The good the bad and the ugly...

Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
2,541
Well guys can you give me your opinions as owners of the newer 6.4l Powerstrokes?

I believe I am going to be in the market for an '08+ truck in the next few months and my decision will likely be between a Mega Cab and a SWB Crew Cab Ford. Either of which would be automatic and 4x4.

My biggest concern is reliability, if I am going to buy a truck that new it will stay mostly stock and I don't want to have any issues, or worry about issues. My goal is to get something with around 50k miles or less and get a trouble free 100k miles of my own.

What type of things would I need to watch out for on these engines and transmissions, or upgrade to increase the reliability of them if it is necassary?

What kind of mileage are you getting on the highway unloaded, loaded, do you have a lift and bigger tires?

What programmers/tuners are avaliable to delete the DPF and the other emissions stuff that can be removed to increase fuel economy?

I figure if I get a 6.4l the only mods I will d to it is a new exhaust system without the emissions equipment, maybe an intake and a programmer or something of that sort to run without the emissions, and maybe add up to 100hp?

If I was to add say 100hp how will that effect its dependability? How will the transmission and drivetrain hold up to that? Or for my goals should I not worry about adding power?

If I was to level it what size tires would fit? And with 33's or 35's how do they handle them? Any noticable difference in mileage or acceleration?

If you guys have any other suggestions for reliabilty, or concerns with the 6.4l let me know. As much as I love the Mega Cabs the Ford Crew Cab is very very nice, and since its short bed is about 4" longer than the Dodge's that is also very appealing to me...

Anyway thanks guys, I really appreciate the input!
 
I wont say that all of them are this way, but the F-550 6.4 powerstroke at work has been a nightmare and even ford cant fix most of its problems. It only has 37k miles on it. Just hasnt been what I would call reliable. I am biased towards the cummins, i wont deny that, but this ford really hasnt helped fords image in my eyes.

Eric
 
Well, I have an 08 that I bought with 65k on it and i'm up to almost 80 now. It has had a tune and dpf delete since a week after i picked up and up till the other night I had not had an issue but it is shifting in to 3rd funny. It is coming out and getting built. Its not the trucks fault you know the whole you have to pay to play thing. I went from a 03 guad cab Cummins to this truck and I have a feeling that this one will be around for quite some time. The best advise I can give is to get an oasis report on it before you purchase and then get the dpf off and if you keep the power levels sane you shouldn't have to worry about the transmission.
 
My cousin has one with 35" tires on it and it was gettin about 12mpg. He took the dpf off of it and the mileage jumped up to 19 mpg.
 
6.4s are amazing. With a tune, intake, and exhaust you can get 550+ rwhp and run high 12s. That will be my next truck without a doubt. Get on powerstrokenation.com and start reading there. My dad absolutely loves his 2010 6.4 dually.
 
Last edited:
Love my 08 6.4. have 30,000 miles tuned at 500-600 hp depending on tune ran. Truck clicked a 12:88 with absolutely nothing changed from the job site. Stock trans, intake, tuner and exhaust. No problems yet knocking on wood now.

Truck rides incredible for 2 straight axles. In cab and idle is very, very quiet for a diesel. Interior is well designed and looks superior to the rest in my eyes. The actual cab and bed is wider than my old chevy.

Only complaints so far........ Hard to work on......... and they sound like a crawfish cooker with a straight pipe.
 
love mine, get about 16 in right now stock tires, but i have dpf, doc delets, sct going to gets erics tunes loaded shortly. Oh a s-b intake.
they only problem ive had is a stuck egr valve fixed under warranty, Im thinking about deleting that as well.
 
If u leave it stock they suck I had a early 6.4 550 it spent alot of time in the shop. Coolant leaks, wiring harness, dpf, only 5 to 6 mpg.
 
To be honest mine is probably the best truck I have ever owned,, and that is saying something,, I am a real dyed in the wool dodge guy. Great fuel mileage, amazing power, and the most beautiful interior I have ever owned. The ride is pretty much equal to my 07chev without the front end issues I had on it. In 140k km's about 88k miles I had to do 2 wheel alignments on the chevy, same driving on the ford nothing. Tranny is way better, feels stronger, shifts nicer, when I hook my race truck on the back it dosent sag like a grannies boobies. Very good truck in my opinion
 
I don't have one yet, but my buddy has an 09 6.4 he bought brand new and put over 60,000 miles on it in a yr plowing, towing, hauling, everything from skid steers, to snowmobiles, and landscape trailers, and had very minor issues, his radiator was leaking so he brought it to ford and they replaced it, and its been fine since.
 
Job one 08 trucks had known radiator problems. Dealer takes care of it.
 
I just bout a 2008 F350 crew cab short box (SRW) I love it the truck rides WAAYYY nicer then the dodges I test drove. Even the new dodges ride like crap. Turning radius is nice on it ! (normaly drive a 99 F250 sucks on that truck) I havent done anything with it yet. probably do intake/intercooler pipe upgrade then probably get a tuner then save up for an exhaust.

I bought mine with 104k miles on it the previous owner was very anal about maint on the truck he owned a buisness in the area. He always had every little thing fixed. And my truck was in show room condition besides some crap in the bed on the bedliner which can be redone.

I get about 10 MPG and its been about 0-10 F lately (cold weather kills gas mileage on these) towing a 7k lb trailer. hoping to do a few mods to get up to about 13-14 towing.
 
The ride on these new fords are amazing, for straight axles it is awesome. I had forgotten how rough my dodge was until I got a new truck for a company truck and it is a dodge 2500,,, what a buckboard
 
Brothers had a Couple of them.. His current '08 F250 Split a radiator.. other than that it has been problem free.. I try to give him my 2010 F150 or my '03 F250 alot just to drive his 6.4l
 
That all is sounding very appealing, are the only deletes it needs is the EGR cooler and all the exhaust components? Can the EGR cooler stuff be done without removing the cab? Or is it pretty easy to lift the cab on them?

I have done an EGR delete on a 6.0l and I didn't think it was too hard just very time consuming, but the 6.4l seems to have a lot more stuff under the hood.

BTW How do the 6.4l's start in cold weather? It only gets down to high 20's around here in the winter at the worst typically.

So with a new exhaust, intake, programmer and the DPF and EGR deleted can I honestly expect to get 100k-150k of trouble free miles from the engine, tranny and truck in general?
 
My truck has started no problem at -30 and colder,, I try not to make it do that not plugged in. But it isnt always possible to plug in.. never an issue
 
the newer ford dont have the old getting cold i better go and plug my in truck in BS
 
That all is sounding very appealing, are the only deletes it needs is the EGR cooler and all the exhaust components? Can the EGR cooler stuff be done without removing the cab? Or is it pretty easy to lift the cab on them?

I have done an EGR delete on a 6.0l and I didn't think it was too hard just very time consuming, but the 6.4l seems to have a lot more stuff under the hood.

BTW How do the 6.4l's start in cold weather? It only gets down to high 20's around here in the winter at the worst typically.

So with a new exhaust, intake, programmer and the DPF and EGR deleted can I honestly expect to get 100k-150k of trouble free miles from the engine, tranny and truck in general?

Depends on your foot and how big of a tune you are running. Mine has been somewhere between 500-600hp for 30k but I am easy on it most of the time.
 
I would doubt I would ever go over 100hp added via a tune/programmer, I've learned my lesson with being hard on stuff lol. I drive pretty laid back and I am religous about being easy on it until all the temps are up to normal operating range.
 
Back
Top