Any of you guys have the 2010 6.4?? its the late 6.4...

 

Yes I have a 2010 with the 6.4. starts up just fine when temps are below zero, pulls great, no issues.

 

Had one in an f550 service truck. Was in shop at least 4 times a year for engine related issues

 

All the 6.4's are problematic at best. No meaningful differences in the engines after the 08 job 2 revision.

The trucks themselves are sweet (nice interior, super dana 60 front, coil spring front suspension, disc brakes all the way around, boxed frame, all good stuff), but they are let down by the 6.4's reliability and high cost of repair. There is a reason that the 6.4 is widely thought of as the worst diesel engine ever put in a mass produced consumer vehicle.

Here's what I did with my 2010 F250 to help alleviate the 6.4 issues.

https://www.cumminsforum.com/threads...-swap.2540065/
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I heard all of this stuff when I was buying mine. I looked at the fact that they made 800k of these motors, and that there wasn't a meaningful recall effort on them, and concluded that it was worth the risk. My 'problematic at best' 6.4 has given me no problems, doesnt need DEF, isn't loud, doesn't smoke, and just rips right along. Of course, I take care of it and I don' t push it to the limit. There may be better engines. But I've had both the 6.0 and the 6.4 and neither was a problem for me. If you can afford a new one and all that DEF, go right ahead, I guess. But 'at best', this 6.4 owner is pretty happy so far.

 

I've personally owned two 6.4's and had family / friends with them as well. The 6.4 has a well deserved reputation of being an expensive to fix , pain in the rear to work on , unreliable POS , and that has held true for my two and the four others that were owned by family/ friends. There are even multiple diesel shops out there that refuse to work on them, some that even specialize in Ford diesels refuse to work on them.

When they're running they're great, smooth, lots of power, just a pleasure to drive and tow with, its the keeping them running that's the issue. The 6.4 is like a stripper, they quite working when you stop throwing $100 bills at them constantly.

I completely got out of the newer diesel game because of all the emissions related failures. Ford isn't alone either, the newer Cummins and Duramax engines suck too because of the required emissions equipment and the unreliability/ worse fuel mileage that results from the emissions equipment (still trying to understand how getting 9 mpg is better for the environment than getting 15 mpg, but I digress). I went back a few decades in technology to find an engine I liked. Now I have that same engine in three different trucks (two of which are Fords, replaced one 6.4 and one 6.0) and couldn't be happier.

So yes, the 6.4 is problematic at best (heck problematic is about the nicest way I could describe a 6.4 all the other adjectives that come to mind are not exactly family friendly).
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Here’s a quick video from the owner of a shop that specializes in ONLY ford diesels.

Now regardless of if you like this guy or not, he is a business owner that literally feeds himself, and his family, off the money he makes from working on Ford diesels. While this is just one small example, I think it speaks towards how well the 6.4 is received


PS. the video won’t show in “restricted” mode as he says a few curse words in it. So if you do watch it make sure no innocent little ears are around.
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I'm sorry you had that experience. I and a couple of other people on the thread have had positive experiences. The point i'm trying to make is-- like many other things in this world, you're not guaranteed a uniform experience every time. So based on your experience, you can say that you would not recommend this engine. But you *can't* say that all 6.4 are terrible and will fail. Not the best design? perhaps. Heck-- Navistar is STILL selling them for commercial applications, just not as engines for ford trucks. Yep, they are less reliable than some of the other powerstrokes out there. I'm less reliable than some of the other husbands out there. But I'm still a good husband.

 

The maxforce 7 ( the Navistar version of the 6.4) is significantly different. They even have a different design piston that is not near as prone to cracking as the ford design ( cracked pistons is one of the major issues with the 6.4 ). The only way I know to keep a 6.4 piston from cracking is to not drive the truck

Actually a few of the 6.4 PSD issues can be fixed by borrowing parts from the maxforce 7.

You are certainly entitled to think/ believe whatever you like (it’s still a free country for the moment at least) but the 6.4 is not less reliable than “some” other power strokes, it’s less reliable than “all” other power strokes ( including the 6.0 it replaced) and most other engines of any kind made after say 1985 or so.
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You are certainly entitled to think/ believe whatever you like (it’s still a free country for the moment at least) but the 6.4 is not less reliable than “some” other power strokes, it’s less reliable than “all” other power strokes ( including the 6.0 it replaced) and most other engines of any kind made after say 1985 or so.
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I'm not arguing the 6.4 is anything that its not. What I'm saying is that in my experience, its been solid for me, for my uses. It would not surprise me to know that the majority of 6.4 owners probably also have not had significant problems either. The problem with forums like this is, you get people who either have alot of knowledge or a little (never in between it seems) getting waaay too into the weeds on things, and then making a generalization based on those one or two things they know or have heard. Okay-- some cylinders have cracked. Some EGRs have gotten gunked up and caused other problems. And this happens more often on the 6.4 than on other engines because of the way it was designed. But it hasn't happened 800,000 times. It probably hasn't even happened 100,000 times. What I'm trying to explain is that, for whatever its weaknesses, its still a good enough engine that I, and likely many, many others, have not experienced these problems.

When it was time to buy a diesel truck, i couldn't afford anything that had the 6.7. I did some research on the 6.4 and concluded that while there was a non-zero risk to buying one, it was still worth that risk based on my needs and my proclivity to coddle my vehicles. So far, it has worked out fine. Thats my only assertion-- its not a feeling, its not an emotion, it just is.

 

So,,, you're telling me that all the professional shops that refuse to work on 6.4's are turning away business (aka money ) because they've all fallen victim to internet forum rumors spread by the uninformed ?
Is that really why you think professional diesel shops turn away 6.4's ?

It absolutely would surprise to me if even 25% , must less a majority, of 6.4 owners that have had and driven their truck for any length of time/ mileage "also have not had significant problems". Personal experience with four people (myself being one) that bought one of these things brand new, and one other person that bought one two years old with 30K miles. All five had major , engine replacement required type breakdowns , the longest lived one (my sisters f250 that was bought new) made180K miles before cracking a piston. And I was one of those betting on the 6.4 to redeem Ford from the 6.0 (that's why I bought one new, figured Ford would come out with something awesome so everyone would forget the 6.0 fiasco, but I was wrong and I paid dearly for it, king ranch price dearly )

There is not a majority of owners out there with no issues, there is a majority who gotten tired of the expensive repair bills and passed them on. Hence the reason the 08-10 trucks are so cheap compared to other trucks that are years older with more mileage. Everything about the trucks besides the engine is a home run, great chassis, great transmissions (both the ZF6 and the 5r110 are awesome), but the 6.4 engine is simply a flawed POS and most everyone understands that now.

While I hope you're the exception, I'd bet a decent bit of money that your tune will change with three years and 50K miles of ownership.
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You loose all credibility when you post a Bill Hewitt video.

 

Like I said above, doesn’t really matter if you like the guy or not ( I’m indifferent to him myself) , but he is the owner of a shop that specializes in Ford diesels.

Literally earns the money he buys food with by working on ford diesels. It says something when small business are turning away 6.4’s. And he’s not the only one turning them away, just the only one that recorded a whole rant about it and posted the video online that I could find easily.
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I wouldn't own one, but I drive a 6.0, so there's a little of the pot calling the kettle black here... To me, the 6.4 is like the 6.0's little sister - hotter, wilder, lots more fun, and exponentially more expensive.