08 F450 6.4L Wrench Light on?
Hello I bought a 08 F450 Stake Bed from a local company that claimed coolant in the oil and it was deemed too old to fix. It was one owner with 88K miles. I took it to mechanic/friend 180 miles away ...
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After listening to the service writer echo some of what his mechanic said I just didn't feel comfortable letting them do the repair. They wanted more than book time yet didn't really justify it to me so I took it to a mechanic that used to do work for me awhile back who does a lot of Ford (and Chev) diesel work. He has all the Ford IDS equipment and does a lot of fleet work. I believe (hope) something that someone does day in and out they tend to be more proficient in it. I think the high prices Ford charges dissuade many truck owners out of warranty so the procedure isn't done too often hence the mechanic needing more hours to do what is necessary and/or just greed. My buddy's shop will diagnose and troubleshoot to make sure it is the oil cooler. Not to mention he charges less than half the price.
To replace the $300 oil cooler you have to remove a lot of engine components and many like to remove the cab. It is a 16-20 hr job depending on who you ask. The Ford wanted 27 and that included 2 intensive flushes that had to do to be able to warranty the oil cooler and my requested fuel filter change and HFCM inspection/cleaning
I have found out these oil coolers plug not only because of bad design but from oil contamination, leftover sand casting, and mixing of coolants or improper coolant change intervals. I am glad the oil cooler and EGR cooler are in series unlike the 6.0L. Besides the regeneration sucking fuel I like the smoothness and power potential of these 6.4L compared to the 6.0L. I can understand people's gripes about the Ford/Int'l buying a expensive new truck and repeatedly having breakdowns/expensive repairs. From my side though I am buying them cheaper and having the hindsight of modifications, upgraded parts/procedures and in my case using shops that specialize in the known issues. If I needed a bone stock reliable truck for a business work it wouldn't be this. I got about 11K towing miles on the 2015 F250 and haven't had one issue yet so I think Ford did make a better mousetrap this time. It is so quiet/smooth I forget it is diesel and worry about misfueling it out of habit because I drive other gas vehicles.
To replace the $300 oil cooler you have to remove a lot of engine components and many like to remove the cab. It is a 16-20 hr job depending on who you ask. The Ford wanted 27 and that included 2 intensive flushes that had to do to be able to warranty the oil cooler and my requested fuel filter change and HFCM inspection/cleaning
I have found out these oil coolers plug not only because of bad design but from oil contamination, leftover sand casting, and mixing of coolants or improper coolant change intervals. I am glad the oil cooler and EGR cooler are in series unlike the 6.0L. Besides the regeneration sucking fuel I like the smoothness and power potential of these 6.4L compared to the 6.0L. I can understand people's gripes about the Ford/Int'l buying a expensive new truck and repeatedly having breakdowns/expensive repairs. From my side though I am buying them cheaper and having the hindsight of modifications, upgraded parts/procedures and in my case using shops that specialize in the known issues. If I needed a bone stock reliable truck for a business work it wouldn't be this. I got about 11K towing miles on the 2015 F250 and haven't had one issue yet so I think Ford did make a better mousetrap this time. It is so quiet/smooth I forget it is diesel and worry about misfueling it out of habit because I drive other gas vehicles.
blofgren wrote:rowekmr wrote:
Thanks everyone most were right. I took it to the Ford and they said it had a EOT/ECT correlation code meaning the oil cooler is restricted. Will get it changed now just not sure if this Ford will do it.
If you plan on keeping the truck for any length of time I would recommend going aftermarket with something such as a Bulletproof cooler. In any case, be sure you do the recommended Ford coolant clean out and flush procedure to avoid plugging up the new cooler. It's quite hard to believe that Ford/Navistar didn't learn anything from the 6.0L oil/EGR cooler debacle and design a system right from the get go for the 6.4L that would be much more reliable :h. I know you prefer Ford (and I did as well having owned both a 7.3L and 6.0L diesel over the last 20 years) but it is because of this sort of thing that I no longer have a Ford diesel.
I'm not sure what is involved in replacing the cooler on a 6.4L but I wish you best of luck with it.
