newbie here just bought a 2010 6.4 f250 and just wondering what i should know . do i have to put additives in the fuel and also im getting a tuner soon so like egt #'s what normal to high and so on

 

The best advice I can give is to follow the SEVERE DUTY maintenance schedule with oil changes at 5k, fuel filters at 10k, check all fluids while cold once every week and add an additive. I use Diesel Kleen and the Ford additive, which ever one I am closest to at the time. These truck have a ton of power at the stock level and are really awesome when tuned properly. I would suggest a monitoring system like the Edge CTS if your tuner does not come with one. Also be warned that your tranny will shift erratically after it is tuned until it 'learn' when to shift with the new program. your EGTs will depend on you right foot and whether or not you are dragging anything behind it. There is a vast wealth of info in this forum by very knowledgeable people. Spend some time with with the search feature on any topic you desire. That in turn will lead you to more topics and questions. You may be disappointed with the fuel mileage, but these are serious towing machines, just keep that in mind. You have to feed horses! Good luck!

 

yea i ordered a h&s mini maxx with cat/dpf delete

 

Golfmedik is right on the money with 5k oil change and 10k fuel filter change. Especially the fuel filter change is the big key in a long lasting diesel engine. Taking care of your vehicle is key. Also warming the engine properly before driving. Where most people hit the key and push the throttle to the floor and they wonder why they have engine and tranny problems. A lot of problems people have are self enduced. I had the first generation 6.0 and only had a couple of injectors replaced in 108,000 miles. I use stanadyne fuel additive year round.

 

Are you talking about a fuel additive? Some more info, please.

Does anyone know if there's a Top Tier standard (or something similar) for diesel fuel like there is for gasoline?

thanks

 

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.
http://acustrip.com/CTS-3_Retail_Order_Form.pdf

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

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 Specific XGauges : Linear Logic : Home of the ScanGauge

 

I feel like a dumb@ss for putting over 60,000 miles on this truck without knowing about fuel additives. I've always taken it to my local dealer for service. I don't think they ever mentioned it and I actually read the manual.

 

i use diesel Kleen once in awhile. Good for the injectors. Use OEM (racor) fuel and oil filters.

For towing...which these are made for I have a rule of thumb. Anything over 10K I tow in stock power.

Under 10K you can bump it up a bit if desired.

 

Wait, the only time I'd need extra power is when I'm towing a heavy load and you're saying that's the only time you don't use a more powerful tune???

And we think the women do strange things?

 

I called to get a quote on the ESP. The PremiumCare plan is the top one and it includes everything that bumper-to-bumper does. It's the only one that includes the emissions system. They wanted 2975 ($124/mo) for 2 yrs/24000 miles OR 3500 ($97/mo) for 3 yrs/36000 miles OR 3900 ($81/mo) for 4 yrs/48000 miles.

Does that seem worthwhile? Without an ESP, I'd handle all repairs myself outside of the engine itself and might even handle engine repairs myself. I'm building my own mod motors for my racecar now as it cost too much to have someone else do it. With a shop manual, the forums, and my local machine shop I don't think I'd be afraid to do any repairs. I don't have my own lift that will pull the body off the frame (yet) but I have friends that do.

Anyone else buy an ESP for a 6.4L?

 

Correct. During heavy loads you are working the motor and drive train at its maximum so adding more power is not wise.

Running up 12% 3 mile grades with 15K behind you at WOT with additional power would not be wise.

 

I don't see why it would be a problem unless the tune is bad. If the tune were good, it would pull back power if/when sensors indicated something was out-of-spec (too hot, too lean, etc) with the motor. This is how it works with other tunes that I've seen.

 

That presumes that the protective routines in the firmware are able to cope with the 'tuning" modifications that were done. You also have to worry about cooking the transmission, or just plain breaking components that were not designed for that much additional torque past the rated specs of the engine. I seem to recall reading reports of broken transmission input shafts and 1st gear planetaries.

As for the ESP: If you can readily handle a $5k+ repair out of pocket whenever it may come up, and be ready to handle several large repair bills in rapid succession don't bother with the ESP. If you don't like the idea of potentially dropping $10+ over a period of a few months and having little trade in value, then get the ESP.

 

It depends what tune you are running.

For EG, spartan has a 210 tow tune, which monitors things like EGT's and boost.

Tunes they have like the 275 & 350, do not monitor anything- they are for racing. Heck you can bolt a single turbo kit on and the truck still runs haha.

It doesn't matter which tuner, or which company, nobody recommends towing with big tunes, it's just asking for trouble.