Over time you will get to recognize the subtle changes, but I recommend adding something like the ScanGauge II which will allow you to monitor the DPF temperature which is a clear indication that a regen is in progress when over ~600F.

* Avoid shutting the truck down with a regen in progress. If you have to, run the engine at high idle for a few minutes in park before shutting down to allow the turbos to cool down to normal temperatures before shutdown. If you are interrupting the regens you will see it in your Blackstone report, otherwise you should see very little fuel dilution, <1%.

You should also absolutely get the Ford ESP extended warranty, any repairs to the 6.4 are expensive and a single big repair can easily cover the cost of the ESP warranty. The coolant nitrite testing that many people overlook *is* in the owner's manual diesel supplement, so if you neglect it Ford can deny warranty coverage for resulting damage.

Other Super Duty maintenance items:

* Batteries - The batteries in these trucks are not the maintanence free / unmaintainable type, pop the caps to check and top up with distilled water periodically.

* Change transfer case fluid every 60,000 miles.

* Change rear differential fluid every 50,000 miles on DANA axles (F350 DRW and up).

* Change transmission fluid and filter every 60,000 miles on Torqshift transmissions (100k on manual transmissions). If you have the early Torqshift with the external filter the interval is much shorter.

Resources:

Coolant test strips - Buy the 4pk, not the bottle of 50, the strips have expiration dates and you'll only need <10 per year. Most dealer parts counters should have the test strips, NAPA has them, or order direct from Acustrip.
Ford Rotunda 328-2050
Ford Rotunda CTS-3 3-Way HD Antifreeze


The Ford Rotunda 328-2050 (CTS-3) series of test strips provides a fast and simple manner for testing SCA and freeze point in antifreeze coolant. Test your coolant frequently to protect against liner pitting, corrosion and coolant dilution. This three-way test strip measures Glycol, Molybdate and Nitrite. The Specific ranges are as follows:
Nitrite 0 - 3200 ppm
Molybdate 0 - 1000 ppm
Glycol 0 - 60%


Used oil testing - Blackstone Labs, get the pre-paid 6pk of test kits to save a few bucks. You don't need the TBN option:
Order Now

Ford ESP extended warrantys - You can buy them online from real dealers, or use the online price from a real dealer to negotiate a better price from your local dealer. You absolutely want the ESP, while the 6.4 is not problematic as some claim as long as you maintain it properly, nearly any repair is big $ and one good one will cover the ESP cost:
Ford Extended Warranty | Genuine Ford ESP | Discounted Pricing

DPF, oil, coolant temp monitoring - ScangaugeII, you will need to program the X-gauge commands for the 6.4:
ScanGauge - Trip Computer + Digitial Gauges + ScanTools
Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Specific : Linear Logic : Home of the ScanGauge

 

I already have a scan gauge to monitor my 6.0. Is there anything I should use it for to check before purchase on a 6.4?

 

I suppose you could check for any stored codes even if the MIL light isn't on. If you are able to take a test drive long enough to warm it up, you could look at the oil/coolant temp differential which should be <10F, but during the first 10min or so as the truck warms up the differential will be greater and that's normal.

The coolant test strips are an easy check that will show if the coolant has not been maintained, but it won't really tell you if it has not been maintained but was just changed.

 

I can for sure take it for a long ride, I will probably pick it up and check some of the stuff you mentioned, when I had the truck last I had it for a weekend so it's not an issue with the dealer to take it for a duration to check stuff.

 

Ok got the oasis, the only thing that jumps out and concerns me is at 29878 it was in for" runs rough will not go over 55 and cleaning exhaust filter light is on" the tech said they pulled p0088 code and updated to latest pcm flash. That was April of 2013 and is the last entry on the oasis report. Any comments or thoughts on this. Only other stuff was a belt tensioner at 9000 miles and a few recalls before 50 miles when it was sitting on the lot for a year.

 

I have an 08 crew cab king ranch with only 43000 miles on it. Completely stock and monitor with a scan guage. I only really use the truck for towing my 5th wheel and some weekend errands. (Thats my story for the low miles) Love the truck but i am seriously considering upgrading at the moment. I can say stock if you really baby the throttle you will see 13 city and 17 hwy. Towing my 12500 fiver i get 10 all day long. The p088 code that comes up i believe is related to the hpfp. If the code comes up there is a flash update for the tolerances in pcm, if it still returns after flash update then i believe you must change out pump. If its been over a year and 10000 miles later it sound like it just needed the update. Hands down the best truck ive ever owned and had it appraised at dealer and was very pleasantly suprised at how much value this truck has retained. Goodluck

 

Is the trans in this the same as what's in my 2005. I know there both torque shifts, but did they make any upgrades or changes?

 

Couple questions. I am going to pick the truck up tomorrow and check these things. If the coolant is below the 300 how bad is this. Is it devastaing to the life of the truck. Obviously I would want to get it taken care of immediately but has the damage already been done. Thus is just a "just in case question" also should I plan to buy a coolant filter for this truck or is it not necessary on a 6.4?

 

If the coolant nitrite is below 300 that tells you three things:

1. There is a higher probability of cavitation pitting damage in the engine, particularly the coolant pump back cover which is known to pit through allowing the oil and coolant to mix (bad). This cover was even redesigned with a new anti-cavitation tab at a key low pressure point in the flow path.

2. Nitrite under 300 is indicative of a lack of attention to detail in maintenance. The nitrite testing is noted in the owner's manual diesel supplement, and Ford can absolutely deny warranty coverage for neglected nitrite testing damage. If the nitrite testing was not done, you can't have much confidence in proper oil and fule filter change intervals, use of oils better than the cheapest on the shelf, non OEM filters which have been known to cause issues, etc.

3. The dealer didn't do much of an inspection before offering the truck for sale.

The vast majority of 6.4s are not running a coolant filter and there are very few reports of any sort of issues that a coolant filter might prevent. The 6.0 had issues with plugging the oil cooler, you rarely ever hear of an oil cooler issue on a 6.4.

 

Ok I will see what it tests, the napa I stopped at only had the package of 50 test strips at 28 bucks so I will have tontry else where. You say the dealer may have them?