Are Ford 6.4 Diesels really all that bad??

[jhamlin]

Inviting comments from any & all current owners of Ford 6.4 diesels used for towing. I'm currently in the market for a used 1-ton diesel for towing a Big Horn 3400, and have observed many negative reports on the 6.4 in this forum. Not disputing anyone's negative experiences, but I realize there may be 50 good experiences to one really bad one - usually only the negative ones get reported. Makes sense - people with bad experiences naturally need to vent. Case in point, I was in the market for a van to be used in the expediting business years ago. I saw countless forum reports on Dodge/Mercedes Sprinters that were extremely negative, but went ahead and bought a used 2007 anyway. Today I have over 475K on this van and its still running strong (there are countless Sprinters out there with over 600K on 'em). I'm trying to put things in perspective, and not ruling out any of the big-3 at this point.

PS: Plenty of negative reports out there on Dodge Rams & Silverado's as well.

[ricatic]

45Ricochet wrote:
Wow the F150 is considered a "Superduty" also :H Cause it accounts for roughly 40-50% of Ford truck sales. Don't get us going " full member " :B
OBTW McDonald's must have the best hamburger also :B Couldn't resist guys

...now you have done it...but one has to admit that the blue koolaid is some powerful stuff

Regards

[45Ricochet]

Wow the F150 is considered a "Superduty" also :H Cause it accounts for roughly 40-50% of Ford truck sales. Don't get us going " full member " :B
OBTW McDonald's must have the best hamburger also :B Couldn't resist guys

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Engineer9860 wrote:
Low sales numbers by GM, and Ram is the reason the 6.4L PSD blew up in my company truck at 120,000mi.

Got it. I knew there had to be a reason other than the engine is just plain old junk.

ROTFLMAO, todouble, funny those high sales numbers didn't hurt the 7.3's rep much? Out of a trillion or so of those sold, almost everybody say's it's the best diesel engine ever put in a LD Ford truck.

But then again, maybe it's because it REALLY was a good engine? :R

[Engineer9860]

Low sales numbers by GM, and Ram is the reason the 6.4L PSD blew up in my company truck at 120,000mi.

Got it. I knew there had to be a reason other than the engine is just plain old junk.

[todouble]

All you ever hear about in the forums is negative opinions or problems with there trucks. But thats what these forums do is give people advice and steer them in the right direction. Most of the time you will never hear about all the trucks that are out there problem free and there owners love em. Me being one of them! Yes my only gripe is the poor fuel mileage but i knew this before buying and i dont drive it enough to care. It was bought to pull the fiver and thats what it does. Plain and simple. Not to mention the amount of ford diesels on the road compared to the other two major brands is not even a comparison. Superduty sales blow the rest out of the water so that adds to the number of problems out there.

[Winged_One]

I had an 08 6.4 that I bought used at about 60k miles. Pulled the Brookstone with it and it was fine. I did add Hypertech Econ that helped with additional power.

I went to a dually and decided to go new, so the switch to the 6.7.

I wonder how many people think they have a regen problem when it's really a bad injector. Mine would blow big smoke and have no power. With the Hypertech I pulled a code (no "check engine" light came on) and found a bad injector. 100% covered by Ford. And no other problems after that.

[Cummins12V98]

Jarlaxle wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Ask your self why did ford part ways with International?

If you are a Blue Oval guy stick with a gasser.

The 6.doh!

AND the 6.4

[Jarlaxle]

6.7 tow rig wrote:
Here was my experience in 35,000 miles with my 08 6.4. Several injectors needed to be replaced, one of which leaked and overfilled the crankcase with diesel fuel. Two radiators replaced in under 10k miles. A rear main seal at 20k miles and a rear bed plate at 35k miles which required the cab of the truck to come off. That was the end of that. I traded it for a Cummins.

The fuel mileage towing our 10k lbs TT was about 7.5-8.5 no better. That coupled with the warranty about to expire and the cost of cab off repairs in the future I just couldn't see keeping it.

Anyone looking at a used 6.4 out of warranty must truly consider how much those things cost to fix out of warranty.

Anyone looking at ANY post-2003 Ford diesel out of warranty probably should have his head examined!

[Jarlaxle]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Ask your self why did ford part ways with International?

If you are a Blue Oval guy stick with a gasser.

The 6.doh!

[kw_00]

Can't speak much about fuel issues, but at work we use fords both the 6.0 and 6.4. The 6.4 have given us regen issues, radiator issues, and the front engine cover tends to leak or crack and coolant and oil mix. Along that note these trucks are ambulances so they see much heavy use.

[Softballdad]

I have a 2008 job1 with 91k on it. Like others have said the mileage isn't great empty on the hwy I get 13.5, and towing its 8.5-10. No real issues except the radiator which was changed at around 30k, and no engine issues. It's a good truck and does what it was designed to do.

[nremtp143]

I had a '10 6.4L and most of the problems(besides fuel mileage) had been worked out by then. The thing was a towing beast! The engine braking worked better than on my current 6.7L. I had it for 3 years and mostly used it for towing the 15k 5er I have. About 14,000 miles towing it and never had a problem. Granted it was still almost new at 21k miles when I traded it, but following the severe maintenance guide on them, it is not a bad truck. Paying attention to the regens and not shutting it down during them, kept the oil levels from rising. I changed the oil every 4-5k miles and did Blackstone Lab reports on every change and had less than 1% fuel in the oil each time. The bad part is the frequency of the regens and fuel mileage. Mine was a '10 F350 CC 4x4 DRW and I averaged 8-8.5 towing that high profile 5er, but averaged around 12.5 every where else. Unfortunately, it like all the other new diesels, are very expensive to own outside of warranty. That is where it gets risky. A replacement fuel system would run around 13-15K at a dealer, but only around 5K at a diesel shop. Still very expensive though. I could not pull the camper more than 100 miles without it going through a regen, which kept the fuel mileage that low, considering it uses about 2 gallons of fuel for each regen. I would love to had the same truck, out of warranty so I could have deleted a few things to make it MUCH more reliable and tow better, but in violation of several laws. So, there is good and bad with the trucks. Funny thing is, this is the engine that opened the world up to HUGE horsepower at the tractor pulls and is still a favorite. They make crazy power without all the emissions stuff. Unfortunately, they can't legally be driven on the roadways that way. But that is a battle that each person must weigh. Bottom line, I loved the 6.4, all but fuel mileage. Like I said, I only had it under warranty and at low mileage, but there are lots out there with high mileage and no problems. We only hear of the bad things on forums because that's where everyone goes to research or complain about a particular item. Lots more negative than good there, but few in relation to how many was sold.

[Grodyman]

My 6.4 got 1 mpg better than my current 6.2/3.73, and it was a F350 crew, long box fx4 loaded, probably 1500lbs more truck by weight. If it wasn't for the emissions, I would have kept it. Important to keep the oil changed, fuel filters fresh, the coolant clean, and let it work.



vs.



Gman

[Grodyman]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

Grodyman wrote:
This technology should never have been put into production. The fumes from this technology can only be highly toxic, and is the only thing I can smell traveling on the freeway nowadays. If someone can measure and quantify the toxicity/carcinogens emitted out the tailpipe of a diesel during regeneration, there would, I'm sure, be one heck of a class action suit. I had to sell my 09 due to fumes entering the cab through open windows and vents when stopped at a red light. If you only drive on the freeway, no problem, you won't breathe the poison, only the people behind you.
Gman

:S I would have just had a competent Ford tech perform TSB 07-7-7 on my truck rather than sell it. But if you think your truck was trying to poison you, your probably better off without it.

The 6.4 is a good freeway truck for the occupants, terrible for everyone else and terrible for everyone in town. To the OP, drive around, find a 6.4, and follow it. You'll see.

Had to pass a 6.4 in regen mode on the fwy home today with the all too familiar fumes and smoke coming from the tailpipe, poisoning everyone behind. If you know the smell you can't miss it. Maybe that guy's truck needs a TSB.