I have a 2008 F250 6.4. I deleted the DPF, put a cold are intake on it and tuned it with H&S minimax ( farm use ). I have about 100K miles on it and haven't had any troubles yet. (other than the damn radiators) I have kept up on maint but I do use it as a daily driver as well ( cant afford not too). I haven't been on in a while and saw all the posts about the problems these things are having... I saw a video with a guy saying how bad they were and most of the time not even rebuild-able...
Now I am wondering should I ditch this thing and trade it in, or hang on to it.
Not sure I can really afford a new truck, but not going to be able to afford a $10,000 repair bill either... Are teh 6.7's any better? Or would I be better trading it for a Chevy or Cummins..?
I came here looking at doing the mishimoto upgrade on teh radiator, but now Im not sure I want to invest money into it if its going to blow up in 30,000 miles.....

Thanks in advance...

 

you might want to consider putting in a front tow hitch and replacing body bushings in the front. the tow hitch will box in your front end and prevent the radiator from flexing.

keep it or get rid of it....anything you get past 2006 is going to have problems....but, if you see and 06 or earlier v-10 with half your miles...go for that...else keep what you got.

I just did my rockers, push rods....was thinking I should do injectors , fuel pump, and turbo....but what I wish I could really get to are the lifters. My engine is coming out within two years for a DIY rebuild.

 

Keep it. Fix it and drive.

There is a lot of crap on every forum, but this is one that has the least.

Yep, they have they're problems. Simply said, correct those as they become apparent and motor on.

I have run all fords and if you jump to a cummins or duramax, the forums read no differently. It's use, abuse, or lack of maintenance in most cases.

You have a stout rig and you can't buy a lifetime truck. But it is a great base to be one.

I would be diligent with service and care and save a lot of cash and eyebrow flipping myself.

Denny

 

Been reading around on other sites, looks like they do indeed all have problems. Also looks like the main problem with these has been either 1.) Consequences of the DPF and regens. or 2.) Abusing the tunes installed after deleting the DPF.
Since I deleted teh DPF but I dont abuse the tunes ( hardly ever even get into the passing gear... ) I think if I fix my radiator, keep up on the fuel filter and oil changes I will be ok... Need to read up on deleting the EGR next and go ahead and order the Mishimoto radiator...

 

Whether or not that is your original idea, it is a great one! It may make off-roading a bit more harsh, but sounds like it'd be completely worth it to prevent radiator failure from chassis flex.

OP, there are good 6.4s, bad 6.4s, and complete nightmares with a 6.4.
deleting early on gets rid of at least half of the 6.4 problems. Hopefully, valvetrain issues won't come as early, since you greatly reduced fuel dilution from regen. At around 150k miles, pull the front engine cover and at least inspect it or replace it. The water pump moves coolant almost too well in these engines. This causes cavitation that will eventually join your oil and coolant systems via a pinhole. This can kill all the engine internals VERY fast if not caught immediately.
Going light on the tuning also helps a lot. Excessive fueling and timing is a death sentence for the pistons and heads. Look up cracked 6.4 pistons and you will see it isn't uncommon, especially with hot tuning.

So far, it seems you are doing everything right to have a good 6.4, but the risk of expensive repair will always be a possibility. It's up to you if you want to "upgrade" to something else. The older ford diesels cost a lot less to fix, but make significantly less power than a 6.4.

The 6.7 has proven itself to be very robust and reliable, so long as you don't get a tank of bad fuel. The HPFP is very sensitive to bad fuel, just like the 6.4, if not worse. Other than that, even with the emissions, they are reliable. Just make sure to avoid the early-build 2011s.

As far as other brands go, the recent LML duramax shares the same sensitive CP4 HPFP as the ford 6.7, along with weak head gaskets when tuned. The 6.7 cummins has a tried and true CP3 HPFP that has a much lower failure rate. The auto transmission behind them is the weak point though. The 68rfe can barely withstand stock power and is very expensive to rebuild. Pick your poison. Diesels are expensive to repair. Newer diesels are even more expensive to repair.

 

I do like the idea of the front tow hitch.... I have heard that the body mounts and front flex are a cause of the radiator failures.... So now back to my original issue... The radiators.... I have been looking, looks like Mishimotos radiators are no better than the factory, they leak too... So having said that, is there a good radiator to put in these? Or should I just get used to the idea of replacing one every 50K miles? I have looked, I think I can swap the radiator myself. Would it be easier to check that front cover while I'm there, and if it is bad how hard is that to replace?