2008-2010 Ford 6.4PS SD owners

[TN_Jeeper]

I have an 08 job 3 F350 with tuner and DPF cat delete. I average about 13 mpg towing my 39 ft 5th and 16 mpg mixed city/why driving. I can get 20 mpg on the hwy if I stay under 75.

Great truck and so far 35000 trouble free miles.

The 6.4 is a good motor but it does require maintenance. You can safely make gobs of power with a properly tuned truck check out the forums on Ford Truck Enthusiasts or Powerstroke Nation for opinions on tuners. I currently run a 2nd gen Spartan and I am very happy with it but there are a couple of good options.

[TN_Jeeper]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

Valid question.

For me it wasn't cummins versus duramax or powerstroke, all 3 motors are good but when you compare the rest of the truck there is really is no comparison. Ford wins hands down IMHO.

[Oakman]

All three diesel trucks are good. For me, the deciding factor to buy the Ford was “the deal”. The offer from the local Ford dealer beat the Chevy and Dodge dealers on a new truck by thousands of dollars. So I bought the Ford. It was an easy decision.

I get 18 MPG highway, 12 to 13 city driving, and depending on the terrain, 10.5 to 12 MPG towing my Wildcat with the 6.4.

[TheSasks]

Originally Posted by transamz9

Why in the world would you go from a Cummins to a Powerstoke????

Guess you didn't bother to either read the whole post or look at my Sig as in both cases it is mentioned I have a Hemi. Second I will never own another Dodge POS as long as I live when I manage to get rid of this one after 42 trips for warranty in the first 25 months. I do like the Dmax / Allison but I hate the looks of the GM trucks as it looks like most of the truck is an afterthought like the fender flares and well the interior sure leaves alot to be desired IMO. I am not flaming the GMs or anything about them, I just don't like the look of them. BTW, I am a member of most of the ford forums and I just started looking at the 6.4's as I have a couple friends who work at the local dealership as mechanics and they think the 6.4 is a pretty decent mill but having looked mor I see it is no gem and has troubles as well. We have time as I am not going to pull the trigger till spring but want to make sure I know all the things to expect from all sides.

[Rebel702]

It is my understanding that that a DPF delete will also cause you problems with DMV if your state has emissions testing requirements. I just bought my GMC Denali 2500HD Duramax. Really enjoying it. I do like the Ford interiors better but my decision was based on the Duramax/Allison combination. 7K miles on it. Smoother shifting than my 06 Yukon Denali.

[Randyman]

I have an 08 Ford F-250 SD Powerstroke and pull a 39-1/2 ft Cardinal 3425rt. I use the Superchip Cortex programmer that is just plug and play. No exhaust mods, I pull in the recommended Tow Heavy setting and it really pepped the truck up for pulling and still keeps all the temps in check. Fuel mileage towing is in the 7's, but it doesn't back down much on the hills and I am willing to pay for the fuel for the power. Running empty I use the mileage plus setting and have seen 20 mpg running the hiway not towing. In 08 Ford redesigned their interiors and they are super quiet and comfortable. Had an 03 Duramax with a smaller fiver ahead of this and am really impressed with the Ford over the Chevy. Don't think you can go wrong with one of these trucks as long as you use common sense when towing. Remember if it's man made it is going to break sometime, no matter what name is on the grill or for that matter the camper.

[flyrotor]

For me my decision against Ford has to do with my experience running Ford ambulances, we have driver monitoring systems on them so they are not driven extremely hard, however for the past 15 years we have used Ford only as our chassis, that is until 2 years ago when we finally bought our first Chevrolet. Every ford we have had has been in the shop off and on from 10k miles and on, when they get around 75k miles they are in the shop sometimes weekly, repairs are a huge part of our expense budget, second only to wages.

As mentioned, we purchased a Chevrolet 2 years ago, it currently has 78k miles on it, and it has NEVER once been in the shop for a repair to any Chevy component. It drives much better, smoother suspension, front end is still tight, absulotely a day and night difference better than the Ford.

However, for my decision of Dodge over Chevy, primarily it was the transmission and second was looks, I like the latest body style of the Dodge much better than the Chevy, I know, all personal preferences. However, my previous vehicle was a Suburban 1500 and I did not like the way the transmission was running extremely hot, like 250 degrees WITH a heavy duty transmission cooler. So when looking for trucks, the Dodge with the manual transmission stands out for me hands down.

Also, several years ago my dad's company which I worked for had 2 of the first generation Dodge trucks with the Cummins engine, pulling 5th wheel cargo trailers everyday, I look back on the amount of weight we pulled and now realize we were way over GCVWR often by 10,000 pounds, but the engines were indestructable....

I found an awesome deal on a 2011 Dodge and jumped at the chance, with 12k on it and over 3k actually towing, I am very satisfied with my decision.

[buckeyefan]

I am a 2010 F250 6.4L 4x4 SCREW 3.55 SB owner.
Love the truck. Pulls like a beast... Some thoughts:

- If you look at a 2008, get a job 3. Earlier jobs had radiator issues and redesigned fuel filter.
- Ask the dealer for an Oasis report. This is the ford service record.
- Oil change religiously at 5000 miles (ave dealer work $125-150)
- Fuel filter changes at 10,000 miles (ave dealer work $182 for both installed)
- Drain the fuel separator monthly if not more frequently. Water in the fuel system will void the warranty and repairs run $12-19,000.
- Tuner and DPF-delete are great, but easily void your warranty.
- These are not commuter trucks. If you are not towing or driving hi-way, the you can make oil.
- Regens every 150-300 miles require the truck to be driven an extra 13-20 miles.
- Run Motorcraft PM-22-A Cetane booster with every fill up.
- If you are going to keep the DPF on and not hook up a tuner, invest in the ESP Ford warranty. Cab off work (like the High pressure fuel rail repair) typically run $2800 just to get to the problem and not even fix it at that point.

A good forum to follow and research is :http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f35/

Overall I love my truck. I didn't know a lot of this before I bought my 6.4L. I drive it to work every day (15 miles each way). My use case for the truck has changed and I don't tow a long distance but 2-3 times a year. In hindsight, I would have gotten the V10 or the 6.2L in the 2011+ Super Duties.