I'm not trying to stir the pot, but give you a heads up. Several years ago in a previous position, we ordered a 2008 F-550 4WD Crew Cab with the 6.4L Powerstroke and the automatic. Duty was mixed: maybe 80% without pulling, 20% pulling 10K-14K lbs. We kept the truck serviced and immaculate. I left the position, but my former coworker is still there. He called yesterday to tell me that at 26K miles, the 6.4L hiccupped a few times, then threw a code. On his way to the dealership to get the code read, it cut off and would not start - only crank. The dealer called him yesterday and told him that the cab had to be pulled, something about the injector pump, and it should be ready Thursday. I'll find out the details of exactly what went wrong.

Although it appears that this will be fixed quickly under warranty, what would the repair cost be after the warranty is out? Considering the cost of this truck new, the excellent care given its entire life, and the low mileage - 26K miles, this is both disappointing and inexcusable. I am a Ford truck man, have been my entire life, but what has Ford done? This is the type of thing that contributed to International Harvester's decline in the tractor market and John Deere's dominance (John Deere stepped up their game while IH made some bad decisions).

After the 7.3L Powerstroke, which is legendary, they had trouble with the relatively short-lived 6.0L (in trucks), and now troubles are starting to show in the short-lived 6.4L. I know there are defenders of these engines, but when many diesel mechanics don't want to touch a 6.0L or 6.4L, that ought to send up a flag. Even some used diesel truck dealers who have 6.0Ls, Duramaxes, and Cummins on the lot will caution against the 6.0L.

Although Ford claims that the 6.7L will be different, we'll see. I hope that they are right. Recent past history shows that the Ford diesel that was once a sure thing is now, at best, a costly gamble. Considering the cost of investment, that's asking a lot from Ford's loyal customers.

Personally, I wish Ford would cut its losses, swallow its pride, and work out a deal to offer the Super Duty with a Cummins.....

 

The Cummins is pushed past its limits already, it's not the long-lasting motor it used to be. The new 6.7L Ford has produced looks to be a winner, but only time will tell. Don't blame IH or Ford for the past few engine generations, blame the EPA for the crap emissions equipment they are forced to use at the expense of fuel mileage and longevity. Seems like a pretty idiotic approach to me, reduce emissions at the cost of a 30% reduction in fuel economy. The dumb@$$3$ at the EPA should consider the emissions required to produce the extra fuel they are causing to be burnt by the inefficient engines their regulations produce.

 

my guess is a wiring harness issue that was discovered for early job 1 trucks, was a recall on it. Or a sensor or HPFP.

 

Many new vehicle owners consider it disappointing and inexcusable if anything happens to their shiny new vehicle. While that's always our first instinct, remember that something this complex can and will break down as time goes on.

Here's something to think about. The HPFP pressurizes fuel to over 26,000 PSI to deliver it to the injectors at the proper pressure. Therefore it operates at an incredible amount of pressure and requires proper lubrication.

It's lubricated by diesel fuel, which now requires an additive to provide the proper lubrication due to the ULSD mandated by the government. All fuel at the pumps is supposed to be treated, but several tests have determined that the amount of treatment isn't consistent between different fuel stops and it's possible to get fuel that hasn't been treated at all.

Fuel that hasn't been treated for lubricity will destroy your HPFP in short order. How do you know this wasn't he cause of your HPFP's demise?

Many of us run fuel additive in every tank to ensure that the fuel is of the proper quality and lubricity, this removes the random chance that poor quality fuel would cause thousands in repairs. Did you add a fuel additive each tank?

 

We didn't add fuel additive to each tank. We didn't know to do so, and according to your post, we should have. We filled up at BP most of the time because it was conveniently located. We'll see if the HPFP is the cause of the problem. I will not disagree with fuel quality contributing to the problem. I don't know enough to address this.

I stand behind my statement, however. Considering the cost of the truck new and the care given to it, it is disappointing and inexcusable that these things happen after such a short period of time and small number of miles.

In this instance, the warranty will take care of it. It's a minor inconvenience. If someone is able to trade his or her truck every time before the warranty runs out, this is of no concern.

Where I come from, a lot of people can't afford to purchase, or pay on, one of these trucks new. They've always wanted a diesel truck, so they save and wait - still the best that they can do is to find as good of a used truck as they can. Others may have been able to save up and buy a new 6.4L, intending to take care of it and counting on it to last them the rest of their lives- "This truck ought to last me as long as I'm able to drive." Some trucks do. These people have worked hard, had to put other things first their entire lives, and now are finally able to get something for themselves that they've always wanted.

These are the people that I am trying to inform. My dad is one of these people. He worked hard, took care of us, and there wasn't enough left over to get the things that he wanted. Never heard him complain - that's life for all of us. He finally found a good used 2001 7.3L F-250 4WD SuperCrew in 2003. "This truck ought to last me as long as I'm able to drive." Hopefully, it will.

I'm one of these people, too. I would love to have a diesel, but I can't afford a new one. Not complaining - hopefully, my time will come. For now, I'm researching used diesel trucks of all brands to see which one is the best long-term bet. When something like this happens, I file it. When reputable diesel mechanics don't won't to work on certain engines, I take note.

You're comments help us to know that some problems showing up in the 6.4L may be prevented by a fuel additive. Based on your comments, the additive would probably also benefit Dad's 7.3L. Which additive do you recommend? Thanks.

 

I use diesel kleen, don't do it all that often though.

 

Diesel Kleen seems to be the industry favorite. It can be had everywhere from truck stops to wal-mart, and it costs around $2 per tank.

It does two important things: adds lubricity and increases Cetane. Powerstroke engines are supposed to have fuel with a cetane rating of 45 or higher, but such fuel is rarely found at the pump. Diesel Kleen is supposed to raise the cetane rating of the fuel around 5 points, which should make even poor quality fuel meet the Ford(IH) spec.

I used it religiously on my 6.4L and will soon start on my 6.7L.

I will say that the cost of catastrophic failure scared me on my 6.4L when I had it. Seeing folks on here with $10-15,000 repair bills for fuel system and EGR related failures are why I was seriously thinking on selling my truck before 100,000 miles because I was nervous about owning it outside the warranty period. I believe it's a good, solid engine but one I wouldn't buy used if I didn't have the capability of coming up with $10K to cover an expensive repair.

Unfortunately used 6.4L and 6.0L trucks aren't for the budget minded. With time parts will come down in price, so this may not always be.

 

I've been using Opti-Lube XPD to add lubricity and raise cetane. It is supposed to have the best lubricity of all the additives, but I haven't really seen any mileage gains with it and it is fairly costly, so I'll be going back to Diesel Kleen when it runs out.

 

I'll pass along to Dad.

It's a shame about the 6.0L and 6.4L. I'm sure that mechanically, they are excellent engines. I really like the 2008 F-550 that this post is about. It drives, handles, and stops like an F-250, just stiffer, and for its length, it has a tight turning radius. I like nostalgia, so I was happy to see Ford go back to parking lights over the headlights for a while. Concerning the 6.0L, there's a guy around here that has one of the best looking F-250 4WDs that I've ever seen. Although it's a 6.0L, I could about overlook that if the truck was for sale and I could afford it.

 

Which is great but emotion needs to take a back seat to logic in a situation like that.

The newest 6.0s are coming close to the expiration of the warranty period, and these things can be extremely expensive to maintain and repair. If someone buys a 6.0 or 6.4L out of warranty that they can barely afford, how can they possibly afford a $5K repair bill if the head gaskets blow?

Of course if you have the knowledge or desire to learn how to fix it yourself it's a different story, but I see folks on FTE every day in a bad situation because of this. It's not uncommon for someone to buy a used PSD and come on FTE upset about their broken truck and how they can't afford to fix it.

This kind of thing has been enough to scare me away from a used truck. I don't make as much as many here, I'm in the military. I know that I can come up with the $650/month for my truck payment, but I would have a really tough time with a $10K repair bill to get a broken truck out of the shop. The higher fixed cost with low risk is easier for me to handle than the lower fixed cost and potential for a high-dollar repair.