Is there a trend of one year or another of problems with the 6.7 engine?
Thanks to replies.

 

2011 trucks have known motor issues.

 

I think it depends on what your definition of "bad problems" is.

Do you consider emissions stuff clogging "bad problems"?

I'm on my 4th EGR cooler core, 2nd EGR valve, and the DEF heater (assembly in the DEF tank) needs replaced.

I personally wouldn't consider, say, replacing the EGR core and valve "bad problems". They are nuisance problems, thanks to the EPA.

That said, my high pressure fuel pump just went at almost 175k miles. That is a wildcard issue - the failures can be preceded by putting DEF in your fuel tank or getting poor fuel. The DFCM assembly "should" filter out water (that is part of its primary job), but dissolved/emulsified water in the fuel is known to still get by it. It is always important to keep up with draining your DFCM water separator routinely. However, you aren't going to be able to filter out the dissolved/emulsified water.

There are way too many variables to high pressure fuel pump failure roots to find any commonality to them, other than operator error (DEF in the fuel tank or not keeping up with your DFCM filter changes and not draining the water separator). So if you know what to keep up on - and you can eliminate the "operator error" roots that are known accelerants to high pressure fuel pump failures then you are left with the wildcard life expectancy of the pump - if you find a high mileage used truck it could blow on your trip off the dealer lot, or it could last you another 100,000 miles.

Injectors are also another thing to keep tabs on. They can be buggers. I have heard of some injectors breaking tips off in to cylinders over the years, also. I don't know of any roots to what causes that - but it isn't unheard of.

As to years - my truck is a 2011, job 2 (2nd version, not the 1st right off of the start of production). I have been happy with it. I am the original owner and have no intentions of getting rid of it. All vehicles will require maintenance and the truck is worth more to me than it would ever be to anyone else or the $ I could get for it if I let go of it, not that I would really entertain that thought. With the used truck market being hot right now - if it was running I am sure I could get a good price for it, but I need it and can't replace it. So putting some money in to it isn't ideal, but it, unfortunately, is par for the course.

Something I will toss out there is, and I think this was changed on newer trucks, is my engine had a plastic oil pan. When I did the last major service on it - I rebuilt the front end components (tie rod ends, ball joints, front hubs, track bar, track bar ball joint, then steering gear box replacement later - did all the work myself) I dropped the oil pain and replaced it with a metal one and a Fumoto valve with a nipple on it. Now for oil changes all I do is hook a hose up to the nipple and open the valve. I should have done that the 1st oil change I did (I've done 80% of my oil changes over the years). The plastic oil pan has a 1/4 turn plastic plug that you use a 3/8" ratchet to open. There isn't a good way to feather the flow of oil out - its just a horizontal geyser as soon as you pull the plug and can easily make a huge mess. I've always done it over a tarp with oil dry around, but was still a mess - hence why the metal pan and Fumoto valve are such good things to add.

The front end rebuild I did was from having the notorious "death wobble". That is another common issue - not just with these trucks but every kind of vehicle that has a regular straight axle front end (Jeeps are known for it, also). I wouldn't consider this a major issue - just something to be aware of. When I lived in IL I had a D class plate (8,001-12,000lb) and had to get a safety inspection every 6 months to maintain my registration. One of the checks that was done every single time was play in the steering system - for just this exact reason. I hadn't lived in IL for a few years when my death wobble issue occurred - and truthfully I didn't really pick up on much until the trip I was on where it started. My brother and I were on an ~800 mile trip and I sensed the steering being a bit odd - like the truck would pull one way then I would correct and the truck would over-correct. It did that for a few hundred miles and my brother noticed it also. Then we got the first "death wobble" and stayed that way until we got home. That was about 1/2 way through the trip. It wasn't constant, just every so often but it would repeat. Had I known when I experienced that - what I would have tried, and some here probably will disagree with me, but I'll mention it - is I would have tweaked the tie rod for a bit more toe in to try to stabilize better. Once you have loose parts the only real fix is to replace them, which is what I did - once I was home.

I know a lot of this doesn't answer the "years to avoid" question specifically, but keep in mind all vehicles are going to have issues as they age. And service a vehicle is used in is going to play in to what issues they have and when, maintenance (or lack there of), and any number of other things.

I think there are a few of us that are still on the 2011's here that don't have much bad to say about them. Yea, the high pressure fuel pump deal isn't a picnic to deal with - but at this age and mileage I am not overly surprised by it, though I wish it didn't occur. I'm not letting that stop me with the truck - it still has a lot of life left in it.

 

2011 job one. Bad injector hold downs. Also the valves weren’t hardened right so #8 has a tendency to crap out because the exhaust valves break and take out that cylinder because of the regens happening from that cylinder. Almost everything I’ve read recently is that it happens on narrow frames not pickups. Also the turbos from 2011 -?(2015 maybe) Have ceramic bearings which supposedly causes them to fail but I think that’s a Maintenace issue. I’ve had my def heater replaced. There was a vacuum issue that would cause squeaky ballon noise after shutdown that I fixed from a tsb. It was for the waste gate controller. Also the thermocouples for the exhaust temps fail and will/can leave you stranded. I keep them in the truck with a big wrench although I’ve changed them out and neversiezed them. I don’t think that is year specific.

 

Here's a link to an article about the 6.7 PowerStroke problems and upgrades by year.

https://dieseliq.com/67-power-stroke...amazing-truth/

 

the 6.7 has been out 10 years.

yes, there were 6.7's within the 2011 thru 2014 that had various problems.

but a this point, its likely, those defects were repaired.

 

Buy a used F250 and get the emissions deleted if you don't live in a commie state or commie city.

I bought a 2014 F250 with 125,000, one owner and immediately had the emissions deleted back in 2018. I have 151,000 and so far no issues. I leave the tuner in my closet.

 

My 2011 is my all time favorite truck after I deleted it, zero issues running 400 extra foot pounds through it. Had 2 check engines lights before deleting, emissions related.