Alrighty gents... and a few ladies... looking at an 09 F350

A coworker of mine had a 2001 F250 7.3 powerstroke that he absolutely loved. He then bought a 2010 F250 6.4 powerstroke that was constantly in the shop (thankfully under warranty). He now has a 2013 F250 6.2 liter gas and he is very happy again.

Never owned one but based on actual owners responding here it would appear to be reasonably reliable but not great on fuel mileage. There will always be an entire chorus of Ford haters on this forum who have nothing but doom and gloom stories on why you shouldn't ever buy a Ford.

The 6.4 has a questionable reputation. At this point I would avoid it for the reasons mentioned above.
Unless it is a super bargain and being sold at a give away price I would pass.
There are simply other options with better track records.

I own a 2009 F350 6.4 Lariat w/Nav, I have about 97,500 miles on her. All of the emissions equipment is still in tact. Here is what I can tell you:

She is VERY thirsty. I have gotten as low as 7mpg towing an 8000lb trailer into a headwind. I probably average about 9 towing. On the highway empty I am ALL the way up to 13. Yes that is sarcasm. Around town empty I'm about 11. When I bought this truck I thought my mileage would be a lot higher.

Now there are internet reports of people who delete the emissions equip and add a tuner and they see their mileage increase. However, I also read that a majority of people who have catastrophic failures are the ones running deleted with a tuner. So I made the decision to keep it stock and eat the mileage for hopefully better reliability. We will see how that works out.

And while I haven't had any problems or issues with my truck (knocking on wood), I would recommend an extended warranty. Any type of repair is going to be "cab off" and expensive. Get the warranty.

There is a lot of good information out there. But my best advice is don't be afraid just because it is a 6.4 Ford. Navistar beefed up the 6.4 to correct the issues from the 6.0. There were radiator problems but I believe those were corrected by the 2009 model year. These trucks suffer from the 6.0 reputation and therefore don't have a huge demand. Which means that you have a lot of negotiation power.

The main problems with the 6.4 stem from emissions equipment. These are pre-DEF but post DPF. That is why they are so thirsty.

Change your filters early/often and you'll be fine. Just my opinion.

I remember talking to a guy at a big box store back around 2009. He had just spent a small fortune on a 6.4. He at that time was very disappointed with the MPG. Said it had plenty of power but sucked the fuel. There is no way I would spend that much money on that rig. I would do as the other poster said and look at a different option. From any of the big 3.

ricatic wrote:
Generally speaking, the 6.4 Powerstroke is marginally better than the POS Powerstroke 6.0. Many of the experienced Ford techs actually like a "bulletproofed" 6.0 better than the 6.4. Posting trouble free performance with only 25000 miles on the truck is basically meaningless...the 6.4 has had radiator and water pump issues that were very expensive to repair...It is a strong performer but like Donn wrote: "Decent truck if taken care of. The 6.4 has a less than stellar record and is generally noted as a fuel hog. There are better trucks out there for sure. Remember it was a IH motor at the end of the Ford/IH relationship.".

GM and Ram have a much better track record with their DuraMax and Cummins engines...

Regards

^^^^^^ Winner, winner chicken dinner!

I would never own a 6.4 out of warrantee. You think there is problems with the 6.7 CP4 pump. Wait till the pump goes out on the 6.4. There is another 10 grand bill waiting for you to pay.

Don't take my word for it Look for common problems here. There is a bunch with this motor. Good luck and make your own informed decision.

Price does seem a bit high, but that is Los Angeles. I bought my fully decked out '12 Lariat with 36k for the same price a year ago.

Generally speaking, the 6.4 Powerstroke is marginally better than the POS Powerstroke 6.0. Many of the experienced Ford techs actually like a "bulletproofed" 6.0 better than the 6.4. Posting trouble free performance with only 25000 miles on the truck is basically meaningless...the 6.4 has had radiator and water pump issues that were very expensive to repair...It is a strong performer but like Donn wrote: "Decent truck if taken care of. The 6.4 has a less than stellar record and is generally noted as a fuel hog. There are better trucks out there for sure. Remember it was a IH motor at the end of the Ford/IH relationship.".

GM and Ram have a much better track record with their DuraMax and Cummins engines...

Regards

donn0128 wrote:
Decent truck if taken care of. The 6.4 has a less than stellar record and is generally noted as a fuel hog. There are better trucks out there for sure. Remember it was a IH motor at the end of the Ford/IH relationship.

^^^^This^^^^Could not have said it better.

I have had my 08 6.4 for 3 years and 40, 000 km, I have had no problems. I am a maintenance nut. Most cases of engine issues are due to lack of maintenance or poor driving habits.