Hi,

Im in the project of buying a newer truck.
I've spotted a nice 2009 harley davidson f350 6.4 ccsb It has 118000 km about 72 000 miles
Its from a ford dealer and according the car report the previous owner was meticulous

I would delete the egr and dpf and add an air intake and a custom tuner
...only for reliability's sake ( wink wink)

I have read alot about the 6.4 but im not yet convinced of its reliability.

I'm DIYer, I know my actual truck inside out and i do everything myself

​​​​​Buying a newer truck worries me... and I can't afford a brand new 2017 diesel truck

I drive an 02 excursion with the 7.3 with about 200 000 miles. It has a dp tuner dor the last 80000 miles
The engine runs unbelievably strong but the previous owner did not take care of it.

It needs constant attention.
Since last october I Have been putting 800-900$ per month...HELL!! Thats about the same as new truck payment.

​​​So i consider replacing it

What do you guys think?


Thanks

 

Well, its almost like comparing apples and oranges. It depends on what your looking for. Have you driven a 6.4 truck yet? Compared to the 7.3, the 6.4 is much quieter, smoother, and tons more power, but is more thirsty. You also get a much better transmission in the 6.4 than the 7.3. Now, as far as reliability and ease to work on, the 7.3 kills the 6.4 all day long. The 6.4 is not as friendly to the DIY mechanic as the 7.3 is. You have the right idea of what needs to be done to the 6.4 if you buy one to make it more reliable.

Repair costs are another thing. 6.4 is much harder to work on and parts are higher $. The 6.4 is so crammed tight in the compartment that it seems almost everything requires cab-off.

In summary, IMO the 6.4 beats the 7.3 all day long in refinement and comfort and performance. The 7.3 Beats the pants off the 6.4 in repair cost, longevity, and simplicity. If money were no object and I can afford to pay a mechanic to do everything, than hands down the 6.4 wins. Since I am a poor DIY owner myself, the 7.3 takes the prize. To compare the 2 is subject to what you find is important. BTW, I have both a 7.3 and a 6.4 so I do have first hand ownership knowledge of both and they both are great in their own way.

 

I drive a 6.4 and a 6.7 on a regular basis at work

You ate right refinement wise the 6.4 is a whole.other game
I know they drive better, handle better, haul better

Want kind of repairs did you have to do on your 6.4 over the past years?

 

Biggest thing was oil cooler and I am getting ready to change rocker arms now. I had a lot of electrical gremlins that were intermittent that kept the dpf regenerating all the time along with many other electrical issues. It turned out that the 2 main harness plugs that are disconnected for cab removal were not making good connection, IMO the latch design on those plugs is poor. Putting tie wraps around to hold them tight solved the problem.

Now, I have friends with 6.4 trucks that have cracked pistons and other major engine problems with low mileage, but they all had big tunes or poor maintenance so I would stay away from those.

DPF regenerating is also a big contributor to the engine failures do to fuel diluted oil and #7 and #8 cylinder washing during regeneration. If you are able to find a 6.4 that was deleted when almost new, and did not have a performance tune, then I would say you hit the jackpot. I know owners that have 100s of thousands of trouble free miles under those conditions.

The biggest concern of any of the late model diesel engines is fuel quality. These engines are much more sensitive to fuel related failures than the 7.3. A fuel contamination repair can cost $5k to $12k. I don't know if it is the same in Canada, but here it seems like the auto insurance companies are starting to cover the repairs from contaminated fuel. It would be good to find an insurance policy that will cover that if you buy a 6.4 and save all your fuel receipts.

 

I ll call my insurance for that badfuel coverage

I try to stay away from deleted used trucks as they all seem to have big tune... i will look more into detail about what kind of tuner they got

Looking for a truck that was deleted early in its life seems impossible..as it would have void the warranty, right? Is there anybody rich enough to throw away a powertrain warranty?

 

I bought a 2008 f350 fx4 off road lariat with all the whistles. Crew cab. Beautiful truck and well maintained by PO. I also have a 7.3 E99 which is my love. The 6.4 is in the garage and my wife is in love with it (she drives it as her DD and sold her fully loaded avalanche after her first drive). It's my future truck and is being rubbed, washed and babied). I did the DPF and EGR is next. Like many, I can't pull the pin on a new truck just because they are absurdly priced. I wrench on all my own stuff as well and although intimidating to work on in comparison, I figured one day I would have to pull my pants up and make the move forward. I looked around because I wasn't under fire and came upon a SC truck that's spotless inside/out/under with 100k on the clock. All records were attached as well as a Carfax that showed no incidents or mechanical issues. I'm in Northern Michigan and this was sitting in a café parking lot (owner was here vacationing). I wheeled in and shook hands and they flew home. At this point, I'm doing as much reading as I can to overcome the challenge when presented to do major mechanical, however, in the grand scheme, it doesn't seem overwhelming if it should happen. I have the time and this could be the last truck for me because of my age.

Long story short, if you look at the number produced and the stories of owners with problems, there is a huge misconception that every one of them are problematic.

I waited til the right one fell in my lap and snatched it like a seagull on a French fry.

My 7.3 E99 has been with me for 219k. It has and is very reliable. But like all teenagers, there was a time for discipline and maintenance. I have no regrets.

Looking forward to moving into the 6.4 if I can pry my wife off of it one day, but until then I'll be right here learning and listening.

I ain't Skeared!!!

Denny

 

Yes, you're right. Deleting voids the warranty, but almost anything voided the warranty. I had to wait till the 5th birthday to get rid of the Motorcraft Gold coolant and replace with elc.

I believe that a high majority of the deleted trucks also have big tunes. I would say that since the dpf is so problematic on these trucks, many people have deleted them for reliability and did not program a performance tune.

I have read that these 6.4 trucks that were shipped without dpf to non-emission countries have not had all the problems reported with the same trucks here.

The 2009 KR you are looking at sounds like it could be a real good one with the low miles and meticulous maintenance.

When you ask your insurance company about the contaminated fuel coverage, ask if it is covered by the comprehensive insurance as non collision accidental damage. That is my understanding of how it is being covered, and not by any mechanical break-down insurance. The people I know that claimed this on insurance had to provide fuel receipts to the insurance company along with the service report from the dealer indicating water in fuel or contaminated fuel caused the damage. As long as you did not contaminate the fuel purposely, than it was by accident, right??.

 

The fuel thing is interesting. I'll have to look into that.

 

If you can hold out for a 6.7 that would be my vote. There are numerous improvements made in the 6.7 driven by 6.4 failures.

 

I've had 7.3L, 6.0L and now 6.4L. The 7.3L has been the most rock solid motor ever manufactured, just my opinion - though now that I own a high mileage 6.4L I could not be happier.

There are certainly horror stories on all of the platforms, best thing you can do is research and due diligence towards rolling the dice. It took me a while to accept the fact that the 6.4L is cab off for most procedures, until I read that it was designed that way and then all my fears went away.

Ranch truck, 7.3L is rock solid and can't be beaten.
Moms truck, she likes the 6.4L because it works and it is quieter.
For the folks with lots of time on their hands, non-2003 6.0L is a great hobby.