Clearly I know there is bias here but I'm looking for peoples experiences/advice. I'm a duramax guy and always will be probably but I need a new service truck and I can't find a GM that is set up how I want. I need a crew cab 4x4 with 11' service bed and I love the Ford f550 because of the high gvw which is not available in a GM without going to the medium duty setup. I'm looking at a couple 08s both Ford and GM and truck wise Ford wins hands down but I'm a little nervous about the 6.4 power stroke. The current one I'm looking at has 133k miles and just under 6k engine hours. Last one I looked at had 113k and 12.5k hours so I passed on that one. Any advice? I can't touch a Chevy or gmc for anywhere close to what I can get a Ford for.
Anyone worked with Ford 6.4
- Thread starter vzfarms
- Start date
I have a buddy here that works on fords, this is his comment.
I would stay away from the 6.4 no matter what. Ford says you should rebuild them and replace the timing cover at 100k because there is a hole that wears into the timing cover behind the water pump and ends up washing out the cam pistons pushrods , rocker arms, and The 08s are a make one which are the biggest pos ever. We had 2 with the company and one got a motor at 64k and the other got one at 102 k, same thing with the timing cover. And u have to pull the cab on them a lot when they break,
I would stay away from the 6.4 no matter what. Ford says you should rebuild them and replace the timing cover at 100k because there is a hole that wears into the timing cover behind the water pump and ends up washing out the cam pistons pushrods , rocker arms, and The 08s are a make one which are the biggest pos ever. We had 2 with the company and one got a motor at 64k and the other got one at 102 k, same thing with the timing cover. And u have to pull the cab on them a lot when they break,
One of our service trucks at work that has a 6.4 in it got a new engine at 120k. Buddy had a bone stock one he pulled hot shot loads with that got a new engine at 60k. He was actually dumb enough to buy another one and I put an H&S on it and he is now trying to figure out what to do with it since it has 2 pistons with holes in them and everybody wants around $4,000 in labor to swap motors. I really hate the idea that the cab has to come off to do about anything to them.
On a plus note, another buddy had one with a single 475, bigger injectors, and a built trans and wow! That thing gets down.
On a plus note, another buddy had one with a single 475, bigger injectors, and a built trans and wow! That thing gets down.
I'm around a few of them, f550 2wd deleted and tow tune, lost engine at 100K, 2 others lost trans, one at 150k one at 120k.. Although those had Spartans turned set at 300+..
The oil cooler leaks on all 3.
Been seeing problems with the ball joint on the trac bar. Causes death wobble and the first one was a pain to diagnose
The oil cooler leaks on all 3.
Been seeing problems with the ball joint on the trac bar. Causes death wobble and the first one was a pain to diagnose
The problem with the f450 and f550 trucks is the gearing. They have like 4.30 or 4.56 gears and scream ALL the time. I used to work on Maryland performance diesel and have worked on many. You have to change the oil. 6.4s don't have nearly the oil cooler issues as 6.0s. I wouldnt be scared to buy one, just egr delete it and put a new set of rocker arms on it and enjoy it. Believe it or not, they aren't bad to work on if you take the junky turbos off of. And seem to be more reliable. The stock turbos are equivelant to having a single 66. The trucks with 66s don't seem to have as many issues as stock turbos either. A lot less drive pressure also.
We work on a lot of them. The front cover thing will kill a motor quick. But if the coolant has been flushed and changed like it's supposed to be the covers don't seem to erode. The cover can be done without pulling cab, and if you buy one it would be wise to pull the water pump and check for erosion. Not a fun job but could save the motor.
I did lifters and a full set of rockers on an 08 450 because all the rockers were extremely worn and one was broken. Couple lifters were bad too. Also did the front cover. (Caught it before the erosion was all the way through) That was at just over 120k miles. It lasted a few months of hotshotting before a rod made it's way through the block. Oil changed every 4-5000 miles. He upgraded to a Kodiak/Duramax
Also saw the high pressure fuel pump lock up on a 450 at interstate speeds and snap the cam right in half.
Done a lot of radiators. And up pipes. Not a matter of if it'll need them but when.
They are pump sucking machines. Even deleted they don't get the mileage of a Duramax or 6.7 p.s.
Agree that upgrading the turbo(s) would keep it happier and make it nicer to work on. They have stupid high drive pressures. And cruising boost pressures.
I may be crazy but if I had to get a 450/550 and couldn't afford a 6.7 I'd get a 6.0, delete it and stud it right off the bat. You don't have to pull the cab to do anything on a 6.0. It may be easier but not required like a 6.4.
I did lifters and a full set of rockers on an 08 450 because all the rockers were extremely worn and one was broken. Couple lifters were bad too. Also did the front cover. (Caught it before the erosion was all the way through) That was at just over 120k miles. It lasted a few months of hotshotting before a rod made it's way through the block. Oil changed every 4-5000 miles. He upgraded to a Kodiak/Duramax
Also saw the high pressure fuel pump lock up on a 450 at interstate speeds and snap the cam right in half.
Done a lot of radiators. And up pipes. Not a matter of if it'll need them but when.
They are pump sucking machines. Even deleted they don't get the mileage of a Duramax or 6.7 p.s.
Agree that upgrading the turbo(s) would keep it happier and make it nicer to work on. They have stupid high drive pressures. And cruising boost pressures.
I may be crazy but if I had to get a 450/550 and couldn't afford a 6.7 I'd get a 6.0, delete it and stud it right off the bat. You don't have to pull the cab to do anything on a 6.0. It may be easier but not required like a 6.4.
02greysixer hit the nail on the head. I too have seen alot of valvetrain and turbo issues, and the DPF washes the cylinder walls to nothing at over 160k. If you have a lift, it doesn't take long to do the cab. Had one get so hot with an H&S, it melted the black plastic post inside the oil filter housing into the oil and wrapped itself in every oil passage in the block, taking the turbo out first. Though personally I would rather a 6.4 than 6.0...
I work at a dealer and I see what we sell for them! I would highly recommend not buying 1! A lot of problems come out of them and with not knowing the previous history I wouldn't even mess with it.
Well damn, all this makes me not want to buy one. Sucks GM doesn't put a light duty cab on a 19.5k gvw 84" cab axle frame. I thought about buying a 550 and doing a Cummins swap but don't really want to go through the hassle and invest the money.
I wouldn't recommend one at all. Ive seen a few crack pistons, stock or tuned, spin rod bearings and any number of other issues listed here. Id buy one with a 6.0 and start gathering stuff for a cummins swap.
Hell, IIRC a 3500duallly will have a higher payload weight capacity than a Kodiak because it's lighter to begin with and I think the Kodiaks gross weight is only 1500lbs more than a 1 ton.
When I get a 6.4 in the shop its usually a 5 to 10k job.
Cab has to come off for basically any major repairs.
They do run good and get good fuel mileage.
The 5r110 trans is a good unit as well imho.
Cab has to come off for basically any major repairs.
They do run good and get good fuel mileage.
The 5r110 trans is a good unit as well imho.
Friend had a wrecker setup with one, and after the damn DPF went twice (dealer replaced) we just deleted it and it was slightly better. Granted a wrecker does a shit ton of idling, but it did get crappy MPG. Seemed to always want to regen.
Never had any issues with it, but he didn't keep it that long, traded up for a new 6.7
Never had any issues with it, but he didn't keep it that long, traded up for a new 6.7
Friend of mine just got rid of his 08 because it was becoming a money pit. He couldn't justify keeping it when it had an $8600 estimate from Ford to fix the starter, flywheel, and rear main seal(oil got in the starter and starting not engaging all the time which in turn broke several teeth off the starter ring gear), they also wrote him up for new rear rotors and pads(at 130K miles they were beyong turning), and the front end was shot. This didn't include finding his coolant leak that had gotten to about 3 gallons every 5K miles. I know down here at least resale on the FORD diesels SUCK. They offerred him $22K for it 3 months ago, and he was happy to find a dealer to give him $20K for it on trade after the estimate they gave him(the dealership that gave him the estimate didn't want it).
Somebody else I know through a freinds shop went to work at a large commercial FORD dealer, and he said he does 2-3 6.4L longlocks a week, and theres 3 of them that do nothing but 6.4's. His words were "who would have thought the 6.0L would have proven more reliable than the 6.4L".
Somebody else I know through a freinds shop went to work at a large commercial FORD dealer, and he said he does 2-3 6.4L longlocks a week, and theres 3 of them that do nothing but 6.4's. His words were "who would have thought the 6.0L would have proven more reliable than the 6.4L".
(ps- didn't pull the top off to do an oil cooler because it JUST had one done)
I don't know how you feel about Rams but they make a 4500/5500 chassis cab with a pickup cab like the Ford. I'd take a 6.7 Cummins over any of the Ford motors. IMO
I just Sold my 6.4. Bought it with 100k bone stock, never had any issues. DPF was clogged when I got it so I deleted and ran a Spartan on the 300+ tunes, even when towing and never had a problem. It actually did not tow right on the tow tune. I sold with 165K on the clock. No leaks or issues what so ever.
Not gonna lie though, I did sell for fear of what was coming. Didnt feel like putting $5-$10k into a motor if it did in fact let go.
Not gonna lie though, I did sell for fear of what was coming. Didnt feel like putting $5-$10k into a motor if it did in fact let go.
Worse then the 6.0? I didn't know the 6.4 was that bad. I know several that had issues, most where"self caused". Is this another issue ford caused. The 6.0 was ok in the international chassis cab. What about 6.4?
Sent from my iPhone digging a ditch near you.
Sent from my iPhone digging a ditch near you.