Ford 6.4 Radiator Failure

45Ricochet wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Simple. Ford inadvertently tried to use their aluminum radiator as a structural member and it didn't work out too well for them. :B

Some people are on their 4th+ radiator. And at 2 grand a pop it's not cheap. :E

Spot on, our kid is on number 4 in his 2011 F250 on the freeways of S Cali. Don't think it's ever been in 4WD other than boat launches.

Rick, don't feel bad. We as parents do the best we can to guide our kids through life to make good decisions. For whatever reason sometimes they just go haywire. I'm sure you advised your kid not to buy a 6.4...........Maybe it was rebellion? Who knows?

Knowing you, you did the best you could and that's all we can do in life. :B

The best intervention I know of is take your kid down to the nearest Dodge dealer and show them and let them test drive the new 3500 Ram. It's all good after that! :B

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Simple. Ford inadvertently tried to use their aluminum radiator as a structural member and it didn't work out too well for them. :B

Some people are on their 4th+ radiator. And at 2 grand a pop it's not cheap. :E

Spot on, our kid is on number 4 in his 2011 F250 on the freeways of S Cali. Don't think it's ever been in 4WD other than boat launches.

Turtle...that 10 millions miles must have been on a smooth test track...

Was one of my Walter Mitty moments as a kid when learned of the Big
Three Test Tracks and the folks hired to drive them 24/7 BUT they had
many different test tracks

From smooth freeway to city to potholed to off roads (not at serious as these pics)

This is the Rubicon Trail in Calif (Lake Tahoe). I used to make several runs
per year in my heyday...Dune Buggy, Toyota FJ40, Blazer K5 and have NOT taken
my Suburban out there...it's a whale and will get stuck...or worse...


This is a Toyota FJ40 like mine, but mine was red and not lifted this
high











My points are

• Some of us folks really do take their vehicles off road
• Most of them are small
• Original SUV's were truck based (ladder frame)
• Few if any CUV's out on the Rubicon Trail, as monocoque/unibody won't last long out there
• They USED to design them for much tougher road conditions

And most are 'half ton', as bigger will not do well out there

Great, thanks OP. I'll keep my '08 6.4L on level ground! Good to know why these radiators are failing and to watch for the radiator bowing at the top. I'm still on my original rad, so I guess I'm doing something right for a change. Thanks again. John.

Isn't there a GM TV add that shows the tailgate on a Ford buckeling under a torsional frame load such as demonstrated in that video?

ib516 wrote:
Interesting. Makes me think of these videos:
VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

I remember when these videos were first posted up. There were lots of people who called the test ridiculous and that there's no reason a 350/3500 would ever be in this situation in the real world. Seems Bill Hewitt may have just validated the test.

Lessmore wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Simple. Ford inadvertently tried to use their aluminum radiator as a structural member and it didn't work out too well for them. :B

Some people are on their 4th+ radiator. And at 2 grand a pop it's not cheap. :E

Makes you wonder how these design faults slip through. I think BenK is right. Too much reliance on CAD in modern design.

I agree with you 100% Lessmore; and Ben too.

Ford said they tested this platform 10 million miles.

What the ???????? What did they do take 10 million trucks and drive them 1 mile and say good enough. :B LOL

Tell you what Ford........or any manufacture for that matter: Give your test mules to my brother in law and he will find every weak part in the truck in about thirty days. :B

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Simple. Ford inadvertently tried to use their aluminum radiator as a structural member and it didn't work out too well for them. :B

Some people are on their 4th+ radiator. And at 2 grand a pop it's not cheap. :E

Makes you wonder how these design faults slip through. I think BenK is right. Too much reliance on CAD in modern design.

Simple. Ford inadvertently tried to use their aluminum radiator as a structural member and it didn't work out too well for them. :B

Some people are on their 4th+ radiator. And at 2 grand a pop it's not cheap. :E

Bill Hewitt raises (ha ha) an interesting point.

It was EXACTLY in model year 2008, coinciding with the introduction of the 6.4L, that Ford changed the radiator support structure, and the front fender support structure, and the lower front frame.

Every structural element surrounding and supporting the radiator in the 6.4L was all new, and very different from the 10 years of Super Duty production that preceded.

The image that best illustrates the structural changes are in the Ford Super Duty brochure for 2008. I have the paper version, but I could not find a digital version online to share, but I did find some images of the cut away sled that Ford paraded around to the press, with the new structural elements painted in bold yellow and red colors, by Ford, to show the press junket the changes.

Here are some examples:













The yellow and red elements are all new. Notice the deepened front fame horns that were lowered to eliminate the Blocker Beam.

It is not unreasonable to suspect that the increase in radiator failures from 2008 forward... failures that did not occur in trucks built from 1998 through 2007... could be related to these structural changes to the front end.

I'd post this comment under Bill's video, but I do not have an account.