The Truth About the 6.4L Powerstroke (And Why It's Not That Bad) 

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Sooo basically, emission controls ruin everything they touch.

I have a 08 from new and within 2 weeks of getting it I removed everything emissions and it’s my everyday truck I love this truck the power is crazy and it’s has some miles on it I think it’s up to 400k and running like a champ 6.4 gets a bad wrap Thanks guys

This video was actually a really good job at summarizing the common 6.4 problems. I bought a 2010 F350 powerstroke (crew cab, long bed, lariat 4x4) for $10k, had a hole in the block. I found a core block locally for $500, had been sitting outside in the mud. I rebuilt the block, with ceramic coated maxxforce pistons (better resistance to cracking), aluminum pan, kdd heads, bigger compound turbos (73/59), odawg manifold, new injectors and k16, arp studs, 6.0 exhaust manifolds, airdog 4g lift pump, patriot tuner, updated front cover, oil cooler (went through 3 oil coolers because they filled with sand) ,s&b cab mounts, spearco intercooler, rcd intercooler pipes, riff raff boots, no limit intake, full 5" mbrp exhaust, new ford rad, plus many other smaller components. This was over the course of 2 years, and costed me north of $40k for just the motor build. Originally used rebuilt stock heads, but had problems with them, so went with kdd o-ringed heads. I have my own 2 post lift, so cab comes off if there is any trouble. Built 6.4's are pretty special, they come with factory VGT compounds, so they spool instantly and produce insane amounts of torque at low RPM. With larger frame compounds (that are drop in turbo upgrades) and proper fueling you can make 600-700 HP, with zero turbo lag. I could have easily bought a used 6.7 for the price I paid, but in the end I am pretty happy. If you are interested in learning more about modifying 6.4's, check out the facebook group "08-10 Ford 6.4 Powerstroke", awesome resource

I worked at Navistar in Huntsville, Alabama when this engine came out. One assembly line was sending them down and conpleted - I was in a second line that all these engines, after testing, were coming back due to testing failure/rejections. I tore the heads off so many 6.4s its unreal. The entire program was a failure. I met an engineer who worked on the injector system there - he was telling me the nightmares they dealt with talking to two separate teams (Ford and Navistar) and how the bureaucracy was intense and doomed to fail. I realize how chaotic the mid-late 2000s were for manufacturers- I truly blame the EPA for killing the diesel market right around the time of Hurricane Katrina.

I have an 08 and I bought it with 135K miles on it. The first week I took possession I took it to a shop to have the EGR and DPF deleted, cold air intake installed, and I'm running an SCT tuner. I do regular maintenance on the truck and change oil every 5K miles and fuel filters every other oil change. I did have to replace the radiator once as they are plastic and known for cracking. Replaced alternator as it burnt up on me as well. I did notice a coolant leak around 195K miles and ended up doing a cab off maintenance to have new head gaskets done, surfaced/flattened the heads to make sure they were flat, and replaced factory head bolts with ARP studs. Mechanic recommended I change the rocker arm assemblies while I had the cab off and I did, but he said they actually looked okay but we changed them anyway. Also had the downpipe replaced. I had about $5K invested in this service as I had a local guy do the work who was a city fleet maintenance guy who works on the same engines daily. I have 255K miles on the truck now and it runs great and has tons of power and I haven't had any issues since. I don't run a high power tune and use it as a daily driver. Fuel economy is good with the deletes and better than most new trucks. All in all, for the 120K miles I've owned the truck, I don't feel like I've had to put too much money into the truck to keep it running well. Did I get lucky? Hard to say, but I think doing routine maintenance and deleting the emissions stuff is what has helped.

My 6.4 was deleted and had regularly maintained it had what some would consider high milage for a 6.4. One of my close friends has one still that was deleted and studded it currently has over 400k miles on it. Maintenance is everything.

I’d like to touch on the oil vapor issue. My truck will get an oil vapor and condensation buildup in the intercooler from time to time, the most noticeable symptoms are excessive blue smoke and hesitation on acceleration. There’s 2 easy solutions to this. 1. Pull the silicone boot off the lower pipe, between the intercooler and the up pipe to the intake manifold, and drain it. Kinda messy. 2. Work your engine. Something people tend to forget (or not realize) is the diesels in our pickups don’t get worked hard enough hauling air. They don’t get worked hard enough when racing. They run so much better when you hook them up to a trailer, and actually use it for what it was built for: hauling. I’ve owned equipment since I was a kid. They need get an honest load for extended duration! My truck runs the best after I’ve hauled 10-20k on the the gooseneck. It really doesn’t take many miles to notice a difference, either. If I’ve just been cruising my F350 for a while, and it starts running crappy, hooking up to the trailer with a tractor on the deck, even for only 10-20 miles will clean out the crud from the intake sufficiently to notice a much smoother, quieter engine after. So, don’t beat the hell out of your truck, ( but use it for real truck duties), maintain it to the “severe duty” schedule, and it’ll treat you well. Just my experiences from owning several tractors, and 6.5 Chevy diesel prior to my current 6.4 Ford. (I’ve had my 6.4 for 8 years now, it’s been a great workhorse for me.)

I have a 6.4 in an 08 F350. Mine went 279k before I had an issue with bad fuel (delivery driver dumped gas into diesel tank) At that point I decided to pull it and do a full rebuild. I highly recommend the Kill Devil Diesel kit. Crank was still within stock spec. This motor definitely has some issues, but for me it was a lot less expensive to rebuild it with better parts, and leave off the problematic components, then dropping close to 100k for a newer truck. 12k miles on it now and pulls like a dream!

As I mentioned in a comment on another of your videos, I am a fleet mechanic for a public utility that uses F550 trucks with Powerstroke engines. Our bigger trucks are International using their Navistar MaxxForce engines. The 6.4 was my biggest nightmare. As you pointed out, cab removal is the preferred method of many repairs. But our trucks either have a boom or rack hanging over the cab. Cab removal is not an option when the engine is dead. The repairs can be made but it isn’t fun. If you don’t own a good 6 point 10mm wrench, don’t attempt any in cab repairs! You will never get the exhaust pipes off! EGR or DPF delete is not an option for us because the penalties are too severe in California. But, Bullet Proof diesel makes legal upgraded EGR coolers that are excellent. They neither plug or rupture. They also make an upgraded oil cooler that allows the oil filter to be remotely mounted as a spin on filter; I do like the coolant filter shown in your video. I hadn’t seen that before. I cannot stress enough what you said about the fuel system. Keep that water drained! Also, most people don’t change both fuel filters, they change the one under the hood but ignore the frame mounted filter on the lift pump because its a pain in the a$$ to change. You must change both. The high pressure pump is too expensive and a nightmare to replace if you ignore maintenance. I would like to add another problem we experienced on the 6.4. Thermostat and housing breakage. I think this may be due to cavitation. But we replaced a lot of broken thermostats and damaged thermostat housings. The thermostats literally break into pieces and it damages the housing. Thank you for your video. A cool look into my world that I am happy is now in the past. The 6.7 has been better but still not fun to work on.

I absolutely love the 6.4, it's the easiest engine to make power out of, just delete it maintain it, and turn that chip down and pretend it's not a hotrod while your towing heavy, and it'll do you right

I’ve never seen a 100% stock 6.4 that made it to 100k without at least one of the issues you mentioned. If you have a later 6.0 (2005-06) and you just drive it, and leave it alone, they are good engines and sound amazing. I’ve seen more automatic transmission failures. The three 6.0’s I have are 6 speed manuals with 246k-301k miles.

I’ve had my 08 6.4 king ranch since brand new, deleted everything at 125k and added a tuner, wished I’d done it at 25k , even so it is in my mind one of the fastest smoothest running engines on the road, I’ll never sell it, keep up regular maintenance and it’s a beast!

Love my 6.4. The people that hate on them have never actually owned one and those who did own them blew them up cause they threw huge tunes on the truck and floored it everywhere they went. Delete it and run a MILD tune. Keep up on normal maintenance like you would on any other diesel. Drive it like a truck, not a sports car. I appreciate you taking the time to go over all of the issues they have an actually pointing out most of the issues are emissions or improper maintenance related.

My 6.4 is deleted and tuned AND I maintain it regularly. Runs like a beast and love it way more than the Duramax that I had previously.

Companies like Kill Devil Diesel and Choate Engineering who specialize in knowing the 6.4 as well as 3rd party builders came up with fixes for the rocker arms by simply adding to the stock valve covers or making valve covers that oil the rockers. Also to note more information, being that the 6.4 Powerstroke pistons issues are based on FORD designed pistons, the solution to fix those is simply grab Maxxforce 7 pistons because those were better designed by INTERNATIONAL, as well as if getting crazy enough you can buy a kit for the 6.4 when rebuilding that allows you to, if bored out and so forth, to put the steel 6.7 Powerstroke pistons in, though the Maxxforce 7 pistons ate obviously an easier and just as good of a solution anyways. Also worth noting for fueling its good to also add Fass or Airdog lift pumps, helps solve the issue more than just the stock system, though again as mentioned in the video maintenance overall is key.

I luv had my 6.4 for 2 1/2 years and have never had a problem with it.

You make my appreciate my 7.3l that much more lmao.

Ahhhhh the powersmoke debate! I’ve never had a 6.4 because they sounded scary to own. I’ve had a few 7.3’s and on my second 6.0. Love the 7.3’s, once you know what they need. You can run em a long time. The 6.0; once you know about the IPR, ICP and the FICM, you can keep ‘em running ok. Once you delete the EGR and pop in a 58volt FICM, I think I might get 500k out of this thing. My platform is a F550, plow, sander(in the winter)and in summer. She hauls around equipment; skid/mini. If you’re gonna run any powerstroke, get yourself a scanguage and learn your baselines. For reference my truck is a 2004, no spring chicken but goes like stink and the MPGs better than my Lexus! Oh and for all those nervous nanny “govt is gonna get me” because I deleted an 18yr old truck. The govt is afraid of me, not the other way around. The way it was intended.

I have a 08 6.4 which was deleted very early in its life, just rolled 350k miles with little to no big issues, makes great power when you need it, looks great, sounds great, I'll keep it going until it completely dies

This was such a clean video - I stumbled across this when considering a clean, well kept ‘08 but knew there were issues with 6.4 and wanted to learn more. The information, graphics and pace of the video were perfect in my opinion. Subscribed as a result.

I worked at International dealers for 10 years. The jankiest warranty repair I ever seen was on the 6.4(Maxxforce 7) that involved epoxying the block on the outside and removing a freeze plug and epoxy in the coolant cavity. This was due to a weak spot in the casting that would cause a coolant leak, either external and/or internally.

Just traded my '09 6.4 for a '22 6.7. Like the individual said in the comments section...regular maintenance is key to success with this engine. I did an Oil change every 3500 to 4000 miles, fuel filters every other oil change. I used fuel and oil additives that reduced my regen cycles. I kept my 6.4 stock with no mods. Ran it for 150,000 miles with no problems...except for typical Ford rear fender and tail gate rust / rot. I pulled a travel trailer and a horse trailer as if nothing was behind me. Sounds like I got lucky. My only complaint was all the fear put in me by 6.4 haters.

I own a 2008 6.4L f350. Like most I deleted my DPF. Replaced my radiator to mishimoto all aluminum. I installed an aFe cold air intake. Replace my exhaust pipe to straight pipe. If you replace your straight pipe and your engine light is throwing a code because of the exhaust pressure not being detected. I took the exhaust pipe that I bought to a shop fabricator and have them put the holes on the new exhaust where the censor would be and that fix the problem. I upgraded my water pump to bulletproof diesel water pump. I also installed and (AOS) Air oil separator. I also installed a Sinister diesel coolant filter. I also replace the head bolt to ARP. I don't use my truck for racing but for towing and the truck performs just fine. My truck millage is 236,000. I am still using the original injector and Siemens fuel pump and also still using the same turbo. The truck is still ticking and have no issue. Also I am H&S programmer.

I own a 6.4 Powerstroke. I absolutely love the truck. I bought it with about 130k miles, immediately did a full delete. It finally broke a piston with 289,000 miles. For the most part, the truck is problem free. Maybe 2 injectors and basic maintenance. I'm currently waiting for a new Choates WorkHorse long block. I cant wait to get another 300k miles out of the truck.

326k on mine and still going strong. Do the damn maintenance..

My daily driver is a 2009 F350 6.4 that i bought new in June of 2009. I deleted the dpf & cat in 2012. I currently have 385,000 miles on it. Only major repairs have been a radiator (130k), & about to replace ac compressor. Other than that, ive only had to deal with regular maintenance issues. Been a great truck. Best ive ever owned actually. Im hoping to reach 500,000 miles.

Absolutely fantastic video!! Thank you for all your research, and efforts to explain the issues with this engine.

After the delete (90,000) I love mine. Crazy power, great puller! My biggest issue has been milage and cracked radiators. Delete took milage from 6.5 to 13.5 and Mishimoto radiator and support bar cured my radiator problems. Also have a 7.3 and it's one of my all time favorites but you won't get the power the 6.4 has. My 6.4 should be a little over 750 hp, don't even know there's a trailer ( 10,000 lbs and more) back there.

I vote with Bill Hewitt. 6.4 is eventually a timebomb and when it goes off, it tends to leave very few usable parts. 200K is about as much as you can expect.

I know a guy that bought a 6.0 then a 6.4. It was a farm truck. While getting a round bale of hay the flamethrower exhaust set 500 round bales on fire. He drives a Dodge now.

On my 2nd 6.0 (first was totaled in an accident), good luck with both so far. I’ve heard too much negative feedback on the 6.4 from both owners and people who work on them to buy one. My next truck will be an 08-10 F450 with a DT360 swap. Wet sleeved, mechanical injection, 100psi on stock head bolts.

Just correctly built a 6.4 on an 08 f450 KR. Stock turbos, Bosch injectors, completely deleted except the air/oil separator(coming soon), fuel system tuned slightly on the conservative side, have been very satisfied with it.

I purchased a 2010 6.4 superduty. I've heard all the horror stories of this engine. I saved up my money all my life so that when I retired I could buy my dream truck and hit the road in my fifth wheel. I bought it new when I retired. I am faithful (maybe overboard) at routine service for his engine. Ford has completed all recommend routine and critical maintenance on my truck even before the recommended mileage. Yet with all my TLC, I have had to replace #3&4 exhaust heat sensors at 32k/miles (warranty covered). Repair cruise control twice at 38k, 45k (warranty covered). Replace the radiator at 103k miles($1,1k). Replace the alternator at 112k ($1.8k). Repaired the EGR cooler due to a gasket leak at 115k ($3.5k). Replaced the high-pressure fuel pump TWICE 102k and 113k. (2nd covered by warranty) ($4.5k). And today, I sit broke down due to a turbo failure at !55k mile and a whopping $6,100 repair bill! I am sick. My dream is a nightmare. Worst of all, almost every repair has required lifting the cab before they ever begin working on the problem. So before they can even work on the problem, I've racked up 8-12 hours in a repair bill before they even begin repairing the problem lifting the cab. How sickening of an engineering design is that. I watched every video on youtube and I don't care what anyone says, I'm telling you from experience, regardless of babying this engine, you can't afford to own one. Not only monetarily, but in time down and stress. I'd junk it in a minute, but my fear is, I'd just be trading it in for another piece of Amerian Engineering junk. Possibly with all the deletes, and modifications mentioned here, this engine might function. But think of what we're saying. Thousands of dollars would be spent only to create an illegal engine. That is a sad testament to American motor companies.

I own one and it has 170k in completely stock form. Probably a unicorn. Frequent oil changes with Motorcraft filters. The truck has given more issues than the motor.

Thank you for a great video. You took some fear outta me looking at a 6.4. All the comments with experiences are very helpful as well. Thank again.

One of the biggest problems with 6.4 is quality replacement parts

Please note the aftermarket cold air filter. I have to agree the stock airfilter was far too restrictive. Much better preformance once replaced.

With deletes and tunes with normal Maintenance,these things are incredible,got a 09 with over 205k ,no issues,,it’s a strong worker.

As a diesel mechanic, do not buy a 6.4 powerstroke. They're prone to absolutely killing themselves. My shop won't work on them, we were sued for doing a tire rotation a week before the motor detonated. The judge found us and the 2 shops that did work on it before us guilty because we were the last so to work on it. The truck had no motor work done. For the same reason you won't even find a Ford dealer that'll work on them.

A 6.4 can be a good power plant like any other with proper solutions done no doubt, it still doesn’t change that they remain to be the most expensive diesel to own in a pickup to date. Most of our regular customers went to 6.7 Pstrokes because they were cheaper, but maybe it’s different in the U.S. economy, this Canada so that might change it up? Awesome video dude! 👍🏻

I have 2010 6.4 with 190k miles. I absolutely love it. Its fully tuned and deleted and it was deleted early on. Im the third owner and pull pretty heavy loads but not every day The power is amazing i beat a 2019 high output cummins while puling my tool trailer 😂 No engine problems at all so far. I change all filters regularly and baby the truck 99% of the time. I believe if you take care of your things they will last ( with delete in this case ) stock 6.4s self destruct

My 6.4 has 364,000 miles on it and still runs strong, fully deleted as well.

6.4 owner with 360k. Original drive train. Never rebuilt. Minor modifications. Regularly towed with and beaten on.

6.4s do have one upside. Perfect Cummins swap candidates 🔥

I have a 08 6.4 with 425,000 oilfield miles on it. Has been a awesome engine! I have changed oil and all filters every 5,000 miles. I use nothing but motorcraft oil and filters. I love this truck!!!!

My dad had a 6.4 that he bought new in 2008, the truck was deleted in 2017 when the egr valve failed. Previously under warranty the rear main was replaced and radiator. After the truck was deleted it was a great truck other than the radiator which we replaced ourselves in 2020

I owned a 08 6.4 since 2017, my first diesel truck and have driven 40k miles, serving the purpose of building and repair projects, w occasional travel. Had issue w the egr system since day 1, CEL was on from stealership :( I cleaned both egr coolers real good, and replaced the egr, agree the stock ones are easy clogged w silt. ) Had a non start due to bthe lower fuel pump leaking, learned my lesson to not to “service” these pumps. Replaced radiator and thermostat (per techron postmortem suggestion). Replaced brake pads and rebuilt a brake booster (the thing that builds pressure for braking). It’s my work truck for my building project, I hope to maintain it and drive it till I have my own garage when lifting the cab is possible so I can fix the oil leak somewhere, p0081 code related to high pressure fuel pump. I believe also dpf dumps a lot of unburned diesel as every time I change oil, it has more I put in. I also noticed the coolant level drops a bit over the time. If I knew and had the money, I may just buy a new 7.3 diesel. No regret though, as the experience is precious and I appreciate the high boy has served me so far.

Congratulations on your channel. I highly respect/envy the fact that you found something you’re good at, and respected at, but you found a pay to put it all together. Most men will never get to experience how that feels…or worse. I like your 7.3 content as well

When I switched to a Diesel engine truck, it was for a better towing and mostly reliability. I wanted a Powerstroke for the speed, but I needed the Cummins for reliability. I’m just glad Ford learned from the 6.4L mistakes to keep their customers.

My biggest problem with the 6.4 is how complicated it was to work on in the Super Duty. Nothing was easy

Very proud owner of a 6.4 with with tuner and propane injection. This motor motor makes massive power and 40+ pounds of boost. 08 f450 king ranch

A fix for the positions is putting in a set of Maxxforce 7 fly cut and de-lipped pistons with the titanium nitride coating. That's what I have in my 6.4. The rocker arm issue can be taken care of by a company that makes a set of oiling valve covers that put oil directly on the rockers within several seconds of start up.

Only worked on power strokes for the last 8 years and 6.4s are by far the least dependable and most expensive to repair in my opinion. Have one in right now with cracked pistons and leaking oil from everywhere with less than 180k miles

They also have wrist pain issues as well. They did not come with wrist pin bushings from the factory so you have to get aftermarket rodes with bushings in them in order for the wrist pins to last

In 2011 I bought a used 2008 F250 from the dealer and still drive it today. The first year I owned it, the DPF and EGRs caused the truck to go into limp mode several times. I did consider selling the truck, but instead of getting rid of it, I deleted the DPF and EGR with a stock tune. Today I have over 200,000 miles on the truck and have not experienced any issues since. I have always ensured that my vehicles received all required services at the appropriate intervals; the F250 is no different, including changing fuel filters every 30,000 miles per the owner’s manual. My only complaint is that the OEM radiator had to become replaced three times; all of the Ford OEM radiators started leaking in the same spot every time. Several years ago, I replaced the radiator with one from O’Reilly Auto Parts, and it has not leaked at all; the Ford OEM radiator for the 6.4 is hot garbage.

I had a 2010 Deleted and tuned. Loved everything about the truck. The ride, the interior and man the power. I totaled the truck when I hit some ice. I got a 2017 new, it was a reliable truck, but just didn’t have the pop (thrill) of the 6.4. I just traded the 17 on a used 20 and now feel better about this truck. Towing this truck is a beast. But I still Kinda wish I had endless cash flow and could get a hopped up new 6.4 engine for just hot rodding or green light racing kids in town. Was such a fun truck.

I have a 2008 F350 with the 6.4 and it has 355,000 miles on it. The truck is completely stock and has never given me any problems. I am very diligent about the maintenance and I think that is the key to these motors.

After watching the video and reading the comments, I'm glad I went with the 6.8 in my 08.

Currently have a 6.4 2008. The only issue I've had is the high pressure pump, which was replaced at 110k. Dailey driver, regular maintenance. But don't pull as much as I used to, looking to sell soon. But love the truck.

I have a 6.4, and a very good diesel tech at my disposal. The truck's now 12 years old and no longer a daily driver. Has about 120K miles. I have always maintained it at the heavy duty maintenance service intervals, and run shell rotella and motorcraft filters. I change the oil when it gets dark and smells like diesel a lot, well before the recommended interval. At 100K miles I replaced all hoses, the radiator (cracked expansion tank from frame flexing) both EGRs, water pump, head studs, oil pump, and had the DPF baked out. A bunch of other stuff too. The truck has been flawless since then, and my diesel tech says I'm good for another 100K miles. Probably looking at a turbo replacement eventually. If this was a work truck or daily driver I'd have a tough decision to make. I don't even need a pickup anymore, but I have never not had one. I would not recommend anyone buying a used one, but that would apply to a lot of diesels and trucks. You don't know the maniac would owned it before you.

I have two 6.4L and I change my oil every 3500 and fuel filters every other time. They are both completely deleted and tuned with the old Spartan tuner. So far they have been good, one truck has 195K and the other 155K. Maybe im just lucky, but I dont reallly abuse my trucks.

I love my fully deleted 08/6.4 PS once you do take the cab off it isn't so difficult it adds about a total of 2hr to the job, that's off and back on not the savings in time and comfort in the wrest of the job completely makes up for it. Of course, you do need a high ceiling and now room for like two vehicles but with a few 2X6X10s you can just put it on the top of the box you might be able to trim the wood down to like 7ft. But you will love the access it gives you

your videos are great man keep up the good work!!!

Love my 6.4 in my 08 f450 7 years ive had it zero issues. Deleted and mild tune

Now that you covered everything about the 6.4, can you do the 5.7 olds diesel the came into GM cars in the late 70's?

Single vgt turbo on my 6.4. 230k no issues other than the stock turbos died at 200k love the power this truck makes!!! Would strongly recommend the single with a vgt housing tows like a dream.

my 6.4 is factory 2008 not deleted, not tuned. runs perfect. i love it. it has all the power i need. i do regular maintenance on the vehicle. i did add a coolant filter and i change it every 6months. maintenance is the key. also, on turbocharged diesel engines you should always pre warm the exhaust and also cool the exhaust when you get to your destination. i have an exhaust monitor on my radio and i've seen temps when pulling loads when arriving at destinations reach over 750 f. this can cause warping, hot spots where coolant will start to boil, and oil will coke on the turbine shafts. over time it can cut the bearings and seals out of turbo chargers and other engine components as well. i do want to change that one part for the oil blow by though. my truck has 144K miles on it at the moment, and it has no problems with it.

I have a friend who owns a 2010 F350 with a 6.4 in it. He has had all the issues a 6.4 can have. It recently broke a piston and $22,000.00 later he got it back and 1000 miles later he had to gave the heads replaced again. Another $1200.00 and it seems to be running well, he did do a delete before the piston problem, maybe should have done it sooner. Truck had around 60,000 when he did the delete and had about 80,000 when it failed. Hopefully it will give a lot more years if service now.

Engine grenaded at 141,000 miles. Pistons 7 and 8 failed on a hill towing 10,000 pound trailer. Did full delete and a reman engine. $17,000 later people said I was crazy. So far so good. Now folks say it might have been a good idea considering you probably will have to wait a year to get a new Superduty. Also the truck seems to have gone up in value.

My 08' just passed 260,000 miles and still going strong ! Yes, it does require more maintenance than I was expecting to give it when I bought it, but I have found that unlike any other trucks I have had- no matter how cold it gets it will anyways start first try.

My Grandpas 2008 f350 lariat has the 6.4L in it and it has never broke down since i was born in 2009 he bought it brand new and after 1 year of owning it he put a computer/chip in it and it has worked ever since and has pulled many many heavy things and it still runs like a top

I've seen a 6.4 with 345k miles owned since new, been left stock its entire life and maintenance been kept up with. I also have another buddy who has one with 240k and its gone through about 4 turbos in its lifetime. It's really a hit or a miss.

Love my 6.4l. STUPID PEOPLE DO STUPID THINGS. ITS NOT A RACE CAR.! Delete and Maintenance is the answer !

Bought 2008 used with 179,000. Its full deleted with tuner. After 2 months water pump went out which led to bad clutch fan which led to bad serpitine belt. Other then that ( which its a hard truck to work on ) no problems. Pull trailer everyday getting 20 MPG. Crazy amount power with the tuner. Im now at 215,000. Lets see what happens ! Thanks for video

I have a late 2009 6.4 King Ranch dw from Florida it had 16,000 miles on it. I did Complete delete at 49,000 miles with a H&S mix now it has 96,000 miles and it needs a high pressure pump it as been good for me it goes in Storage in November and come out in April. Thank you for the info

6.4 good for power. It's reliable if you maintain it and keep an eye on oil level. (Not sure why the fuel manifold is covered by the valve cover because if there's ever leak you won't see it except your oil level will increase.) I just rebuilt one and they are expensive. You have to get rid of all the junk stock parts. (EGR, front cover, hpfp, lift pump, head bolts, pistons). 6" lift with 12.5x35 getting 15L/100km and 14L/100km highway. Not bad.

I am married to my 6.4. Once my #7 piston cracked I had a dilemma. 45 to 60k for a decent used truck or roll the dice and see if all the issues could be fixed. I went the cheap route. 20k later I fixed all of the issues you mentioned. Fully deleted, intake and exhaust, head studs, upgraded pistons, lift pump with better filtration for the fuel system even vented blow by to atmosphere. I run it with a tune at about 450 hp and it is great. But I am always nervous about it and still only get 14 or so mph. I could never say that the 6.4 is really good as an option for anyone to buy.

Hey thanks for the shout out! I am honored that you used the close ups of my piston :-)

I own a 2008 f350 FX4 with the 6.4L and I’m the second owner. I’ve deleted the DPF at roughly 124,000 miles, mini max for off road tune which turns off EGR, catch can from Mishimoto. EGR is still on and I’m at roughly 156,000 miles now. My only issues I have with my truck are a leaking oil pan and transmission hesitation with grinding gears if I floor it. Otherwise my truck do exactly what I need it to do, which is get me to and from work and tow stuff.

Ford 6.0 and 6.4 owners always have astonished me. “Oh it’s a great engine, you just have to do this, that, and these things, and after thousands and thousands of dollars and tens, sometimes hundreds of hours in the shop, down a truck, it’ll be reliable and able to handle anything!” Until it inevitably breaks again. Look, a diesel engine isn’t great, or good, if it won’t last at least 300,000 miles. For Pete’s sake, most all Diesel engines are built with super heavy parts that don’t wear hardly any, especially with how much work the majority of these people do with their trucks. As cool as the 6.4 or 6.0 may sound, and as much power as you might be able to make them make, they’re still garbage engines and have a cult following because some people just love working on shitboxes not worth a cent.

The head bolts I upgraded to ARP head studs and o-ringed my heads so I could run up to 300 HP tune if I wanted to. The fuel I would recommend upgrading to a Fass 165 GPH lift pump because not only does it do better than the stock lift pump but the filtration is better. I also added another water separation filter between the Fass and engine.

My 2009 has been fully deleted since 70k miles. I have ran a 600 hp tune on fully stock 6.4l since 100k miles. My truck has never broke except blowing some boots off. Never a major failure with 10k oil changes.

I bought my 08 F250 with 98,000 miles it seemed to be very well taken care of the first day I ordered the delete kit then it was complete within a week I’ve had it since 2012 in all I’ve ever done to it is change the oil every 5000 miles fuel filters and I only use Motorcraft filters. Till this day I still have not put a wrench on it except to change the alternator belt tensioner and replace the batteries that’s it

Been working around Diesel engines for quite a few years I can tell you that the 6.4 is my least liked engine in a pickup period. Most of the issues we have seen with these engines go back to the fuel system being poorly designed. While doing proper maintenance does help keep these engines alive it is definitely not the definite answer. The injection pump itself on these engines like to fail without really any warning sending metal through the fuel system and plugging up the injectors, and in some cases causing the injectors to hang open and send high pressure fuel into the cylinder when it’s not suppose this cracking the pistons due to excessive high pressure around the piston lip and causing extremely high EGTs. I personally think if a person could find a way to put a CP3 high pressure pump on one of these engines along with an aftermarket lift pump filter action system it would make it way more reliable and possibly even desirable since these trucks, when they run, run very well with the right tuning. But unless somebody comes up with a different high pressure fuel pump option for these engines I will continue to advise my customers to stay away from this engine, enough so that I recommend a 6.0 over the 6.4, just my opinion.

6:35 That’s actually a myth. The purpose of an egr system is not to burn fuel in the exhaust. The exhaust is just being used as an inert gas to cool the combustion chamber to help with nitrogen dioxide emissions. Whenever you superheat air, the oxygen molecules fuse and make no2.

I'm almost at 100k on my 2017 3500 Duramax and tow a trailer every single day except during the winter time it's got a 9' plow blade on the front and 3.5 ton bin of salt/chat with spreader in the bed. Its constantly running probably 14--16 hrs a day and as someone who's not been brand loyal in the past (I prefer value, reliability and least amount of ownership costs)but bc I need a 4 door truck I'm pretty much forced to choose from the big 3 Gm,Ford, Dodge..have owned them all but have had zero problems with my current rig. Just maintenance cost so far..im shocked bc it's had a hard life thus far. Had good luck with Cummins Dodge trucks but went through 3 trannys due to my work and the mountains I live amongst. Loved the 7.3 Ford and had 2 back to back then they got rid of for the 6leaker garbage.

I did the egr and dpf delete on the 2008 f350 and I never had an emission since I did the delete. My truck was broken in by hauling a 16,000 pound fifth wheel from coast to coast in Canada and some states. It has 112130 km or 69,668 miles on it and it’s runs great.

I have a 2008 and I love it. Bought it new and have put 235k on it. This truck works hard every day. Runs great and crushes just about anything on the road in a climb, even fully loaded. I've never wanted for power and have pissed off/punked lots of dodge and chevy guys over the years with it, dudes in sports cars too. I will admit that keeping the coolant system free of leaks is a challenge, and the DPF system is straight garbage.

I'm not a big Ford person when Powerstrokehelp says he's done with the 6.4l I take that as a sign

I’m seriously just going to get one and have a monthly payment just so I can look at it, drive it once a week and still be scared it’s gonna blow up. Man I love these trucks!

The 6.4 powerstroke if rebuilt with better rods bearings and positions and deleted an tuned properly and not drove hard is actually a decent engine. But some of the tunes available can make the engine stupid powerful maybe a little more then what’s good for it depending on the components chosen to replace the OEM. And I’d suggest to any one after market radiator and coolant tank. And get aftermarket intercooler pipes an boots. The oem boots are not as thick an prone to bust. Also far as the tuning. Pay attention when tuning, it’s best to tune the transmission to match the new tune settings of the ECM or the torq shift transmission TCM for speed levels and shift points.

Ok, so the only flaws are: complete emissions system, pistons, block material, cooling system, head studs, rocker arms and poor fuel filtering. What a piece of 💩!

Love my 7.3 power stroke I'll sacrifice a little power for a dependable engine have spent very little money on it or my 7.3 idi

I purchased a 2010 Ford F-350 King Ranch Dually with the 6.4 L engine. Fuel rails had to be replaced at 96,000 miles. The engine had to be replaced at 133,000 miles. I must be a glutton for punishment because I put the same engine back in it. Done at Ford dealership. I purchased the truck new for about $50k. Between 2022-2023, I have put another $50k in it. So far , so good. I also briefly owned a 6.0L. After an engine replacement, EGR and radiators, I traded it in on 2010. If this one craters , I will be done with Ford; although, I hear the 6.7L is holding up nicely.

I received one of the first 5000 6.4 F550s produced in 2008, I had a mechanic body with welder, crane, lube skid and air compressor. Empty the truck was 15,800 lbs. I put 100k miles on in two years on the severe duty maintenance schedule. The only problem I had? A clogged primary fuel filter when our dealership didn’t know to change it. Literally problem free. It was a lease vehicle, and we could not do any maintenance our selves per our lease contract. Every problem I ever heard of could be directly related to a lack of maintenance, improper maintenance, or illegal/unauthorized modifications. Unless you’re going exclusively off-road with any engine since 1996, leave it stock. Best chance for longevity and durability.

6.4 was a great engine if deleted and turned power is awesome and fuel mpg are great

As someone that worked as a MD diesel tech for 18 years, you are all welcome to say what you want, but there is a reason by 2010, alot of shops just refused to work on 6.4s. You will never be able to pay me anything to work/build/look at one ever again. I saw so many people properly take care of these, pay top dollar to delete, stud, head job, you name it and it just explode within a year. This engine single handedly helped mainstreamed the fummins swap. I don't even know where to start with it, its just crap, a boat anchor, i bad one at that. You can at least delete/stud a 6.0 and it go over 300K no issue, a 6.4 completely done up, maybe next year, maybe tomorrow, who knows. Its like driving a car with a CVT, you're not just watching the road ahead, you're watching the road ahead 247 to see where you can pull over safely when it breaks down. If you own one that made it a while, you are one of the ultra rare lucky ones because most didn't get that experience.

Subscribed and like every video. I’m excited to see your videos at a faster rate. And to all the pro 6.4 power stroke guys, please post your mileage. Thank you

2 things, if you’re just installing head studs the cab doesn’t have to come off. Diesel power magazine did an article that outlined how to remove and lower the engine mount for the passenger side if I remember correctly so the studs can be sneaked in. And if you forget to use anti-gel in your fuel that’s a 3rd way to cause the k16 to fail as I learned the hard way.