Thoughts on the 6.4

['strokeThis_'07]

But seriously, why should someone who just dropped 40K on a truck have to delete and stud it just so it lasts more than 150K?

Shouldn't a guy be able to just jump in and drive or tow whatever he wishes and only worry about regular maintenance?

Is that not a 6.0L in your avatar? Or an older truck made to look newer? The 6.0 makes the Olds 350 from the late 70's look good...


I hate Fords, especially their diesels, with a passion. They've all been junk as far as I'm concerned. Except a deleted and tuned 6.4 is pretty bueno. A 6.4 is the ONLY Ford pickup I would buy, period. It's obviously pretty well built, name a new diesel that will hold 1k on stock internals; a Duramax won't. And the 6.7 Cummins won't. Both will either have rods bent or rods exiting stage right. A 5.9 CR Cummins will have rod issues eventually also.

My old work ran Fords, and the stock 6.4's did still have issues, mainly emissions related. But emissions blow on all the new diesels, regardless of make.

 

[bigrpowr]

just seems that some people make very blind statements and know very little firsthand. i hate that. this site is FIRST HAND info, not hearsay. i would rather hear from a 6.4 owner that has had the issues, which i have, but id rather hear it from those WITH experience rather than somebody who doesnt own one and " heard " from the techs at ford.... stick with the 7.3 dave, its a great reliable motor. just a pig.

 

[idkillinit]

If you want a Ford with factory reliability. 7.3

 

[Layson]

One of my friends needs a second motor in his and it has sat for over a year because he is just sick about it. Another guy has already had one engine replaced. Also a contractor I deal with had to get rid of his since the dealership could not get it to run right. He owns a dodge now. I have seen others that run great. I just can't ignore these experiences.

If I were to get one it would have to be under warranty. Then I would get rid of it. I have been around too many people that have had MAJOR problems that I can't ignore. If it were stupid stuff then who cares. My friend with the 03 6.0 didnt even have to replace his motor or worry about extra "oil" showing up on his dipstick... Lol

Either way, just have seen more bad than good experiences with 6.4's. Just my .02

 

[907DAVE]

just seems that some people make very blind statements and know very little firsthand. i hate that. this site is FIRST HAND info, not hearsay. i would rather hear from a 6.4 owner that has had the issues, which i have, but id rather hear it from those WITH experience rather than somebody who doesnt own one and " heard " from the techs at ford.... stick with the 7.3 dave, its a great reliable motor. just a pig.

Just cauz a guy owns a 6.4 does not means he knows it all....he's not the one fixing that thing.....hint hint?

I assume you have heard of "owners" replacing headgaskets, EGR valve/ cooler, or maybe melt a piston or two, and definitely never had any valve train or injector issues, cracked heads or dare I say a replaced a long block on a 6.4 before? And not once on a bone stock engine.

Naa, that sh!t never happens!

I do feel that the 6.4 will give Ford a name again in the horsepower world, but for the guy who actually uses his truck for all its worth (not those who hot rod everywhere they go), but the guy who makes a living because of it - and counts on its reliability and longevity.......this is not the best decision.

Again, this is my hearsay biased opinion....and I really no nothing about them because I never fixed a single one.

Please guys, dont take this to heart. I really love to see what you guys are doing with them, and so far it has been nothing but amazing! I always look forward to seeing the next part or improvements available....and deep down, I wouldn't mind having one either.

 

[powersmokin64]

Moderate power levels don't require studs. Moderate meaning decently modded 7.3 power levels ...

Your right but all manufacturers have problems with regeneration systems ask detroit and caterpillar the same thing... emissions is ruining the engines life and reliability

Most of the machines that are failing are the ones that idle for countless hours. The ones with DPF's that have the **** worked out of them aren't doing too bad

 

[powersmokin64]

The only problem I have encountered with mine was a clogged DPF which Ford replaced and I deleted it the next week. Not a hiccup since running no less than a 300 tune for 16k

 

[11STROKER]

Lol Dave... I smell ignorance. I can talk to people all day, but the real world still exists. Sure there are some issues, but nothing that hasn't been fixed and certainly nothing hereditary. The only major warranty issue has been radiators , which ha supposedly been fixed. Please list all this "hearsay" if you would.

:whs:

 

[89xj]

I went from a late 99 with some **** done to it, to my early 08. I love it an wouldn't go back. Been more reliable the. My 7-3 was. 6-4's tuned an has the piss run out of it. It's been great

 

[Johnny77Mutt]

88k on mine tuned 48k love it

 

[chromehound]

I was nervous about getting mine and that fact that the OBS just went poof and I had no time to do any research other than the few things I'd read on here didn't help, but I'm glad I bought my 6.4.

All engines are prone to failures, some more than others and some earlier than others, but I feel that's kinda "a luck of the draw" type thing - some people have nothing but issues and others have none. I've had three 7.3s - one was a complete POS, one ran great but had electrical issues and the other I wish I would have kept but all that dosen't mean jack to the next guy because they may have had nothing but issues or maybe they had no problems at all, it's all on a case by case situation as far as I'm concerned. I've never owned a 6.0 so I keep my mouth shut about them unless I have a question or to say "hey that ___ looks really good where'd you get it?", same goes for the 6.7s and D-Max.

Summary to the OP: research where ever you can, accept there are going to be pros and cons, buy what you feel comfortable with but remember that buying a used car is potentially buying someone elses problems and most important remember that forums collect two types of stories - horror stories about failure and success stories about overcoming/preventing those failures.

 

[bigrpowr]

Just cauz a guy owns a 6.4 does not means he knows it all....he's not the one fixing that thing.....hint hint?

I assume you have heard of "owners" replacing headgaskets, EGR valve/ cooler, or maybe melt a piston or two, and definitely never had any valve train or injector issues, cracked heads or dare I say a replaced a long block on a 6.4 before? And not once on a bone stock engine.

Naa, that sh!t never happens!

I do feel that the 6.4 will give Ford a name again in the horsepower world, but for the guy who actually uses his truck for all its worth (not those who hot rod everywhere they go), but the guy who makes a living because of it - and counts on its reliability and longevity.......this is not the best decision.

Again, this is my hearsay biased opinion....and I really no nothing about them because I never fixed a single one.

Please guys, dont take this to heart. I really love to see what you guys are doing with them, and so far it has been nothing but amazing! I always look forward to seeing the next part or improvements available....and deep down, I wouldn't mind having one either.

again... hearsay. like has been said , the emission equipment has decreased reliability. blame the sierra club i suppose.

p.s. the 6.4 HAS given ford a name in the hp world. it is the ford hp world.

 

[907DAVE]

Okay...guess that stuff never happens then.

I agree that emissions stuff does not help anything....but EVERYTHING cannot be blamed on a EGR or DPF system.

 

[11STROKER]

again... hearsay. like has been said , the emission equipment has decreased reliability. blame the sierra club i suppose.

p.s. the 6.4 HAS given ford a name in the hp world. it is the ford hp world.

6.4 FTW

 

[08KR]

Ive owned a 5.9 24v (heavily modded), 6.7 cummins (stock), and now my Job 3 6.4 (Mods below). Im the type of person who has to work on my truck myself so saying that it kinda sucked moving into the Powerstroke world, since working on a Cummins spoiled me. Saying that the 6.4 is the smoothest and comfortable truck ive owned or been in. ( I like them better than the 11's). I would say that the Job 1s had alot of problems, a few family members have had them in the shop alot. Mine has never been a problem to me, and i looked up the service record of my previous owner; only things were ( Backup camera was fixed, seal on the timing cover replaced, and glow plugs) 74k miles.

 

[Breaking Habits]

My father and I farm about 1000 acres. We're small time, but it keeps us busy. We've had gas chevys, gas fords, a few cummins, 6.0s, our couple of 6.4s, 2 6.7s, and an lml. The guys we exchange worth work have every year dmax, a 12v and 7.3s. We've gotten to work the whole spectrum. I will say this, my father is a stubborn old man, but he preaches sermons about his 6.4s. I guarantee, you will not find a truck that gets moving with 14 1200-1500lb round bales like my dads f450. It's got comfort, it is an ox. Weve never had to worry about any cold manors, and overheating, and definitely never had to worry about being able to move the load.

It's a stout built platform, with a stout ox under the hood. Are every one of our trucks completely deleted and tuned, yes they are. Has every single truck in our farm community been tweaked in some way shape or form? Your damn right it has.

Out of the box, I'm a little nervous with 6.4s. I feel if you plan on buying a stock truck, and leaving it that way, buy a 6.7, or an lbz. They are great stock form trucks.

If you plan on tweaking a little and want a truck that just keeps going, buy an 09-10 6.4. 3 09s in my family (37k f350 reg cab, 25k f450 crew, 49k f250 reg cab) and 1 10 (f350 crew @ 35k). The only problem we've had besides me abusing the hell out of my 10 was a leaking EGR at 48k on my reg cab and a bad lpfp due to bad fuel @ 19k on my 10.

That's why we choose 6.4s. OP, hope our experience gives some insight.

Jared

 

[drunk on diesel]

I've owned a bunch of 12v and CR Cummins. I wouldn't touch a gutless turd of a 7.3 or a 6.0 popcorn maker for anything. That Rube Goldberg injection system just feels downright unnatural... like two men in bed together...

it's 2012. any diesel with a DPF should be deleted. You can't really argue that as a sticking point. You don't need head studs unless you're trying to drag race or sled pull with the thing.

as for the design flaws? I would like to see a beefier rocker design.

honestly, the 6.4 runs/drives so well, it's worth any issues IMO. You're going to have to make concessions with any modern diesel

you want bulletproof reliability? get a 12v

 

[forcefed6.4ford]

Just cauz a guy owns a 6.4 does not means he knows it all....he's not the one fixing that thing.....hint hint?

I assume you have heard of "owners" replacing headgaskets, EGR valve/ cooler, or maybe melt a piston or two, and definitely never had any valve train or injector issues, cracked heads or dare I say a replaced a long block on a 6.4 before? And not once on a bone stock engine.

Naa, that sh!t never happens!

I do feel that the 6.4 will give Ford a name again in the horsepower world, but for the guy who actually uses his truck for all its worth (not those who hot rod everywhere they go), but the guy who makes a living because of it - and counts on its reliability and longevity.......this is not the best decision.

Again, this is my hearsay biased opinion....and I really no nothing about them because I never fixed a single one.

Please guys, dont take this to heart. I really love to see what you guys are doing with them, and so far it has been nothing but amazing! I always look forward to seeing the next part or improvements available....and deep down, I wouldn't mind having one either.

There are quite a few members that have done this and more. I have deleted everything on mine and will be doing pretty much the whole top end soon, by myself and cab on. There is a shift in the market place with modding 6.4's. Hard parts are not cheap for these trucks compared to the other 2 manufacturers simply because they were only on the market for 4 years. It has created a lot of Shady Tree mechanics. More people are doing their own wrenching now and as a result most of us are quite knowledgeable. That being said most involved here know what they are talking about. I wouldn't change my 6.4 for anything.

 

[00f3fiddy]

I work at a small ford dealership and I would say 75% of the problems we have seen all can relate back to the customer. Whether its lack of maintenance or abuse! We have seen a couple timing covers deteriorate and leak coolant into the oil pan. Of course you got exhaust leaks and what not but ANY vehicle has them. Radiators and emisions parts are the down fall. If I had the money I would be riding in a 6.4! Well, after I ran a oasis to see the waranty history of course!

 

[CamTom12]

I know Dave wasn't talking to hate. He's a good dude.

But for some reason I was randomly thinking on my drive home today that if something ever happened to my truck I'd get an 09-10 6.4 and do the exact same mods. Maybe some 60's, rails, and Elite's B-o-P HPFP when it comes out with the HG's/studs/EGR delete just to save time.

This immediately followed a short train of thought about how I like the looks of the new Dodges but would rather stick to a Ford, how about that 6.7 - naaaahhhh....

LOL