I have done a lot of searching on this forum and there is so much info on DPF deletes and what you should do and what you should not do, What I am asking is what should I do and what is the best equipment to get. I have a 2008 6.4 with 94k mile on it and I am very tired of the regens and all the issues it brings, with all the info on here I very confused on what to do, Please help I have 4000 mile left of my extended warranty and want to do what is best for my truck. Please help

 

Deleting is always the best thing provided you don't have to worry about inspections.

My advice to you as far as deletes is quite simple... There are 3 things you really do need on a 6.4 when you delete. The first 2 are obviously a tuner and the exhaust components. The third is a monitor. Depending on the tuner you choose it may function as a monitor as well.

There are pretty much 3 tuning platforms to look at. SCT is the cheapest and has the best custom tuning options out right now but even the livewire has lack luster monitoring ability. If you go SCT you should get yourself and Edge CTS2 Insight to monitor and data log.
Spartan is the best of both worlds. Amazing canned tunes and its monitoring capability is equal to the edge platform. It does not however allow for any kind of custom tuning (yet!!!!). The tuning that it comes with is second to none though and as long as you don't have plans for a bigger turbo setup or injectors or big performance there is no reason to not go with Spartan.
The third is my favorite, H&S... Right now its hard to beat an H&S XRT with MCC unlock combined with an edge cts2. The H&S tuners have by far and away the most functionality and actually allow for you as the owner to adjust the tuning to your liking. The canned tunes that come with the H&S tuners are very very good and with an MCC unlock code you always have the option for custom tuning from companies like Gearhead. The only down side is even the minimax is garbage for monitoring... And both the minimax and the xrt are insanely expensive. But you get your moneys worth when you buy one.

Now that we have that out of the way... When we start talking tuning there is something you need to understand. Deleting is the best thing you can do for a 6.4... But to do it you MUST tune the truck. Make no mistake though, if you are going to run a 250+hp tune you are not adding reliability. You pretty much negate the benefits of deleting because of the advanced timing and added fuel causing massive cylinder pressure.
If you truly want reliability run a 40-100hp tune that has trans tuning... Obviously there are other things you can do but the list goes on and on. Get yourself a quality tuner and make sure you monitor.

 

WHS^. Custom tuning requests for the 6.4 is scheduled to begin in the spring for Spartan customers.

The new updated tunes for the 6.7 are awesome.

 

Keep the info coming. I'm with kstiner about getting rid of the dpf stuff and the regens.

 

There is a lot more to 6.4 reliability than we can really post in here... I can give you a quick and dirty explanation as to what we see failure wise.

First and foremost the biggest problem with a 6.4 is oil dilution. Most of that comes from 2 things, fuel pushed past the rings during the first stages of regen and the other is wet stacking during extended idle times. Especially when the motor is cold. The fuel in the crank case causes excess wear of piston rings, rocker arms, lifters, and bearings.

Second is an issue with the camshaft design. Without going into detail the 6.0 and 6.4 share valve train and cam shaft. The lobes on the camshaft are designed based off of emissions and the ramp up can cause the lifters to hop especially with worn rocker arms. The 6.4 doesn't have the benefit of oil drain ports from injectors like a 6.0 so the rocker arms tend to wear out quickly (especially with oil dilution from fuel). Lifter failure along with piston failure is going to cost you a motor... Or at least a full rebuild.

Third is an issue with pistons. The pistons themselves are a poor design, there is a lot of info on this if you do some searches. They are also poorly casted and most have flaws...

Those are the base engine problems... Our fuel system along with Cummins and Duramax fuel systems are very delicate. Any water or contamination will end up with an $8000 repair bill... So change your filters every 8k miles and drain your water separator every other week. We also share the crappy oil cooler/coolant from the 6.0. The ford gold coolant breaks down and clogs the oil cooler (along with sand from casting the block) causing a whole host of issues. You should drain and fill coolant every 20-30k miles at least. Or flush and fill with ELC. Our trucks also have front cover issues, air in the coolant tends to cause cavitation and can end up with a hole that bleeds coolant into the oil/oil into the coolant.


One very very good thing is we don't share the same egr cooler issues. The feed comes pre oil cooler meaning that even a clogged oil cooler will not cause an egr cooler to rupture. The 6.0 has the feed coming from after the oil cooler. THIS IS THE BIGGEST CAUSE OF HG FAILURE IN A 6.0! This is also why hg failures on a 6.4 are not all that common unless you are tuned.

Also remember that the 6.4 was never designed to run the hp/tq levels that ford released it with. Most of the major problems stem from this... And this is why I say low hp tunes are your best friend. Yes your fuel economy will suck but its better than a cracked piston and a $15000 repair bill... It is a case btw of do as I say not as I do... I run a 215hp street tune because I like how the truck runs. I know what I am risking and when the day comes that my truck needs a rebuild I won't be surprised.


And btw I am already planning that rebuild as should you if you run a street or race tune. I am planning $17000 for a full motor build and a mild transmission rebuild. The goal for my build is a 500,000-800,000 motor/transmission life... The truck will never be raced, nor has it ever been raced.

 

By your signature, do you think the delete stuff you have posted is the best way to go?

 

Check with your state. Ny checks emissions during yearly tag inspections if you operate within a dema ( designated list of muni's), so folks like me can't modify the exhaust system.

 

We don't have any emissions testing here in in Michigan, or at least where I live.

 

Personally, if I were to do it over... No.


I would go Spartan, a delete pipe and leave the rest of the exhaust alone, and swap this air aid for an AFE stg2... The 5" pipe is WAY too obvious... And I am not a huge fan of the SCTx4 anymore, it is leaps and bounds better than the dpf-r crap but nowhere near H&S or Spartan.


And for the egr delete, yes the bd kit is my personal favorite. Best elbow and the up pipe block plate is tapped so you can relocate your ebp sensor up top.

 

I found another diesel performance shop this morning and will go see them tomorrow and talk with them to see what they suggest.
I don't want any wild/crazy tunes. Just enough to work with the delete stuff, and another for when I tow my 7k camper around. Thanks for your advice. It's getting clearer to me.

 

Spartan and H&S both have stock fuel/timing tunes w/ deletes as well as anything up past 300hp...

But if you have no plans for bigger turbo or injectors spartan has the best transmission tuning (it will have harsh shifts but thats a good thing...).

 

Thanks to all for the help. I am also not looking for extra power just trying to get rid of the DPF / EGR. I just cant stand the DPF regen I don't drive this very much in the winter and when I do I don't drive it long enough to go though the regen so it is causing issue with it. Thanks to all for the comments. the muddy waters are starting to clear.

 

I just want people to understand what they are doing before they tune. I see it all the time, people tune and wonder why they crack a piston. These motors can build stupid power with little modification. That power comes with a cost. If you run a low hp tow tune you can't go wrong.

The 6.4 will eat your lunch the moment you disrespect it.

 

Understand. I don't have the extra lunch money if I break it badly.

 

Lol trust me, neither do I... The money I have seen thrown at these trucks is insane. The 6.4 is by far and away the single most expensive diesel to maintain. But it makes for the best DD truck ever made.

I love dropping it down to a tow tune and doing a few wot runs every month to clear the turbo. It is the smoothest sounding diesel on the market currently. I baby the crap out of my truck though... She gets a 5-10 min warmup every morning and a 2 min cool down before shut down. Oil change ever 4k miles and fuel filters every other oil change... I don't want to have to afford a rebuild but at the same time I want to pull the motor and do it........... I have seen more than a few 6.4s that have been abused and it makes me sad. Its a great motor but if you don't have access to a lift its impossible to work on. Thats why I tell everyone to play it safe, it isn't as easy as a 6.0 to work on in the driveway...