2008 was the first model year the ever so troublesome 6.4L diesel was offered in the Super Duty line of trucks, up until and including the 2010 model year. Without getting too far into it, this engine was arguably the WORST option to go with if you were in the market for a truck of that capability. Just do some Google searching on "Ford 6.4L diesel problems" and see how many hits you get. As a Ford dealership technician, I strongly suggest you do a lot of of intense reading on the problems with this particular engine before you commit yourself to the purchase of this potentially astronomical money pit.

How much do you want that diesel now?

 

I have an 08 6.4L and just turned 100,000 miles. One owner - me. Only 3 issues the whole time - radiator hose leaks/replacements, thermostats and DPF. DPF deleted 3.5 years ago and truck has run well since. But not everyone has been so lucky. Diesels are expensive to work on. Personally I wouldnt buy it unless you have a great mechanic. You're gonna get alot of replies soon. Check if DPF has been deleted or not and is the tuner installed or removed. Many states you cannot delete the DPF (diesel particulate filter).

 

Just to lean in here and say this.

I've been driving diesels my whole driving life. The 6.4 is absolutely the finest one I've driven up to current year.

If you do your maintenance and don't skip noticing particular hazards. (Rocker arms and push rods etc........) Finest trucks to drive.

Give a look at the 7.3 forum, the 6.0 forum and the 6.7 forums.

Many will tell you that the 6.4 is the ******* child, but those forums are so inflated compared to the 6.4. I don't see posts for weeks!

Yes they have certain things to be attentive to. What doesn't?

I've had my E99 F250 since birth and I really love the 8. Drive em both.

Do your homework on maintenance intervals. If done correctly, expect bumps in the road, but your not paying 70k plus for a sub.

All advice is good advice.

Denny

 

I have a 145000 mile trouble free 6.4, but one of the main culprits to the 6.4 issues is the DPF filter (emissions).

 

I took delivery of my 2008 in June 2007. It is still stock, and only has 73,800 miles on it. I have not had any major issues other than normal maintenance items. My radiator was just replaced, and my upper and lower hoses were replaced before. I also had a fuel level sensor replaced under warranty. My recommendations would be to have the vehicle service history checked, and have a dealer do a thorough inspection of the truck before buying. The dealer can provide you with a report of service/warranty history if you provide the VIN. I forget what the report is called.

 

 

 

I've got a few minutes so I'll pen this in hopes that someone will answer your question.

The DPF delete has to have a tuner involved. You just can't remove it and pipe it. The computer will not tolerate it.

With the DPF removed and tuned, in effect, it removes the governments clean air standards for carbon emissions.

The DPF is in the exhaust system and is there as a blast furnace. The truck is programmed to detect buildup of carbon. When triggered, (Meaning the soot level is the Kardasian level) the truck will go into a regeneration mode that shuts down a cylinder and dumps raw fuel into it that is intended to fire that cylinder, but that cylinder won't fire. It introduces raw fuel to the exhaust as a catalyst.

But......... With that raw unburned fuel, some is also released to the cylinder walls and continues down into the oil pan. (washdown).

While the truck is doing exactly what it should for environmental reasons, it causes an imbalance on the ability for lubrication. This is where 6.4's begin to fail.

The thin oil has no lubrication value and introduces a heavy line of stress to the rotating assembly. Pretty much like looking at someone who smokes three packs a day.

With the DPF removed and tuned, the truck just quit cold turkey and will live beyond.

The other grab is the EGR delete. Very inexpensive and while not as high on the list as the DPF delete, that too will grab you a few more years.

Tons of read ups on You-tube. Do some homework, and keep an open mind on what you view. You will get a good education.

Totally great platforms, if maintained and deleted.

This FTE crew is top notch. They all are. Questions are always welcome.

Don't be scared.

Denny

 

 

Since we're in a shutdown, lets say this.

If I were a Democrat, I'd just buy it. Never been tampered with and you can make all the improvisions to suit your needs.

If I was Republican, I'd say the first thing I'm going to do is Delete the **** out of it despite the law. Drive my happy *** on for many miles.

Here's the deal. I raised two beautiful daughters and they always look at me for advice. Simply said, it's a straw grab. Do your homework and make your decision. It's cool to reach out (homework) and touch the sources of ownership. Your question of longevity slides on a scale of how are you going to maintain it, and how heavy is your foot.

The 2008 6.4 does circles around my E99 7.3 stroker. (which I love). But the gap in technology between the two is evident. Comfort/quiet/driveability. By no means can my 99 outperform the 08 except maybe a bicep flex when my neighbor asks why I have 2 !!???

Research Research/ if you can grab the truck for a weekend that would be huge as well. Most people just drive a few miles and never get to highway speed.

Denny

 

BTW, I paid 23k to a south carolina rust free inshore truck 2 years ago.

100k miles. Spotless

I would say it is the going price. Mine is a lar with crew and everything frankenford could install.

Good luck

 

In my honest opinion, with the 6.4L being available for the Ford Super Duty lineup of trucks only during model years 2008, 2009 and 2010, I say it's three model years too many!!!

The unfortunate thing is, by 2008 Ford was already scrambling to develop their own in-house designed and manufactured diesel engine to equip their Super Duty lineup of trucks when the 6.0L diesel was literally killing Ford in their truck market as fast as the 7.3L made them! The 6.4L (a k MaxxForce 7 in Navistar speak) was simply the update to the 6.0L (a k a VT365 in Navistar speak) at the time, and therefore Ford was mandated to use them in their trucks, good or bad.

To put things into perspective, the 6.0L will break the bank. The 6.4L will lose you your house if that best explains how expensive that engine can be to repair when things go South. In answer to your question on what I've personally experienced? As a tech working on them, I've long blocked more than my share of them from cam and roller lifter failures, connecting rods going through the engine block and the list goes on. These engines are famous for "growing oil" inside the crankcases. The reason for this as already mentioned above, can either be from internal high pressure fuel system leaks that cause fuel to dilute the engine oil and/or excessive regens due to frequent soot accumulation inside the DPF (diesel particle filter). When the engine goes into regen mode, fuel is injected into the cylinders on the exhaust stroke as well as the power stroke to elevate the temperature inside the DPF to burn off the soot. When this happens, some of the fuel gets past the piston rings and into the crankcase to mix with the engine oil. The greater the wear on the engine (piston ring to cylinder wall clearance), the greater the amount of fuel getting past the rings during regen. These engines are also notorious for premature rocker arm wear as well. Overall, the engine parts on this particular are extremely expensive, not to mention the expensive labour to service said parts when needed (and the need can become frequent depending on the overall condition of the vehicle). The PCMs on these trucks can be extremely good at "masking" serious internal issues not normally noticeable when running/driving. I had one particular truck that actually and drove with what appeared to be a very slight engine miss to it. Upon disassembly was when I discovered cylinder #8 connecting rod had 's-shaped' putting a crack on the piston and gouging the cylinder wall.

By now, hopefully you've done some very good reading on the problems with this engine. You keep mentioning you got burned bad on your previous 5.4L 3-valve F-150. Trust me, if you think repairs are expensive on the F-150, it's nothing compared to how expensive repairs can be on the 6.4L!

 

 

DPF = Diesel Particle Filter

A metal mesh filter that every on road diesel powered vehicle newer than 2007 model year is required to be equipped with as mandated by federal government. It's purpose is to trap soot. When soot accumulation reaches a predetermined level as reported by the DPFP sensor (DPF pressure sensor), the PCM commands a process that is called "regen". When this happens, fuel is injected into the exhaust in order to elevate temperatures to approximately 1200 degrees F as needed to burn off the soot, and turn it into ash before it exits the tailpipe.

In life, there's a first for everything. And the statement quoted above, is most definitely one of them. Pretty much any Ford dealership technician who wrenches on diesels, who's in the know, almost all unanimously despise the 6.4L. For what it's worth, a long time fellow friend technician of mine had been toying with the idea of getting rid of his that he had since new. His dilemma was taking a bath on selling it, due to the poor reputation of that engine, and therefore the loss of market value.

That is probably why the truck you are considering, can be had for $16800. I bet if you offer $10000 they'd probably take it. For what it's worth, back in September of 2011, I had the opportunity to purchase either a 2007 F-250 6.0L or a 2008 F-250 6.4L for similar money. I chose the 2007 F-250 and drove it for four years and put about 65000 miles on it, before I put it up for sale to purchase my current 2016 F-250 6.7L back in August of 2015 and couldn't be happier!