Thinking about getting a new pickup truck. Just wanted to get input from all the guys that own or drive the 6.4 liter diesel Ford pickup. I presently drive a 7.3 liter and have really liked it. Was told by many to stay away from the 6.0s which i did. So any comment on the 6.4 good and bad would ok. Thanks for your imput.
grandpa..I'll tell ya what I will do to help you out..You buy one and give it to me..I'll drive it for a few months..then I'll let you know how she works.. Now if that doesn't work for ya...buy one and give me your old one..lol
Come on, Gramps. You dont want a new one, stick to your 7.3. Besides wouldn't that make the rest of your stuff look really old. LOL
they are junk we are about to trade out of the four we have at the county they all make oil diesel fuel getting in the oil. ford says thats normal and wont do anything about it. they are going to chevy or dodge diesels stay away from the fords for now wait for the new ones and even then wait a year or so to get one of those if you do like the fords. the 7.3 is a tough good engine stay with it imo.
I drive a company owned F350 with the 6.4 and it runs trouble free. We have 50-60 of them, and they have been good so far. They have an ugly downside in that the fuel milage is very poor, 12mpg on the average. I dont like them, but they are 10 times better than the 6.0's we had before. I have been studying up on the next engine they are putting in the Fords, and I believe it will be better if you want to wait. I personally own a 2002 with the 7.3, and still like it. If the new one turn out good I may get one.
I drive a 6.4 F450 everyday-company truck. My driveway at home is nothing but 7.3s. We have a fleet of 15 Fords ranging from a 7.3idi, 7.3 powerstrokes, 6.0 and 6.4s. I dont like the 6.4, when I changed the oil in it three weeks ago it had an extra gallon in it. Called the dealer that said that was normal that when the truck goes into "regen" and cleans the exhaust filter it injects diesel fuel into the exhaust stream to burn out the filter. This process will allow diesel fuel to slip into the crankcase. Trust me with the diesel fuel mixed with the engine oil that was some nasty stuff. I got some on my hands and took forever to clean off. I am a mechanic and usually have no problem cleaning my hands, this stuff was like tar! I am now on my 5th radiator but Ford has fixed this problem, I hope. My 6.4 is an early 08 model which was not a good one to get. I have 101000 miles on it as of today. Other than the radiator and the top radiator hose I have not had any problems, but I do not feel comfortable with this engine. Love the truck and love the transmission (auto), has a neat tow/haul setting that will gear down when braking. My advice is to stay away from 6.4s and the 03-04 6.0s. We have figured out the deal with the 6.0s at work. If you replace the head bolts with ARP head studs, install an EGR cooler delete kit you can hot rod the truck and really get it to turn on with very few problems. But if you want a 6.0 go with 05-07 years. But to sum up the 6.4, it is probably a very good engine if you could remove all of the emiisions systems the truck has and get it back to the basics like a 7.3. And yes as Lonestar stated the fuel mileage is awful. I am getting around 9mpg when my old 7.3 work truck got 13 with a computer chip.
Goingbroke and grader4me with friends like you two one would need no enemys! lol
I had a 2000 F350 7.3L 4x4 crew cab single RW, it was an awesome truck. I chipped it and installed a K&N filter, that was all the mods it had. I could get 16-17 MPG in town and 24-27 MPG on the HWY. You could give it hell on the throttle and it would not disappoint you, although there were a few folks in cars that limped away.... It was probably the best truck I have owned so far. I have an '06 6.0 that has not had many problems - I would trade it for that 2000 right now if I had the chance.:cool2
What is the new engine Ford is designing , and when is it coming to market? Thanks for the honest reply.
Don't know a lot about the new 6.7 ford. Supposed to come out in 2011. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/31/beware-the-scorpion-2011-ford-super-duty-gets-all-new-6-7-liter/ They will, as the truck engines, have to inject urea into the exhaust, so that means another tank and something else you will have to mess with. They have everything screwed up with the emission laws, just means that we have to find more ways to take the stuff off so that it runs decent. Traded my 7.3 for a 04 6.0 haven't had too bad of luck in 150,000 but would take my 7.3 back anyday. goodluck, gramps
I wonder why Ford stayed with the V8 design for their new engine instead of an I6?
I have an '08 F450 with the 6.4. Crew cab, 4x4, 4.30 rear ratio, only 21,000 miles. It's not my daily driver so it usually has a trailer attached to it. The truck is amazingly comfortable and capable for towing/hauling. I've had no problems with the drivetrain, and also love the tranny and brake controller. With all that said, I would not purchase this truck again for one reason....fuel mileage. I rarely see more than 9 mpg on a tankful. Heavily loaded at 65 mph or less, it will get about 7.5 to 8 mpg. Bump your speed to 70 or more and the mileage falls to below 7 mpg! The few times that I have driven unloaded for any considerable distance, it has gotten about 12.5 mpg. If I had to do it all over again, I would buy a small Pete, KW, or Freightliner, 2007 or older to avoid the ULSD emissions systems.
Redbank The newer 6.0's are no better than the older ones. I have 5 of them, and between the 5 I have had 15 major engine repairs. Most were under warranty, so It cost a deductable plus inconvienience. They are now all out of warranty, and about to break me. I have spent nearly 10,000 in the last 4 months, and that is on 3 of the trucks. I sold 2 that were showing signs of acting up, and can't wait to get rid of the rest. The dealer machanics have been heard to say that the only engine thay have ever had more problem with than the 6.0 is the 6.4. I will NOT be buying another Ford diesel because of this. I am going to go with Dodge or GM after this last few years with Ford.
The V8 is the norm not the exception. Ford has always had V8s in their trucks and will likely continue to do so. Are you trying to say Ford should attempt to build a Cummins? :beatsme The Cummins is a stronger engine than the Powerstroke not because an I6 is inherently better than a V8. It is stronger because the internals are massive compared to a powerstroke. As a 7.3 owner holding a 7.3 and 5.9 rod made me want to cry. A 5.9's rod is SIGNIFICANTLY larger making it far stronger. The reason a 7.3 won't put out as much power as a 5.9 is because the 7.3 will put a rod through the block before a 5.9 will. Yes there is the heui/cr argument but I'm talking strictly about the strength of internals as we are talking I6 vs V8 here not heui/cr. The 5.9 was designed as a multi-use engine. It can be found in various forms in woodchippers, generators, trucks, loaders etc. The Powerstroke was built to be a truck engine only and wasn't designed to take the same abuse as the 5.9 was. And now for the 6.4: I haven't yet made up my mind about them yet but I can tell you if you think a 6.0 or 7.3 engine bay is cramped don't look under a 6.4's hood. You could drop a dime into the engine bay and it would never hit the ground. I've heard of guys who love their 6.4s or you've got 6.4s that drop a valve and require full replacement at 80k. I think it's really a crap shoot with the 6.4 In my opinion the 7.3 is a tried and tested engine that has been proven to perform when asked to.
Yes, pretty obvious seeing that 2/3 of the domestic pick-up truck makers use V8's. I have owned 4 - 7.3's and 4 - 6.0's. Still have 1- 7.3 and 1 - 6.0. The 7.3 has been the best diesel engine in a Ford pick-up so far. From my experiences with the 6.0, I will not own another one and not ready to gamble my hard earned money on a 6.4. Luckily I have the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty on the last 6.0 I have. The most prevalent problem I had with my 6.0's were cam sensors. One 6.0 would crap a cam sensor every 18-20K miles. With the economy the way it is, I won't have to make a decision on a new truck anytime soon. Nope, I was only asking a question. The reason I asked, was that Ford went to building a new engine and they obviously decided with a V8 design over an I6. And that would be the question, why? Marketing reasons? Are the V8's cheaper to build? Easier to integrate into their chassis? Would tooling and startup for an I6 be cost prohibitive? Just curious why they chose a V8 configuration. I agree. The 2001 7.3 with 140K miles has been a great truck. So far nothing major - I better go knock on some wood!
I have 2 of my personal PSD's with 350,000+ miles. A 2000 F-350 and a 2002 Excursion. I had a 2008 F-450 for 3 whole months that was the biggest pain in the rear i have ever owned i had it 4 days before it went into the shop. After 6 weeks of living at the ford dealer on and off in those 3 months i finally had enough and my lawyer pitched a big enough fit that ford gave me my money back. I have NO need for any 6.0's or 6.4 OR 6.7 for that matter. IT's a sad day when i start looking at dodge for need to buy a real truck to do real truck things.
I can surely understand where you are coming from. On the 6.0s I was under the impression that there was some major changes in the fuel injection system between 03-04 and then 05-07. We have three 05's, one 06, and one 07. Two 05s and the 06 are the Bosses trucks that have been hot rodded. The problems we have had is the coupler on the high pressure oil pump cracking and causing a no start situation and the turbo failing on three of them. That wonderful variable vane turbo that gets stuck. Like you they were covered under warranty but it is a pain to take them in and then an insult to pay $100. I think the glory days ended in 2002, we have a 2001 Excursion Limited that my wife drives and a 2002 F-250 we use on the farm and I could not ask for anything better than the 7.3s. On a side note I jumped some Ford engineers at ConExpo about the 6.4 and the ridiculous fuel mileage, you would have thought I passed gas they way I cleared the room out. One engineer stuck with me and tried to play it down but I finally gave up and walked over to look at the Sterling Bullet-which at the time seemed to be the best way for Ford Guys to buy a Cummins in a rebadged Dodge without our Dodge guys crucifying us too badly. Too bad the Sterling did not work out.
in line 6 are the most reliable and longest lasting engines gas or diesel. Thats why ford wont put one in there trucks period! Do your self a favor and buy a CUMMINS. I own them all have a 99 F450 7.3 and love it also 01 duramax which has been incredible with that allison auto, and 08 cummins. The idea truck would be a GMC cab with a cummins engine and an alison automatic. but probably wont happen. So i suggest cummins or duramax. Stay away from ford for now
I Wish GM would put a decent frame under the duramax and a set of brakes. Me and my buddy hauled from California to Texas 20+ times over the years hauling horses back and forth and my 2000 PSD F-350 DRW handles the weight 10X better than his 4x4 CC DRW LB Chevy D-max. And i will say the brakes on the Chevy are DEPLORABLE! First trip out the rotor warped so bad it tried to yank the wheel out of your hands every time you got on the brakes. got em fixed under warranty after some screaming and they did it again on the next trip. $4,500 later for the SSBC brake kit where they pretty much replaced everything but the peddle and its much much better. But the frame still doesn't handle the weight for ****.
I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about the 6.4. One thing is for sure the mileage is horrible. I have high hopes for the new 6.7 it has some very nice design features. And 2011s will have a new trans to that they are compairing with the Allison. Thats funny GM has the best brakes out of out of the big 3 other then rust. Just about everyone gets over 100K out of a set and some that hot shot have 300K on the original pads. How doesn't the frame handle the load? It does my guess is that you don't know that the frame is designed to flex a lot. I know a few of guys pulling ~35K gross legally and even more do up to 40K illegally with Dmaxs and they ain't complaining.
I say the GM frames don't last because I have a 2500 and the frame is broken to pieces where the receiver hitch bolts on at. I have 150K and need to rebuild the entire frame at the rear. I do tow a lot, and a lot is heavy and some off road, but my Ford and Dodge never had frame problems like this. My 99 Ford I used so much I had the pin hole in the receiver hitch egg shaped by over 1/2", and still no frame trouble. I have only towed half as much with the Chevy, and the hitch hole is barely worn, but the frame is ruined. I agree the brakes last good. I got over 90K on the first set, and they still had more to go. The engine is fine, but trans and transfer case have both been trouble. (mine is not an Allison) After the Ford 6.0 and 6.4, I won't have another one though.
I really could give a crap less on how long they last if they don't stop the truck their not much good to me. The trailer has Great Electric over Hyd disk brakes and 17.5" wheels and can pull the combo down from speed without the truck brakes. Trailer is a 2008 Bloomer 6 horse with mid tack 48' and when we drop the gooseneck ball on the pin you can actually watch the gap between the cab and the bottom of the bed change. the frame actually bows up in the middle. The truck pulls like a freight train without fail it just doesn't handle the weight well at all. You definitely KNOW your doing more than the general says you should every step of the way. You cant be serious with your frame is designed to flex comment?
Actually, all frames are designed to flex, some more than others. If they weren't, they'd simply break.
I know they are supposed to flex, but see my post above. When the flex turns into the frame literally desintergrating around the hitch there is a problem.
My post was not directed at your hitch problem. This thread started out asking about issues with Ford's 6.4 PowerStroke and has somehow evolved into talk about frames. It's fast becoming a brand war thread and nothing good can come from that. Let's try and get back to the question at hand please. Thanks!!
a SLIGHT amount of flex is a given but a visual deflection when statically loaded is another. None of my fords or my bigger trucks ever had this much of a visual deflection after a load was placed on it. I have seen to manny trucks with broken frames right behind the cab to not have that worry me.
No brand war I see misinformation or 2 guys that maybe the exception to the rule. I'm a diesel enthusiast first and could care less what others think is the best truck for them. 2500 and 2500HDs have different frames so I don't know what to say other then the stock hitch suck for sure on GMs. I know a guy that has trashed 3 hitches he has put on his 2500HD IIRC the last one was rated at 15K and his frame around it is fine. I know dodge guys that put GM brakes on there trucks (rear) because they are better. If someone doesn't know GMs brakes its easy to trash them they take some fine tuning and sometimes yearly maintenance. Of coarse there are better aftermarket options out there EBC are some of the best. GM has TONs of frame flex on there HD line. Trust me guys have been complaining about the bouncy ride it causes since they came out. The frames have never shown to be a weak link even when way overloaded.
Amen- except I had to let mine go. After about 6 7.3s I was able to run Dmax instead of a 6.0. The F-450 drove like a dream. Turning radius was great. But as a empty daily driver 8.5 and a regen a week (tons of white smoke all over the place) just wasn't cutting it. I found a '07 5.9 Dodge to run until they get this ULSD worked out.
I know some early production 6.4's had some issues but nothing like the 6.0's. Ford is dumping Powerstroke and making their own diesel here in a year or 2 I think, it'll be interesting to see how well it does. I've always been a GM guy but I love Cummins the most, it's just too bad it has a Dodge wrapped around it.