Howdy, We are considering replacing our 2001 7.3L F250 with a 2008 6.4L F450 dually. We found one with just over 100K miles for a good price. Carfax shows 2 owners, no accidents, regular oil changes at the dealer… Also, there haven't been any after market mods made to it.

Any suggestions on what I might look for when I go out to inspect it for this specific version of the Powerstroke? One knock against the 2008 is that it is the first year with this motor…

I've also reviewed this 6.4L - 13 Common Problems and Fixes

Anyone have a 6.4L and love / hate it?

Thanks, Mike

I've heard good and bad. Everyone I know has done ok with the 6.4. Most have been deleted though either preventatively or because it was cheaper than DPF repair.

I'd pass. The 6.4 doesn't have the aftermarket support like the 6.0s do. They're pretty much throw away engines. I had to make this decision a few years ago and went 6.0 since I knew the big problems could be resolved fairly inexpensively.

I bought an 2010 F250 6.4 in 2014 with 70,000 miles. It now has 230,000 on it and still going strong without any major repairs. I started having troubles about 10,000 miles ago with my DPF stopping up, so I deleted it. I have had to replace two alternators, a water pump, a steering stabilizer bushing and a fuel level sensor in the fuel tank. That is all in 9 years of ownership other than the maintenance type stuff. I would not hesitate to buy another one.

I think the job 1 2008 trucks had radiator issues, might see if the radiator has been replaced.

I've got an '09, I've deleted the dpf and egr coolers as a preventative measure, rebuilt the turbos once on my own, had the death wobble after about 7 years and replaced all the bushings and it went away, replaced the body mounts as the original ones disintegrate…I love mine, but I must say if I had a 7.3 I wouldn't be getting rid of it. In fact post it here for sale if you decide to make the switch.

Maybe it's just because it was the newest truck when I was coming out of high school but the 08-10 body style is one of my favorite of all time. Also I think it was the last generation you could get with 4 captains chairs from ford. With the new cab space that's an option they should bring back.

At my first job I worked with a guy that had an 08 F350 dually king ranch lifted with American force wheels. As a 17 year old there was no cooler truck in my mind.

Is the 7.3 for sale yet?

No. Just no on the 6.4. I LOVE ford diesels and the 6.0 is my all time favorite. The 6.4 is widely considered a 200,000 mile motor. I'd keep the 7.3.

That said, if you're aware of the common and nearly guaranteed issues with it and still feel like exploring it as an option, then go for it.

I have '16 6.7 that I would like to Put on a diet. Does anyone have a contact in south texas? Username@hotmail

I don't have a south Texas contact, but Hastings Diesel in New Braunfels is my recommendation. I would actually call them and tell them what you want and see if they can recommend a shop, or better yet, if you are ever in the area, stop by in person. I don't know any shops that will discuss diet programs over the phone. Powerstroke Enginuities in Houston did my pull/reinstall. But I guess technically, they didn't modify anything with the emissions system since it was built for 'off road use' and it came to them as built and they just dropped in it. They also will not discuss over the phone if you want EGR deletes, cat deletes, CCV reroutes, etc.

GrimesCoAg95 said:

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Is the 7.3 for sale yet?

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Not officially (as in we haven't had it detailed yet), but it is for sale. Going to list it at $13K

Caveat, we are in East TN. 2001 F-250 7.3L Lariat Crew Cab FX4

• 257K (or is it 251K?) miles
• Mostly used to haul gooseneck / bumper pull horse trailers
• Jasper transmission (can't recall when we had this done)
• Tires still have plenty of life
• New suspension
• Chipped to add some towing modes
• Body is in good shape, although tail gate is a bit banged up and hood / roof need a paint job (seems to be a common thing on these trucks)
• Interior is in decent shape although driver seat is split on the door side
• Ranch Hand front grill
• After market radio with backup camera
• Added gauges for boost, transmission temp, fuel pressure and EGT

The EGT gauge no longer works as we had the exhaust pipe(s) replaced and never reinstalled the probe (which requires drilling into the pipe).

Thanks for the replies. I think we've moved on from the 2008 as we have now found a 2006 6.0L with 180K miles that has a bonus flat bed for about $10K less.

Planning to go out and take a look at it to see if any of the 6.0L "bulletproofing" has been done.

Question, anyone know of a good diesel mechanic in the Asheville, NC area?

History: 3 owners. First 2 owners used it for commercial, 3rd personal.

• Owner 1 owned it for 12 years and 60K miles
• Owner 2 for 2 years and 110K miles
• Owner 3 for 1 year and 10K miles

No accidents reported. Registration for the 3 owners was in CT, OH and PA, so I definitely need to look for rust.

We'll be hauling gooseneck/bumper pull horse trailers to horse shows in the area.

Thoughts?

I would stay away from both of those motors. Yes they have plenty of power once you get them running right but you'll constantly be having to put in $100 to $1000 pretty often to keep them running right. This has been my experience with these trucks.

I think you'd be better off to buy a 2012+ with a 6.7 in it for not that much more up front cost. It'll save you money in the long run with reduced maintenance costs. Plus it has a lot more power and a nice interior.

I've pulled horse trailers 20k+ miles with the 6.0 and 6.7 each, and about 5k with a 6.4. Both the 6.0 and the 6.4 were extensively "bulletproofed" along with lots of performance mods. They can't hold a candle to the bone stock 6.7 power and reliability wise.

Thanks, that's good info. 6.7L is definitely where we want to go. The 6.0L is listed at $16K, if we went with it, we'd do so with the idea to sell it in a few years to upgrade to a 6.7L.

This might be an option, $25K for a 2013 F-350 with 230K miles. Any major maintenance items that we might have to deal with at that mileage?

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/vdp.action?listingId=353725343#listing=353725343

That one looks pretty ragged out. I think 20k would be more reasonable for that pickup.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/c04de9b7-82c4-4dce-98dc-d1ada75cf3be/?aff=atempest&CMP=atempest&utm_source=AutoTempest&utm_medium=TRP&utm_campaign=atempest

I don't know how important having a dually is to you but here's one that looks fairly priced.

As far as maintenance goes at that mileage, As long as you keep your fluids and filters changed along with running good diesel that isn't from sketchy stations there shouldn't be any major ones. I've seen bone stock 6.7s with 600k+ on them with no problems. There's even a few on the internet with 1,000,000+ on them.

If I were you, If the 7.3 isn't giving you any problems and it suits your needs just fine, I would just hold off until you can get a 6.7. The 6.0s and 6.4s aren't worth messing with no matter what mods have been done to them. You always have the guys who say "the 6.0/6.4 are great motors, you just have to treat them right and spend 10k to make them good." They are just trying to justify a bad purchase in my opinion.

If you're going for a 6.7, then you need to be shooting for 2015-2017 year models at the earliest. The 6.0 is a good motor but bulletproofing has to be done early and completely and it has to be done well. There is a lot involved with it and many folks just stud the heads and call it bulletproofed.

Define south texas.