hey guys after all the money i have sunk into my 6.0l i am thinking of upgrading to a 6.4 but i do not want another headache like i had with my 03 i am keeping it but i have found quite a few 08s for a very reasonable price . My question is what are the pros and cons of the 6.4 i want a ford that is going to leave a duramax in the dust and i have yet to and probably never will achieve that with my 6.0l it is just to finicky of a truck and im getting way to many miles on it. Im looking for the achilles heel of the 6.4l i am not buying one until i know everything there is to know about them any info would be greatly appreciated thanx in advance

 

For a towing/hauling platform you will be very pleased with the 6.4. It runs great, performs well.

Issue boils down to the EPA mandated clean diesel technology. The DPF is used for that purpose. In order to clean the DPF of soot you must go thru a cleaning cycle. Regeneration of the DPF is done by fuel.

So MPG's suffer. You will not see 20 mpg in one of these trucks. around 17 hwy empty is probably closer to what you will achieve.

Other than that I have been very happy with mine.

 

I'm a new, '09, 6.4l owner, and after reviewing the forum for a couple of months I can review my conclusions of the systemic problems of this engine as follows:

Consistent concerns about low fuel mileage blamed on DPF technology. However I have not seen submitted factual data regarding the amount of fuel "spent" on the regen process. I have talked to owners of other, non-chipped, non-Ford, non DPF, diesels that are getting about the same mileage as I do on the 6.4l.

Radiator leaks that developed on early 6.4l engines that may be caused by over pressurizing the cooling system. New thermostats are being installed to help with this problem.

White smoke as seen during heavy humidity operation. Several Technical Bulletins are listed that address this issue.

Some owners have experienced injector failures where symptoms include rough operation and "shuttering" of the vehicle. Some owners have multiple failures in this arena. There is also discussion of a TB that points a finger to a gasket on a fuel pump (I think I have this correct).

Overall, you will find two (religious) camps regarding tune, or not tune, owners. I'm not going near this subject.

I love the truck, so far. I know what mileage I will expect and, while there is sometimes real problems dealing with the warranty from dealers--applies to any vehicle--, I am happy with my decision. Good luck with yours.

 

A Mustang GT will handily toast any Duramax around unless lots has been put into it. Also is cheaper to buy and gets MUCH better MPGs than an 8,000 lb truck with an EPA '07 diesel engine.

If you want to race, get a car that's built for it. If you want something to tow big things with, get a Super Duty with the 6.4L PSD. Takes LOTS to get a 4-ton truck to go fast, and in doing so you WILL have reliability problems in the future. The engine seems to hold up well to tuning, but remember that nobody has 6 years on one of these engines yet...

 

I've put about 8000 miles on mine for a total of 11000 on the truck. I'm now looking seriously for a low mileage 7.3L dully. I just returned from an 800 mile trip pulling nothing and almost all interstate driving. Got around 13 MPG driving the speed limit. The truck has terrible turbo lag, last week I tried to get across a line of traffic so I start easing forward and floor it to cross in the gap. Ooops, I won't try that again. I think I could have pushed it across faster. Today on two occasions in heavy rain I tried accelerating and the motor just sputtered and vibrated. The second time I just floored it and held it down and it did then recover. Again, I wasn't pulling anything.

Now, to it's credit it is a great towing truck, I pull a 17K pound fifth wheel with it and it tows great (if I don't pay attention to the fuel used). The tow/haul option is wonderful and the truck looks fine and is well appointed but I think my government has screwed me once more.

In short, I would not buy this truck again.

 

For what it's worth if you get a SRW truck you can powerbrake it and smoke the rear tires as much as you want in stock trim. I've done it twice. I learned this so that I can powerbrake the engine in order to launch myself in traffic if needed. When you see a gap, push the brake down hard, take the throttle to 3/4 or more and when your gap comes let her go.

Not the greatest advice but it's part of the deal with this engine in my opinion.

Obviously it would work with a DRW but I don't know if you could smoke the tires.

Most of the issues in the 6.4 Tech folder regarding recalls and TSB's are no longer a popular problem. The CAC blowing water into the engine is really an annoyance that can be lived with.

If you care to, look up the 6.7 Scorpion info in the 6.7 forum and read about the 2007 and 2011 EPA air quality restrictions. You will find that the 6.4 and the new 6.7 burn something like 70% and 90% cleaner that the 7.3 and the 6.0. So yes. The Government has screwed us. I have only had 2 diesels, an '03 Duramax and an '08 6.4. The diesels suit my needs perfectly and have made my life better but I may go back to driving a gasser unless the 6.7 is economical, which I doubt. The cost of the emissions systems is going to kill the diesels.

My '08 250 has been the best truck I have ever driven so in my opinion you have a tough decision topdrive.

 

We have over 27,000 miles on our early Job 1 build 08. Not a single problem. The trucks primary job is to tow a 14K plus 5th wheel and 80/85 % of those miles are towing. We follow maint to a "T" we drive it gently. It weighs 9250lbs ready to tow, It is a heavy truck. MPG is 9/11 towing and 15/18 solo depending on conditions. It is complely stock and will remain so. It will not leave a Durimax in the dust and I do not understand why we would be concerned about that.... If that is the concern I would get the Durimax.

 

"The CAC blowing water into the engine is really an annoyance that can be lived with."

Ruschejj, I don't want to hijack the thread but: I went back to the tech folder and re-read that whole thread on this subject. I couldn't ever tell if the new CAC did or didn't solve the "rain dance" or whatever it was called problem. Was your's solved or did it return after the CAC replacement? I didn't have time to look for white smoke as I was trying to change lanes and floored it to merge with faster traffic. But, it definately "danced" and sputtered and almost got me run over and I was empty. glad I wasn't pulling the 5er. Thanks. Stan

 

The light duty diesel is going thru the same learning curve right now that the gassers did in the late 70's and thru the 80's. They are the present target of the EPA. They, in my opinion, will get better as the technology catches up. Unfortunately as with the early smog motors the public pays the tab for the research.

 

Stanley, My new CAC does not do it as often but it does still go on. Only when there is a lot of weight in tow (which is basically 90% of the time you and I drive the thing) it seems. My current trigger is just when it's warm outside and raining. Of course now that Fall is here I don't experience it.

There is also another "sputter" that happens, when I tow really heavy like you do my engine will downshift to climb a hill and maintain speed over 60MPH. In the 2700-3200 RPM range the boost is pegged and I get the engine sputter that I really attribute to defueling. I really think there is a factory set limit to the power you can get, just like a rev limiter on a gasser. No smoke or anything like that, just a steady "enough already" from the motor. The dash shakes pretty hard and anybody else in the cab looks at me like there is a bomb about to go off.

I'm sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your truck. I really like mine but I won't have to live with it for more than 2 or 3 more years, kinda helps me brush off annoyances like what we're talking about. I will hit 250K in 3 years or less, which I figure is enough. If it were a Detroit or something it would be different. Hope this helps.

 

I love my 6.4. I know if it didn't have the DPF I would love it even more. I have done some basic Banks mods to mine, but nothing overly major. The computer is stock and it is emissions legal but still can have an extra 150HP at the turn of a ****.
My truck will leave any duramax in its dust. I only have 11k on mine, but haven't had any problems. I am getting about the same mileage that I had on my '02 7.3. Average 17-19 mpg on the highway at 65-70 and probably more like 13 in town.
The truck drives great, looks great, is much easier to park with the front coil springs, and has a very comfortable and stylish interior.
It is great for road trips and other than a little bit of lag when you stand on it, it is very fast.



StanleyZ, sounds like you have some issues with your truck. I get about 15-16 MPG at 85 MPH. At a more reasonable 70 MPH I get closer to 18 or 19, but at least 17. You may have an issue that is causing decreased performance for only 13 MPG at highway speeds?

 

Mine runs about the same, 26K miles on mine now. No CAC problems, even at WOT pulling heavy. I can tell when it is maxed out but it hangs right in there.

 

OK, so we have 2 guys in a row with banks ram air who are getting reasonable mileage and who are not experiencing these sputters, wonder if that means anything?

As to the sputtering in the rain, the theory that it is caused by condensation in the CAC seems true. when mine failed yesterday I kept trying to get it to repeat the problem and it wouldn't. Guess the water was all blown out at that point. So I forgot about it for an hour or so and then it did it again as I tried to change lanes. so, the CAC sweats and accumulates moisture at cruise when the boost is low, when you floor it the turbo spools up and sucks in the water which puts out the fire in the cylinders for just long enough to cause a loss of power. Then since all the water is gone you can't make it repeat. So Ford installs a new redesigned CAC, but it doesn't solve the problem completely. As someone said eariler, it's a problem you can work around so nobody much complains to Ford and this is the last year for the motor so nothing gets done. It all makes sense. I wonder if the Banks CAC will solve the problem? Anybody have experience with that?

 

astamp and I both are running the 6-gun and the ram air. I know of a few others that have the banks cac but don't know if they were having problems before or just wanted to upgrade.

 

To the OP, I am happier with my truck today than the day I bought it. I will admit that throttle response and fuel mileage were not great when it was stock but you can't expect great mileage out of an 8000lb truck with all the emissions crap that is required these days. The truck really came to life after tuning it and mileage also improved. My only advice on the "tune or not to tune" question is to do the research and make your own decision. Best option is to find someone that is tuned and jump in for a ride, it's the only real way to see how these trucks can perform. My truck is VERY comfortable to drive, tows like a beast and has never let me down. This is a great place to do the research on the pro's and con's so best of luck.