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Old 08-20-2015, 05:53 PM   #1
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Ford 6.4 liter diesel

I found a ford 450 with a 6.4 liter diesel. Is this a good engine or should I keep looking. Don`t remember the mileage. One owner truck . Thanks
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:04 PM   #2
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2010 was the last year for the 6.4 and the last non DEF engine.
2011 was the first year for the 6.7 with a 6 speed transmission, between a slightly lighter engine and the 6 speed the fuel mileage went up greatly.

So the trade off it 6.4 no DEF and lower mileage or the 6.7 and better mileage but needs DEF unless you delete.

Just under 40k on mine with no problems.
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:16 PM   #3
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Most people will bash this 6.4 but honestly mine was a power house with zero issues. It was the first generation with regen and had some bugs and poor fuel mileage but a great truck. I just upgraded last fall for a new 6.7. They do need religious maintenance and pay attention to your coolant level closely, and let it finish a started regen. Aside from that I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:31 PM   #4
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Ah the joyes of owning a diesel. Would not own one myself. Could not justify the cost of it over a gas. Later RJD
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:00 PM   #5
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As others will note...some 6.4's were great and some were horrible, due your homework on getting the engine inspected and look over closely past issues/maintenance.

Diesels are great tow vehicles...far exceed their gasser counterparts!


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Old 08-20-2015, 07:42 PM   #6
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I have a 6.7 and so far it's a great engine, and surprisingly quick. Pulls awesome. I have a friend with the same engine and over 150k miles. Still going strong. Another buddy has a 2009 f350 dually with the 6.4. He had it deleted and tuned. He now gets better fuel mileage than mine, and runs like a bat out of heck. Before he deleted it, I could leave him in my dust, now it's reversed.
IF I were to acquire a truck with the 6.4, and IF it were in great condition, I would find a shop to delete, and bullet proof it.

My bud with the 6.4 runs a hotshot service to the oil fields in N. Dakota from south Louisiana, usually through Houston. He has over 450k miles on it now, almost all highway...still running strong. He tells me that when it starts giving him trouble, he will buy another 6.4 and drop in. He finally had to replace the ceiling liner and the drivers bucket seat at around 300k miles. I think he's on his 11th set of tires. He put a transmission in at around the same time. I recall him being somewhere in Oklahoma when it crashed on him pulling a load of pipe.

It's a good engine, but it needs a little tweaking.
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Old 08-20-2015, 08:08 PM   #7
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Ah the joyes of owning a diesel. Would not own one myself. Could not justify the cost of it over a gas. Later RJD
What a helpful post.
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Old 08-21-2015, 12:49 PM   #8
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I have had many gas engines in past trucks. Nothing compares to the 6.4 in my 2008 f250 Superduty. It's my first FORD as all the rest were GMC or Chev.

Excellent engine in my book. Gas engines can't tow like it.
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Old 08-21-2015, 01:02 PM   #9
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What does delete mean please
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Old 08-21-2015, 01:09 PM   #10
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The 6.4L was still a contract built motor from IH. While a step up from the 6.0L debackle it is not as good as the 6.7, and fuel economy can be horrible. Last place I worked bought one in flat bed configuration. Fuel economy was about 10MPG on a good day. The truck was rarely loaded, so IMHO with a fiver hitched you would be lucky on a good day to see 10.
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Old 08-21-2015, 01:35 PM   #11
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I have an 08 F350 shortbed dually. Tow a 42 foot XLR Thunderbolt. Fuel mileage around home is 10. Doesn't matter city or highway, it gets 10, period. Towing the XLR it averages around 8. Worst was 7.5, best was 8.1. Usually can get it to hang right around 7.8. Motor will pull down a house, but the fuel mileage is horrific. My buddy has 2 450's that he uses for his tree cutting business with 6.4's in them. He only gets around 6, but that's with a heavy box and wood chips on it.
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Old 08-21-2015, 01:40 PM   #12
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I have a 6.4 and love it. Be religious about maintenance. Change the oil every 5000 miles. If you are in an area, where you don't have annual inspections, try to get one in which the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) has been removed and the EGR bypassed/deleted. Those two items will greatly improve fuel mileage and cut way down on potential problems. I absolutely love my truck.
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Old 08-21-2015, 02:02 PM   #13
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If I was to buy one, it would get deleted as soon as it got parked in the driveway. When they are in stock form they are choked down so far that you get terrible fuel mileage. And in my opinion they aren't that powerful when stock. Now when you delete the DPF and EGR valve, they run! If you delete with a Spartan Tuner, there isn't very many pickups on the road that can outrun it. And they tend to hold together pretty good too with the added horsepower.


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Old 08-21-2015, 02:17 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Tonkatoy77 View Post
If I was to buy one, it would get deleted as soon as it got parked in the driveway. When they are in stock form they are choked down so far that you get terrible fuel mileage. And in my opinion they aren't that powerful when stock. Now when you delete the DPF and EGR valve, they run! If you delete with a Spartan Tuner, there isn't very many pickups on the road that can outrun it. And they tend to hold together pretty good too with the added horsepower.


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Aren't ARP head studs advised when bumping up HP/TQ with a tuner?
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Old 08-21-2015, 02:49 PM   #15
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What does delete mean please
It means to remove EPA mandated pollution reduction devices. This will substantially increase the trucks MPG and reliability. You need to buy a tuner which will tell the truck's computer how to operate without these components. It is illegal to do this but nevertheless is commonly done most often after the manufacture's warranty has expired.
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Old 08-21-2015, 02:57 PM   #16
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I have owned a 6.0 and 6.4 diesel. To be honest I wish I had my 6.0 back. And yes, there alot of 6.0's that had problems. I installed the delete kits on both motors. The best I can get from the 6.4 is 11 mpg. I got 14 with my 6.0 pulling 5th wheel and 36' gooseneck flatbed trailers for work. My 6.0 had way better throttle response, power and torque.
But no matter which diesel or brand of diesel you have to be stringent on the maintenance and upkeep schedules. They require much more monitoring and paying attention to them than gas engines.
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Old 08-21-2015, 03:13 PM   #17
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My experience is second hand as I quit driving Strokers after bad experiences with the 6.0. My brother has the 450 with 6.4 and has had lots of issues. It's in the shop now with just over 100k on it for a top end rebuild. EGR system issues, ford garage quoted him $15,300 for the repair... hence, it's in a private shop for the work. He always says it has lots of power for pulling but on his best road trip he hasn't hit 12 mpg.
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Old 08-21-2015, 03:32 PM   #18
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Aren't ARP head studs advised when bumping up HP/TQ with a tuner?

It's always a good idea, but not necessary with a 6.4l. With the 6.0l it is a must.


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Old 08-21-2015, 05:00 PM   #19
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The 6.4L can be a good motor if the deletes are done and tuned properly. On edit the 450 might have a gear ratio of like 4:56, mileage will never be great but boy will it pull.
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Old 08-21-2015, 07:55 PM   #20
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We have an 08 450 6.4L at work and it is the biggest p.o.s. truck I have ever dealt with. It only has 60k, the motor was replaced at 20k (I don't know why), and it's in the shop more than it's used. Even the replacement 6.4 is having problems. Between leaks, constant check engine lights, bad sensors, etc, etc. I know this one is just a major lemon and they all can't be that bad, but I'd never buy one. It's so bad, I transferred it to another unit at my department (LE) so we wouldn't have to deal with it any more.
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