6.4 or No

[premirr]

I've had Fords since 97 and replace them every couple years. They have all been really great trucks but it seems like with every model improvement my worries about longevity increase. I would love to keep them but the problems that arise scare me. My 97 7.3 was bullet proof and to this day I still see many fleets of these vehicles on the road. I'm on my second 6.0 and this one really worries me. At 48k they ripped the cab off and replaced the head gaskets. They also replaced the oil cooler and the egr cooler so that Ford could analyze the parts. All my trucks have been totally stock and I maintain them above the Ford intervals. My current 6.0L is a very tight truck outside of the engine. I would love to keep it after 100k miles and give it to my guys but at what point do $6k to $7k engine fixes stop being worth it. I can make payments on a new one for a year at that price and still have a warranty. We run the hell out of heavy equipment and don't even think about engine issues for 8000+ hours. My pickup says 1500 hours. The dealer ordered me a 6.4 and I'm really scared. I talked with one of my buddies who has a 6.4 and he just did his second oil change, put a 5 gal bucket under it and it overflowed. It is supposed to hold 15q. What is going on? I'll put tires, oil, ball joints, filters, brakes, and even trans in without complaining, but at least sell me an engine that will last. What do I do? I love Ford and want to keep driving thier products. Any thoughts?

[powerstrokes only]

I think for around $2000 you can extend your warranty to 200,000 miles on your 6.0. My 6.4 runs really smooth and quiet and REALLY starts good in the cold, but I have had some major boost and power issues, and Ford has not figured it out yet. I wish I had given it a year or so and bought an '07 6.0 to replace my '05 instead. Think about extending your warranty instead, just my opinion......